The Giving Wall

What The Giving Wall does

The Giving Wall is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, legally organized as The Giving Foundation, that operates a web-based crowdfunding platform connecting neighbors experiencing financial crisis in the Richmond, Virginia region with community supporters who fund their urgent needs. Founded in December 2018 by Becky Lakin, the platform serves three constituencies: vulnerable neighbors (people experiencing homelessness, refugees, returning citizens, individuals in recovery, low-income families) whose needs are posted by vetted advisors at partner organizations; nonprofit and municipal partner organizations (Caritas, IRC, St. Joseph's Villa, Safe Harbor, Richmond Office of Community Wealth Building, Henrico County Public Schools, Communities In Schools, and others) whose case managers act as the vetting and fulfillment layer; and individual community donors who browse and purchase specific needs at amounts capped at $250 plus a 4% operations fee.

The platform is a web-based application built and maintained by Simple Thread, integrating Stripe for payment processing, Mailchimp for email outreach, and Google Analytics for traffic measurement. Core functionality includes a public-facing marketplace where supporters browse vetted needs (categorized by need type such as housing bills, work equipment, childcare, transportation, and groceries), an advisor-side dashboard for posting and managing needs, and a Gratitude Wall community feature for post-transaction storytelling. Needs are screened using a five-point human decision-tree ensuring each need is below $250, represents a barrier to financial progress, cannot be met by other local organizations as quickly, and can be fulfilled by the partner organization without direct cash transfer to the recipient. Once funded, partner organizations purchase the goods or services directly and deliver them to the neighbor, preserving accountability.

The revenue model combines a 4% transaction fee on each fulfilled need with voluntary donations into an Urgent Needs Fund and an Operating Fund (suggested at $25, $50, $100, or custom amounts). Institutional funding is provided by three named foundation partners: Bob and Anna Lou Schaberg Foundation, Robins Foundation, and Richmond Memorial Health Foundation. The organization is volunteer-run with 1-10 people, operates exclusively within the Richmond City, Henrico County, and Chesterfield County footprint, and reports cumulative impact of 1,358 individuals helped with $319,903.39 in contributions from 515 supporters since inception, including 145 needs supported in the most recent year.

Name

The Giving Wall

Legal name

The Giving Foundation

Website

https://thegivingwall.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Giving Wall is a Richmond, Virginia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a web-based crowdfunding platform that connects neighbors in financial crisis with community supporters who fund their vetted urgent needs, capped at $250 per need and facilitated through a network of 10+ partner nonprofit and municipal organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Donation and Community Crowdfunding Platform

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Crowdfunding donation platform
• Nonprofit fundraising services
• Community giving platform
• Social services support
• Donor engagement platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions: Individual donors (supporters) contribute money to purchase urgent needs posted by partner organizations. The Giving Wall adds a 4% operations fee onto each transaction to fund operations. All products and services purchased go directly to the humans in need.
2. Urgent Needs Fund: Designated fund for urgent needs of neighbors at risk of not being met quickly enough on The Giving Wall.
3. Operating Fund: Donations specifically designated for technology and professional service expenses to keep the volunteer-run organization operational.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Giving Wall operates a web-based crowdfunding platform where partner nonprofit and municipal agencies post vetted urgent needs (capped at $250) of clients experiencing homelessness, poverty, or financial crisis, and individual community supporters browse and directly fund those needs. Once a need is funded, the partner organization purchases the relevant good or service or pays the provider directly on the client's behalf; the platform adds a 4% operations fee to each transaction and adds no cash to recipients.

