Meet The Need Ministries

What Meet The Need Ministries does

Meet The Need Ministries, Inc. is a Tampa, Florida-based 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 2000 by Jim Morgan, a former Wall Street investment banker and Fortune 500 management consultant. The organization operates a cloud-based software platform that connects churches, charities, and individuals with community needs, offering five integrated modules at no cost: Volunteer Management, Event Management, Shared Case Management, Drive Scheduling, and a Customizable Directory of local service providers. The platform is built on private-label technology that embeds directly into partner websites, enabling cross-organizational collaboration and preventing duplication of charitable services through shared case data.

Beyond the core community-coordination suite, Meet The Need has built cause-based solutions including MealConnect (an online food rescue marketplace developed with Feeding America in 2013 that has saved nearly 7 billion pounds of food), Gateway (a foster care support platform active in 7 states), HMIS Analytics (a Homeless Management Information System alternative), and Link2Hope, an AI-powered platform launched in March 2024 that builds sustainable circles of support around families in poverty. Distribution is entirely self-service through website registration, supplemented by community-led viral rollout via church and ministry networks.

As a donation-funded nonprofit, Meet The Need provides all software and services free of charge, relying on voluntary contributions from churches, charities, and individuals. The organization reports reaching over 1 million church leaders and members through its blog, webinars, eBooks, and media appearances, and maintains partnerships with Feeding America, Chalmers Center, True Charity, The Open Table, and Orphan Care Alliance to extend its reach. The company has no disclosed revenue, no external funding rounds, and is governed by a small board chaired by Ed Kobel of DeBartolo Development LLC.

Name

Meet The Need Ministries

Legal name

Meet The Need Ministries, Inc.

Website

https://meettheneed.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Meet The Need Ministries is a Tampa-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free cloud-based volunteer, case, event, and drive-scheduling software to churches and charities, alongside cause-based solutions like MealConnect and the Link2Hope AI poverty platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Management Software

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Community Housing Services (62422), Community Food Services (624210), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Volunteer management software
• Nonprofit case management
• Church community platform
• Food rescue marketplace
• Charity event coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations from Churches and Charities: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Meet The Need relies entirely on voluntary donations from churches, charities, and individuals who share their mission. Organizations using the platform are asked to contribute to help cover costs of providing the service.
2. Grant Funding: The organization has received grant funding for specific initiatives, such as the $1.6 million grant received by Feeding America to continue using technology to address hunger through MealConnect.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Meet The Need Ministries operates a free, cloud-based software suite for churches and charities that includes Volunteer Management, Event Management, Shared Case Management, Drive Scheduling, and Customizable Directory modules. The platform connects organizations and individuals across communities to coordinate charitable activity, broadcast volunteer opportunities, and prevent duplication of services.

Product overview

Meet The Need Ministries offers a comprehensive suite of free, cloud-based software modules for churches and non-profits. The core platform consists of five integrated modules: Volunteer Management (for broadcasting and managing volunteer opportunities), Event Management (for collaborative multi-organization events), Shared Case Management (for tracking family services and avoiding duplication), Drive Scheduling (for coordinating charity distributions), and Customizable Directory (for managing service provider networks). These modules share data across organizations to enable city-wide collaboration. The platform is offered at no charge, with organizations encouraged to make voluntary donations. Cause-specific solutions built on the platform include Link2Hope (AI-powered poverty alleviation), MealConnect (food rescue with Feeding America), Gateway (foster care support), HMIS Analytics (homelessness), and Second Chance (recidivism). A strategic initiative called Drop The Stone addresses societal division. All solutions are provided free of charge as a 501(c)(3) public charity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Link2Hope: AI-powered platform that builds sustainable circles of support around struggling families, providing relational hand-ups rather than transactional handouts. Focuses on poverty alleviation through relationships.
• MealConnect
• Drop The Stone
• G.I.F.T.S.
• HMIS
• Gateway

