In this month’s Start-Ups made in Austria, we want to introduce you to Impactory. A platform, that enables easy fundraising and donations for non-profit organizations. We held this interview with the company’s CEO Elke Pichler.
What does Impactory do?
At Impactory we support companies in making their social commitment interactive, digital and measurable. In this way, non-profit organizations not only receive more donations, but also a greater reach.
One example of how this works: In recent years, a bank in Lower Austria has been giving away donation vouchers instead of the usual Christmas presents. Thus, thousands of goodies with sense have already been given away.
The basis for our work is our donation platform impactory.org, which can also be used by private individuals to donate quickly and easily online. Our donation vouchers are also a great gift for private individuals!
When was your company founded? What were the biggest challenges to overcome then and what are now?
We founded Impactory in summer 2018. A very big challenge was the financing of the platform. We are now supporting over 160 non-profit organizations and more than 20 companies, and it was important to us that everything ran smoothly right from the start. To achieve this, we decided to work with strong partners. Two grants from the FFG (Austrian Research Promotion Agency) also helped us a lot in the implementation!
How was the idea born?
My co-founder and I have experienced the challenges of donations within non-profit organizations first hand. It is expensive and difficult to reach the younger generation. On the part of the companies, there was a lack of innovative tools that make a long-term commitment attractive for companies. We were able to solve both with our platform!
Who is behind the Start-Up?
Behind Impactory there is now a team of 6 people. We have our headquarters in Vienna and support organizations all over Austria. Impactory was founded by Elke Pichler and Emanuel Riccabona.
Wer sind eure Kunden?
We support non-profit organizations, companies and private individuals can also use impactory.org
What is your business model?
Companies pay an annual fee for long-term support. This fee depends on the turnover of the respective company.
For non-profit organizations, we are risk-free and there are no fixed costs. Only if a donation is received, we retain 5% for the operation of the platform. This is up to ten times cheaper than other fundraising channels.
How did your start-up grow?
We have very large and strong corporate partners with whom we have already achieved a wide reach. We are also pleased about the broad coverage in various media, such as ORF, Kurier or the press. In the meantime, we also have very active social media channels where we report on current developments and inform our users.
An was arbeitet ihr zur Zeit?
We had a big relaunch in the last weeks, which we could finish at the beginning of summer. This makes us happy and helps us a lot, because now the hot phase begins for us! The strongest weeks for us are around Christmas and we are already preparing for this.
What should one know about entrepreneurship in Austria?
Entrepreneurship in Austria has managed to be perceived as more than just a niche topic. There is a wide range of support available and the willingness to cooperate with established players is growing!
Do you have any tips for someone who wants to be an entrepreneur?
Ask questions- to experts on various topics and to potential customers. Time is what entrepreneurs usually have least and it is good not to have to reinvent every wheel.
See their Website HERE
