What Telefund does

Telefund, Inc. is a privately held, for-profit telemarketing and fundraising services firm founded in 1988 and headquartered in Chicago, with operational call center facilities in Boston and client services offices in New York and Chicago. The company is structured around three integrated service modules: Fundraising Services (phone-based donor renewal, acquisition, sustainer invitations, lapsed-donor reinstatement, and political persuasion calls), Information Services (credit card transmission processing, list management, phone append, returns tracking, and custom data acquisition), and Fulfillment Services (pledge packet generation, acknowledgement letters, and reminder mailings, delivered through a partnership with C&D Printing and Mailing that supports 20,000+ mailings per day). Telefund serves exclusively progressive non-profit organizations and political campaigns, with a publicly disclosed client list including ACLU, Greenpeace USA, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, Human Rights Campaign, Oxfam, the Democratic National Committee, EMILY's List, and Giffords PAC.

The company operates a B2B professional services model in which revenue is generated through customized, quote-based project fees for telemarketing campaign execution, supplemented by per-mailing fulfillment fees and data service charges. Client acquisition is relationship-driven, relying on direct outreach, peer referrals within the progressive ecosystem, and industry reputation built over 35+ years, supported by DMAW Silver Maxi Awards in 2018 and 2019. Telefund employs between 501 and 1,000 staff across its locations, with hourly compensation supplemented by performance bonuses (top performers at $15-17/hour). The company is privately held with no disclosed parent company, institutional investors, or external funding, and operates as a single integrated entity rather than a holding structure with subsidiaries. Its technology stack is described as call center infrastructure plus proprietary data management tooling, with no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, public APIs, or mobile applications.

Name

Telefund

Legal name

Telefund, Inc.

Website

https://telefund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Telefund, founded in 1988 and headquartered in Chicago, is a privately held telemarketing fundraising services firm that exclusively serves progressive non-profit organizations and political campaigns across the United States, delivering phone-based donor outreach, data management, and fulfillment services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Fundraising Services

NAICS

Telephone Call Centers (56142), Telemarketing Bureaus and Other Contact Centers (561422), Direct Mail Advertising (541860)

SIC

Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services (7331)

akta.pro primary industry

Fundraising & Donor Acquisition Calling (Nonprofit) (BPAAADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Telemarketing & Telesales Services (Outbound/Inbound) (BPAFAKAC)

Keywords

• Telemarketing fundraising services
• Nonprofit donor outreach
• Political fundraising calls
• Donor acquisition campaigns
• Pledge fulfillment mailings

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Telemarketing Fundraising Services: Telefund provides telemarketing services to non-profit organizations and political campaigns, raising money from donor lists, running acquisition campaigns, and generating persuasion calls. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for campaign execution, likely on a project or retainer basis.
2. Information Services: Data management services including credit card processing, list management, and special data projects. These supplementary services support the core fundraising operations.
3. Fulfillment Services: Mailing and fulfillment services for pledge processing, including initial pledge packets, acknowledgment letters, and reminder mailings. Revenue generated through per-mailing fees and service charges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Telefund provides phone-based fundraising and donor outreach services for progressive non-profit organizations and political campaigns. Core offerings include membership renewal, sustainer invitations, lapsed member reinstatement, donor acquisition, and persuasion calling during political campaigns. The company complements these calling services with an Information Services division (credit card transmission, list management, returns tracking, special project data) and a Fulfillment Services division (pledge packets, acknowledgement letters, reminder mailings) operating through a strategic partner capable of 20,000+ mailings per day.

Product overview

Telefund operates as a single integrated telemarketing and fundraising service for progressive political campaigns and non-profit organizations, combining three core service modules: Fundraising Services (phone-based donor acquisition, renewal, and political outreach campaigns), Information Services (credit card processing, list management, and campaign data analytics), and Fulfillment Services (donor pledge acknowledgement mailings and reminder correspondence). The company has served public interest organizations and political candidates since 1988.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Top performers earn $15-17 per hour (employee metric, indicating high-performance standards)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• C&D Printing and MailingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStrategic partnership with C&D Printing and Mailing in Denver, Colorado provides Telefund with full-service mailing capabilities including mail preparation per USPS specifications, shipping, and bulk mail handling. C&D maintains equipment and staff capable of posting more than 20,000 mailings per day. The partnership enables Telefund to offer comprehensive fulfillment services including pledge packets, acknowledgment letters, and reminder mailings posted within one business day of pledges.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• M+R Group: M+R Group is a non-profit consultancy running advocacy, fundraising, and digital campaigns for many of the same progressive organizations Telefund serves, increasingly competing for the same client wallet through digital channels.

Broad incumbents

• Bonterra / Network for Good: Bonterra (parent of Network for Good and other giving platforms) supplies non-profit fundraising software and donor-management tools, representing the digital-channel alternative and adjacent competitor to Telefund's phone-led model.
• Teleperformance: Teleperformance is a global BPO and contact-center incumbent that, while serving many verticals, operates outbound calling and donor-support campaigns for non-profit and political clients that overlap Telefund's call-center value proposition at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Public Interest Communications: Public Interest Communications operates call centers handling non-profit fundraising, disaster relief, and political outreach calls, with a comparable mix of BPO-style telephone engagement services for advocacy clients.
• Grassroots Campaigns: Grassroots Campaigns runs field and phone-based fundraising for progressive non-profits and political campaigns, mirroring Telefund's exclusive focus on progressive causes with comparable canvassing and donor-acquisition services.
• Strategic Fundraising: Strategic Fundraising is a phone-centric fundraising agency serving non-profits with acquisition, renewal, and lapsed-donor programs, operating at smaller scale but with an offering nearly identical to Telefund's core service.
• The Lukens Company: The Lukens Company provides direct mail, telephone, and digital fundraising programs for non-profit clients, sharing Telefund's integrated approach to donor acquisition, renewal, and lapsed-donor reinstatement across channels.
• Donor Services Group: Donor Services Group operates inbound and outbound call centers for non-profit fundraising and political campaigns, providing phone-based donor acquisition, renewal, and pledge processing services that directly overlap Telefund's core fundraising offering.
• Russ Reid (TrueSense Marketing): TrueSense (formerly Russ Reid) is a full-service fundraising agency for non-profits offering direct mail, telefundraising, and digital programs, directly comparable to Telefund's integrated phone-plus-mail service stack.
• infoCision: infoCision is one of the largest US telephone-based fundraising and contact-center operators, serving non-profits, political campaigns, and cause-related clients with donor outreach and pledge processing comparable to Telefund's model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/telefund

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Telefund