Products and services

• Volunteer Management Enables churches and charities to broadcast volunteer needs to local churches and community members. Features automated sign-ups, reminders, updates, confirmations, and detailed reporting on volunteer hours and participation.
• Event Management Collaborative event management platform allowing multiple organizations to create, broadcast, and manage outreach events. Supports volunteer registrations, automatic reminders, shift management, and cross-organization participation tracking.
• Shared Case Management Tracks services provided to families in need across multiple organizations to avoid duplication. Includes family information management, visit recording, need broadcasting, and charity drive scheduling with bar-coded confirmations.
• Drive Scheduling The world's first collaborative drive scheduling system for charity distributions. Coordinates scheduling across multiple sites and partners to prevent double-booking families, with bar-coded check-ins and comprehensive reporting.
• Customizable Directory Searchable database of local service providers allowing organizations to coordinate and display services of charities, companies, or individuals within their network. Features online registration, administrative approvals, and user-driven updates.
• Link2Hope AI-powered poverty alleviation platform that builds sustainable circles of support around struggling families and individuals. Uses artificial intelligence to match people with appropriate community resources and support networks for year-round, relational compassion.
• MealConnect Online food rescue marketplace developed in partnership with Feeding America that connects local retailers with excess food to food banks and shelters. The world's largest food rescue network, having saved nearly 7 billion pounds of food.
• Gateway (Foster Care) Foster care prevention and support platform helping Christian agencies recruit and mobilize churches to support foster families and birth families. Available as a no-cost relational option for agencies, churches, and ministries in 7 states.
• HMIS Analytics Homeless Management Information System analytics platform providing alternative data collection and analysis capabilities for homeless coalitions to better understand policies and initiatives needed to address homelessness.
• Second Chance (Recidivism)

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced volunteer recruitment costs by approximately $176,000 per holiday season for major nonprofits
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Friendship House (Roanoke, VA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Local ministry partner in Roanoke, VA that partnered with Meet The Need to pilot and launch Link2Hope. Friendship House focuses on building relationships rather than just providing handouts to those in need.
• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Partnership to develop MealConnect, an online food rescue marketplace that connects restaurants and retailers with excess food to food banks and shelters. Feeding America invested $1.6 million in grant funding to continue developing technology to address hunger. MealConnect has grown to become the world's largest food rescue network.
• Chalmers CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThought leadership partnership ensuring Link2Hope promotes dignity and moves beyond transactional approaches to poverty alleviation.
• True CharityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThought leadership partnership contributing to the development of Link2Hope's approach to poverty alleviation, ensuring the platform promotes dignity over dependence.
• The Open TableminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership contributing expertise to Link2Hope's relational approach to poverty alleviation, helping build sustainable circles of support around families.
• Orphan Care AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focusing on equipping the body of Christ to lead efforts in caring for the foster care and adoptive community in Kentucky and southern Indiana.
• Silker StudiosminorOthersProduced the Link2Hope promotional video for Meet The Need.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• VolunteerHub: Volunteer management SaaS designed specifically for nonprofits and charities to recruit, schedule, and track volunteers. Direct overlap with Meet The Need's Volunteer Management and Event Management modules, though VolunteerHub is a paid commercial product.
• Galaxy Digital (VolunteerLocal): Volunteer scheduling and event management software for nonprofits, festivals, and faith-based organizations. Closely comparable to Meet The Need's volunteer and event management functionality with similar target customers.
• SignUpGenius: Widely used signup coordination platform for volunteer opportunities, events, and church activities. Competes directly with Meet The Need's volunteer and drive scheduling modules, particularly for small churches and community groups.

Broad incumbents

• Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud: Enterprise CRM and program management platform built for nonprofits with volunteer management, case management, and donor tracking capabilities. A much broader incumbent that competes on feature overlap from a vastly larger resource base.
• Pushpay: Church engagement and giving platform serving thousands of US churches with mobile giving, community engagement, and volunteer/discipleship tools. A broad incumbent in the faith-based software space that overlaps with Meet The Need's volunteer management and church mobilization functionality.
• Tithely: Church management, giving, and engagement platform serving tens of thousands of churches. Adjacent competition for church members' software wallet share, with growing volunteer/event modules.
• Planning Center: Church management software suite (Services, People, Giving, Check-Ins, Groups, Calendar) used by tens of thousands of US churches. A sticky incumbent that could absorb volunteer/event functionality and squeeze Meet The Need's standalone modules.
• Subsplash: Church engagement, giving, and content platform serving thousands of US churches with mobile apps and community features. A broader incumbent expanding into community mobilization capabilities overlapping with Meet The Need's church-facing offerings.

Regional players

• Bloomerang: Nonprofit CRM and donor management platform with volunteer management capabilities, focused primarily on US small-to-mid nonprofits. Adjacent competitor on the CRM/case management side of Meet The Need's offering.

Emerging players

• Chuzzle (formerly VolunteerMark) / InitLive: Volunteer scheduling and management platform for nonprofits and events with mobile-first design. Direct feature overlap with Meet The Need's volunteer management and drive scheduling modules.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/meet_the_need
• Facebookfacebook.com/meetneeds
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meet-the-need-ministries

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Meet The Need Ministries