Product overview

The Giving Wall operates as a single unified web-based platform that facilitates direct financial assistance between community supporters and neighbors experiencing financial crisis. The platform enables partner organizations (nonprofits and municipal agencies) to post vetted urgent needs on behalf of their clients, which supporters can then browse and fulfill through secure donations. The core platform includes a public-facing marketplace for supporters to view and donate to needs, a Partner Dashboard for advisors to manage and post client needs, and an Operational Fund for general support. Needs are limited to $250 or less and must be a barrier to financial progress that cannot be met elsewhere.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Giving Wall A web-based community crowdfunding platform where partner nonprofit and municipal agencies post vetted urgent needs (capped at $250) of clients experiencing homelessness, poverty, or financial crisis, and individual community supporters browse and directly fund those needs; donations are processed via Stripe and used by partner organizations to purchase goods or pay providers, with a 4% operations fee included in each transaction.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,358 individuals helped since 2017 with $319,903.39 in contributions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IRC (International Rescue Committee)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization posting needs for refugees and neighbors in financial crisis in the Richmond area. Advisors vet and post urgent needs of their clients.
• St. Joseph's VillacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization serving vulnerable community members. Their advisors post vetted needs to The Giving Wall.
• Peter Paul Development CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization posting needs for neighbors in crisis through their career advisors.
• Richmond Office of Community Wealth BuildingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Richmond municipal agency partner posting needs for clients. Former advisor Janette McGrady served on The Giving Wall founding team.
• Henrico County Public Schools Office of Family & Community EngagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization posting needs for students and families in the Henrico County school system.
• CaritascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor partner organization providing services to people experiencing homelessness. Offers programs including emergency shelter, Works job training, and furniture bank. Their advisors post extensive needs to The Giving Wall.
• Safe HarborcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization serving domestic violence survivors. Posts needs for clients transitioning to independence.
• Forward FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization posting needs for community members in need.
• Communities In Schools ChesterfieldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization posting needs for students and families in Chesterfield County schools.
• Communities in Schools RichmondcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization posting needs for students and families in Richmond City schools.
• He She Ze & WeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization posting needs for community members in need.
• Commonwealth Catholic CharitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization posting needs for community members they serve.
• Simple ThreadcoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital product design and development partner that built and maintains The Giving Wall platform. Listed as a company partner on the team page.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GoFundMe: The largest consumer crowdfunding platform for personal, medical, and emergency needs. Comparable in enabling direct-to-individual fundraising, though with much broader scope and less partner-driven vetting.
• GlobalGiving: Crowdfunding marketplace for nonprofit and community-led projects worldwide. Comparable in connecting vetted, community-vetted needs with donors, though oriented to nonprofit projects rather than individual neighbors.
• ioby: Crowdfunding platform focused on neighborhood-scale community projects, with a strong vetting and resource layer. Highly comparable in mobilizing local donors for hyper-local community needs.
• GiveDirectly: Send cash directly to people living in poverty, bypassing traditional aid intermediaries. Highly comparable to The Giving Wall's direct-to-neighbor giving model, though GiveDirectly typically operates at larger scale and internationally.
• Modest Needs Foundation: Provides small, short-term grants to working-poor individuals and families facing one-time financial emergencies. Mirrors The Giving Wall's small-dollar, vetted-need approach to barrier-breaking assistance.
• Kiva: Enables person-to-person microloans to entrepreneurs and individuals globally. Comparable in the direct-donor-to-recipient model and emphasis on barrier-breaking funding for underserved populations.

Broad incumbents

• Patreon: Subscription platform connecting supporters directly to creators and causes. Comparable in the recurring supporter-to-recipient flow, though focused on creators rather than crisis-neighbor support.
• Bonterra (Network for Good / GiveWell): Suite of nonprofit and giving technology platforms (including Network for Good) supporting fundraising, grantmaking, and donor engagement for social-good organizations. Broad incumbent providing similar enabling technology.
• Network for Good: Software and fundraising platform serving thousands of nonprofits with donation processing, CRM, and campaign tools. Broader incumbent in the nonprofit giving-tech space that larger partners of The Giving Wall likely also use.

Regional players

• Community Foundation for a greater Richmond: Regional community foundation serving the greater Richmond area, pooling and deploying philanthropic capital. Highly comparable as a Richmond-area philanthropic intermediary with overlapping donor and partner networks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thegivingwall

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 The Giving Wall