That’s the message from Tech Entrepreneur Barry Hinckley, who today launches his innovative new growth mechanism in a play on words termed “IPO” or Initial Philanthropic Offering.
In what is considered the first of its kind, Hinckley’s IPO will see him pledge at least 10% of his company, to nonprofit organizations that partner with Yotme during its initial rollout and brands that support charities via their Corporate Social Responsibility programs.
The launch pad for Hinckley’s pioneering IPO mechanism is the Yotme social relationship management and experience marketing platform. For the uninitiated, Yotme is a new and truly social network that allows nonprofits and brands to engage their customers and supporters while creating the world’s largest and most effective social impact platform.
Inspired by Pledge 1% and the work of The Boston Foundation, Hinckley conceived of a way to donate to not just 1% of his personal shares in Yotme, but 10% of the entire company to nonprofit organizations.
With Hinckley’s goal being to build a “billion dollar business” and the market opportunity there to do it, early adopting nonprofits that begin leveraging Yotme’s platform, will be eligible to share in a potential equity stake of tens of millions of dollars.
Under the terms of the IPO, nonprofits that use the Yotme platform to sell tickets to their events, may be eligible to a 5% credit against the revenue they generate. These credits will be tracked internally by the Yotme team. On the occasion of a liquidity event, the Boston Foundation, as the custodian of the Yotme Charitable Fund, will be responsible for distributing grants to eligible charities based on the resulting available funds.
“The Boston Foundation has a long history of working with business and other organizations to strengthen and expand their philanthropy,” said Paul Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “This IPO concept is a unique way for Yotme to demonstrate its commitment to the nonprofit sector and potentially drive millions of dollars in charitable donations in years to come.”
And the great news for 501(c)3 charities, who Hinckley has noted are often budget constrained and “under-teched”, is that Yotme is giving access to its platform for free. With Yotme, organizations can do everything from invites, ticketing, event and consumer relationship management, event marketing and real-time messaging.
Yotme enters a social networking market, which thanks to the dominance of Facebook and the big 4 social networks, have seen many tech entrepreneurs head for the hills. But not Hinckley and his team:
“In a sadly divided world, I want to create a social network that brings people together and rewards them for positive social activity,” said Hinckley. “By sharing our technology and growth with nonprofits and brands, we believe we can nurture an ever increasing society of people and businesses who strive to combine commercial viability with social responsibility.”
