Press
What is StayClassy?StayClassy (stayclassy.org) is a really cool website that connects people to nonprofit organizations based on the causes that they care about. We provide non profits with powerful, yet easy-to-use, online tools to help them fundraise, organize events, make sense of their social media, and engage a younger demographic. Since our entire platform runs online, in the cloud, nonprofits don't need to waste their precious money on expensive and old-school software packages anymore. Oh ya, and did we mention we offer all of our services for free? Yup, call us crazy, but we don't think nonprofits should have to pay outrageous fees to help make the world a better place.Fact: There are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the US, and each one of them depends on fundraising to survive. Another fact: Approximately $300 billion is donated to nonprofits each year – 2.2% of U.S. GDP – yet 75% of these organizations still raise less than $25,000 annually. We know... it's crazy, right? So, by offering our services for free, we're aiming to level the playing field across the entire nonprofit industry, and help the most efficient, transparent, and progressive organizations succeed, regardless of their size and budget. |
10 Cool Facts about StayClassy- We were founded in San Diego, CA in 2006 by a few friends who wanted to raise money for cancer research, since Scot's mother had recently been battling the disease for many years (she's doing great by the way!). They decided to organize an event called the "StayClassy PB PubCrawl" (yes, it started with a charity bar crawl), and were inspired by the overwhelming response to the event.- One simple event turned into dozens, and StayClassy soon became a full-service fundraising event production company. We raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for dozens of non profit organizations in Southern California by producing music concerts, races, and various other social events. - One time we organized a 5000-person music festival on Mission Bay in San Diego, featuring national touring acts Matisyahu, Mason Jennings, Pinback, Bassnectar, and many more. It was really fun. - We own the trademark for the phrase "Stay Classy", and also for the phrase "What do you care about?" (even though Pepsi has decided to incorporate it into their latest advertising campaign). The inspiration for our company name came from Ron Burgundy in the movie Anchorman (obviously). - Despite starting as event producers, most of our staff have technical backgrounds in Engineering, Comp Sci, and other nerdy degrees like that. Eventually our nerdy-sides won the battle, and we slowly transitioned into a software as a service company. However, our first-hand experience in the event production and fundraising industries was invaluable, and proved critical in designing our website into what it is today. - We launched the initial San Diego-version of our website platform in February, 2009, and have attracted more than 30,000 donors and hundreds of nonprofits in a very short amount of time. The second version (which makes the first version look silly), released in March of 2010 and has already received rave reviews! - India (the dog on the team page) is our unofficial company mascot. She's half Boxer and half Mastiff, in case you were curious. - We love our college intern program, which has grown from one person to fifteen in a short year or so. Our interns get thrown right into the mix, so the program is very popular amongst the colleges in the San Diego area. No filing papers over here... - In December of 2009, StayClassy was selected by MIT Sloan School of Management as one of the top 3 startup companies in the Country, and we were given the opportunity to pitch our business at the prestigious MIT Venture Capital Conference (http://www.mitvcconference.com/). " - The last one is more of a mission than a fact. Our company is ready to revolutionize the world of philanthropy, and we want you to be part of it. If you haven't yet, you can become a member for free here. |
Accolades· Voted one of the Top 3 startup companies at the MIT Venture Capital ConferenceDec 2009 · 35,000+ people visit StayClassy.org in one month Nov 2009 StayClassy reaches 100 nonprofits registered on the website Nov 2009 StayClassy reaches 20,000 individual members in San Diego Oct 2009 StayClassy graduates from CONNECT's prestigious Springboard program, receiving one of the highest marks of any graduate in the program's history. Sept 2009 CEO, Scot Chisholm, named one of the Top 40 Young Leaders Under 40 in San Diego StayClassy featured on MSNBC. June 2009 35,000 event tickets sold through StayClassy.org since website release. Aug 2009 StayClassy featured on MTV News. June 2009 StayClassy produces 5,000-person music festival featuring nationally touring artists Matisyahu, Mason Jennings, and more. May 2009 StayClassy.org releases San Diego version of the website. Feb 2009 ....................................................................................... "Standup for Kids Oceanside has already had new supporters calling and emailing, finding out what they can do to help us! We have had volunteer requests, clothing donations and just interest in general on what we are doing here at StandUp. So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart " - Kim Goodeve, Director of Center Operations |
