These 21-year-old dropouts raised $2M to build Givefront, a fintech nonprofit.

The past decade has been filled with examples of fintechs that have changed the way US businesses manage money. Easy Brex corporate cards. Automatic cost control methods. Mercury also built the original banks. But this economic revolution has bypassed one major sector of the economy: nonprofits.

Giveawaya YC-backed startup founded by a 21-year-old Harvard graduate Matt Tengtrakool and UC Berkeley Aidan Sunburyhis goal was to change. The company is developing a financial platform designed for nonprofits, including food banks, animal rescues, nonprofits, churches, and homeowners associations.

Nonprofits do about 6% of US GDP and provides billions of dollars every year, yet many rely on old financial instruments. Givefront believes that modern financial management, tracking, and reporting tools – aligned with nonprofit realities – can unlock significant benefits for the entire sector.

Before the Givefront, Tengtrakool tested startups in Nigeria. He later worked at several non-profits while studying computer science and statistics at Harvard, including running several organizations himself. At one nonprofit, he helped raise nearly $500,000 in donations. Tengtrakool says these experiences revealed the disparity that non-profits face. They have strict regulations and reporting requirements but lack the tools that modern businesses take for granted.

“I’ve always been interested in financial systems, and this project is a natural fit,” the executive told TechCrunch. “When we helped run these non-profits with a few other students, we realized that many of them did not have enough financial resources to ensure compliance or protect tax evasion. The resources they relied on were completely unrelated to what is considered modern in the startup country.”

Tengtrakool originally created the first version of Givefront to solve these problems internally. What started out as a tool for the organizations he worked with soon grew into nonprofits across the country. Over time, the group expanded its focus to an integrated financial platform designed for registered non-profit organizations, about 1.9 million of them in the US

Givefront entered Y Combinator Winter 2024 with a broader vision for banking and accounting. The team quickly learned, however, that convincing nonprofits to enter accounting or banking relationships required a slow and painful process of selling, introducing cards and cash management.

“It is easier for an organization to change the card they use than to refund all their money,” said Tengtrakool.

While Givefront offers similar features to corporate fundraising platforms like Ramp and Brex, its focus on nonprofits sets it apart.

Nonprofits work in a way that most businesses don’t. They manage unrestricted and unrestricted donations, report how funds are spent to donors and foundations, track volunteer spending, and file IRS Form 990 disclosures. Many nonprofits manage multiple funds at once, each with its own spending and reporting rules.

Not-for-profit systems such as Blackbaud, Sage, and MIP still dominate the market, but they often lack real-time investment management, modern legal processes, and seamless integration with the tools nonprofits rely on.

Instead of replacing these systems, Givefront positions itself as a layer that sits on top of them. The platform integrates with existing accounting software while adding non-profit management, receipt capture for audit, cost-based accounting, and reporting.

“A lot of the work we are doing is about how the economy works,” Tengtrakool said. “Our workflows and integrations are 10x faster compared to industry tools or spending.”

Givefront makes money from card transactions and subscriptions that match their content. Over time, Givefront plans to expand funding by introducing related products, including payments, banking, budgeting, and financial and financial management.

Since launching its cards nearly six months ago, Givefront has scaled hundreds of organizations and is reporting over 200% monthly increases in fundraising. The company expects to serve about 1,000 nonprofits by the end of the year, with a long-term goal of reaching 5,000 organizations by the middle of next year.

Tengtrakool says the youth of the team, which includes a 17-year-old founding engineer, has been both an opportunity and a challenge so far. Some nonprofit leaders find the group’s age refreshing, while others are hesitant to trust such a young group with funding.

Churches and religions have caused people to adopt more sons, he says. Many rely on volunteer fundraisers instead of full-time financial staff, and Givefront’s automation greatly reduces their workload.

The company recently closed a $2 million round, led by Script Capital with the participation of Y Combinator, C3 Ventures, Phoenix Fund, and angels, including Chariot Executive and Wealthfront. Seed sales help the company’s distribution, expand its team, and expand its card and payment offerings.