ZipSprout

What ZipSprout does

ZipSprout, founded in January 2016 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky (with an additional office in Durham, North Carolina), operates a two-sided marketplace that connects businesses seeking local marketing visibility with nonprofits, events, and associations offering sponsorship placements. The company's primary commercial offering is a managed local link building service that handles research, outreach, placement, and at-least-12-month link monitoring on behalf of local businesses, SEO and PR agencies, and enterprise brands; named customers include Opendoor, a global software firm, and Shelley Media Arts. The underlying asset is a proprietary, machine-filtered database covering 700,000+ sponsorable organizations across the top 1,000 US cities, surfaced through a free Local Sponsorship Finder (LSF) tool and a $49/month LSF+ tier for unlimited exports.

The company monetizes through three streams: project-based managed campaigns with a $2,000 minimum pilot and $350–$500 per placement, the LSF+ monthly subscription, and white-label agency services. Its go-to-market combines direct sales to enterprise/agency clients with a product-led self-serve motion via LSF and a channel-partner motion through agencies. Adjacent to the core service, ZipSprout operates the Surveys for Good sub-brand (a first-party survey data platform that donates per response to nonprofits) and The Block Party app (free nonprofit registration and Matchmaker assignment). Operationally, the business is closely tied to Citation Labs, which holds the LSF copyright and is referenced as a strategic partner. Cumulative output since launch includes 28,359 sponsorships facilitated, $9.27M in sponsorship dollars placed, and a community of 160,000+ nonprofits across 710 US and Canadian locations.

Name

ZipSprout

Legal name

ZipSprout

Website

https://zipsprout.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ZipSprout is a Louisville-based marketplace connecting businesses seeking local SEO visibility with nonprofits and events offering sponsorship placements. Its core product is managed local link building, supported by a free database of 700,000+ sponsorable organizations and a $49/month LSF+ subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Beaverton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Local Sponsorship Campaign Services: Full-service local sponsorship campaigns where ZipSprout handles research, outreach, placement, and fulfillment for businesses. Minimum pilot campaign is $2,000 total over 1-4 months. Sponsorship fees typically range $350-$500 per placement.
2. LSF+ Subscription: Monthly subscription at $49/month for unlimited exports from the Local Sponsorship Finder tool. Base LSF is free with up to 50 exports per day.
3. Agency/Enterprise Services: White-label services for agencies and custom enterprise campaigns. Agency services include full campaign management with consistent outreach and placement handling.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ZipSprout is a local link building agency that matches businesses with nonprofits, events, and community organizations willing to host sponsorship links in exchange for sponsorship dollars. It runs full-service local sponsorship campaigns (research, outreach, placement, and 12-month link monitoring), plus a self-serve Local Sponsorship Finder (LSF) database of 700,000+ sponsorable organizations with an LSF+ paid tier at $49/month. It also operates Surveys for Good, a survey platform that donates to nonprofits while collecting first-party data, and The Block Party, a free nonprofit registration app.

Product overview

ZipSprout is a local link building platform built around nonprofit sponsorships. The core product is ZipSprout Local Link Building Services, which connects businesses seeking local SEO visibility with nonprofits, events, and organizations offering sponsorship placements. This is complemented by the Local Sponsorship Finder (LSF) — a free DIY database tool with 700,000+ organizations searchable by city, and its premium tier LSF+ ($49/month) for unlimited exports. Surveys for Good is a related sub-brand enabling first-party data collection via surveys that generate donations for nonprofits. The Block Party is the nonprofit registration app through which organizations sign up for free and receive a dedicated Matchmaker. The portfolio functions as a marketplace: businesses sponsor organizations in exchange for links, while ZipSprout manages the full outreach and fulfillment process.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Surveys for Good: A platform that helps content marketers gather reliable first-party data and support local nonprofit organizations through survey-based donations.

Products and services

• ZipSprout Local Link Building Services Managed local sponsorship link building service for businesses, agencies, and enterprise brands. ZipSprout matches clients with relevant nonprofits, events, and community organizations, handles outreach and placement, and ensures sponsored links remain live for at least 12 months. Minimum pilot campaign is $2,000 total over 1–4 months, with typical sponsorship fees of $350–$500 per placement.
• Local Sponsorship Finder (LSF) Free DIY web tool providing a machine-filtered database of 700,000+ sponsorable organizations across the top 1,000 US cities. Users can search by city, qualify organizations by outbound link count on thank-you pages, and export up to 50 opportunities per day as CSV. Built for SMBs, DIY link builders, and SEO practitioners.
• LSF+ Subscription Premium subscription tier of the Local Sponsorship Finder that removes the 50 exports/day limit and unlocks unlimited CSV exports, plus additional support and expedited processing. Priced at $49/month.
• Surveys for Good Survey-based data collection platform for content marketers that donates to a nonprofit of the respondent's choice for each completed survey, with donations funded by partner organizations. Used by marketers, community leaders, and cause-conscious influencers to gather first-party data while supporting local nonprofits.
• The Block Party (Nonprofit Registration App) Free registration app for nonprofits, events, and associations to sign up and be matched with corporate sponsors through ZipSprout's matchmaker system. Each organization is assigned a dedicated Matchmaker to maximize sponsorship potential.

Quantifiable outcome

• 28,359 sponsorships facilitated and $9.27M+ in sponsorship dollars placed since 2016
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Citation LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCitation Labs is a partner referenced in case studies as a strategic collaborator. ZipSprout builds on Citation Labs' strategy for nonprofit sponsorship link building. The LSF tool and website are operated by Citation Labs, indicating a close operational relationship. Case studies reference 'building on the strategy from our partner, Citation Labs.'

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Citation Labs: A link building and SEO agency that is described as ZipSprout's core strategic partner, operates the LSF tool/website, and shares the same nonprofit-sponsorship link building methodology and customer base.
• Page One Power: A well-known link building agency offering managed link acquisition and content-driven link building services to enterprise and agency clients, directly competing for the same SEO buyer as ZipSprout.
• The HOTH: A large-scale SEO and link building platform with managed services, blogger outreach, and a self-serve product, competing for the same SMB and agency link building budgets that ZipSprout targets.
• Siege Media: An SEO-focused content marketing agency that pairs content production with link acquisition for enterprise brands, operating in the same enterprise-content-and-links category as ZipSprout's enterprise tier.
• uSERP: A digital PR and link building agency specializing in high-authority placements and SEO-driven PR campaigns, directly comparable to ZipSprout's enterprise sponsorship link offering.
• FATJOE: A link building service platform with both a self-serve SaaS product and a managed blogger outreach service, very comparable to ZipSprout's hybrid LSF / managed campaign model.
• Authority Builders: A niche edit and link insertion service targeting SEO agencies and in-house teams, operating in the same paid link acquisition market that ZipSprout serves.
• Fractl: A content marketing and digital PR agency that uses data-driven content to earn high-quality links, comparable to ZipSprout's positioning around 'authentic' community-rooted placements.
• LinkGraph: A full-service SEO agency offering link building, content, and technical SEO services to enterprise clients, directly competing for the same enterprise SEO buyer as ZipSprout.

Broad incumbents

• Moz: An established SEO software and services platform that offers link research tools (Moz Link Explorer) and agency services; cited as earned media by ZipSprout and a broader incumbent in the same SEO/link building ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/zipsprout
• Xx.com/zipsprout

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ZipSprout