Causes (company)

Causes.com
Founded2007
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
OwnerCountable Corporation
Founder(s)Joe Green and Sean Parker
CEOBart Myers [1]
Employees21 (as of 2021)[1]
URLcauses.com

Causes is a for-profit civic-technology app and website that enables users to organize grassroots and public-awareness campaigns. Causes is a website that gives summaries of breaking news, new laws, and popular topics. Users can respond, comment, share, or contact their representatives about an issue. Users can also create their own "Cause" and seek support from other users.[2][1]

In 2019, Causes was acquired by Countable Corporation.[3] In 2020, Countable.us and its associated app merged with Causes.com.[4]

History

Causes was launched in 2007 as the first social advocacy application for Facebook.[5][6] Causes was co-founded by Sean Parker and Joe Green.[7] Parker had previously worked with Napster and Facebook, and he co-founded Plaxo.[8] Green worked in grassroots organizing, including campaigns on the presidential level.[9] Parker and Green combined their knowledge of offline organizing, online social networking, and product design to create Causes.[10]

The platform provided over 20 million messages to Congress and was featured in a 2014 New York Times piece on political apps.[11] It has also been featured in Wired,[12] and TechCrunch.[13] Investors included Sean Parker, Founders Fund, the Case Foundation and NEA (New Enterprise Associates).[14]

Causes' stated mission is "to empower people to create change in the world through online organizing. Causes connects people who share a common vision and build the tools they need to make an impact".[15] As of 2022, the Countable "Causes" network had over 190 million users.[16]

Causes is a for-profit business.[17]

Acquisition by Countable

Causes and its parent company Brigade Media were acquired by Countable Corporation in 2019.[18] In 2020, Countable.us and its associated app merged with Causes.com.[19]

Products

Users are able to create, join, or browse causes focused on cause-related issues. Users of Causes could also create campaigns, where they published activity to a network of followers. Causes was used as a vehicle for community building, education, awareness, advocacy, and fundraising.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Causes Company Profile: Valuation & Investors | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  2. ^ "Causes Relaunches As A Social Network For Social Good Action, Not Shallow Clicktivism". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  3. ^ "Sean Parker's Brigade/Causes acquired by govtech app Countable". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  4. ^ Rand Strauss (2020-11-29). "Successful (for-profit) New-Politics Sites". Blog of PeopleCount.org. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  5. ^ Stone, Brad (2009-11-12). "Clicking for a Cause (Published 2009)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  6. ^ "Early Facebook App Causes Is Being Reborn As A Polished Web Site For Good". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  7. ^ "Causes Acquires Votizen To Democratize Democracy". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  8. ^ Hartmans, Avery. "The incredible life and career of Sean Parker, who got his start as a teenage hacker before cofounding Napster and becoming a Facebook billionaire". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  9. ^ Scola, Molly Ball, Nancy (2012-05-17). "The Community Organizing Geeks Who Could Revolutionize Campaign Tech". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-02-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Constine, Josh (January 10, 2013). "Causes Acquires Votizen To Democratize Democracy". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  11. ^ Stone, Brad (2009-11-12). "Clicking for a Cause (Published 2009)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  12. ^ "An App That Makes It Easy to Pester Your Congress Member". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  13. ^ "Early Facebook App Causes Is Being Reborn As A Polished Web Site For Good". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  14. ^ "Causes | NEA | New Enterprise Associates". www.nea.com. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  15. ^ "Causes". Causes. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  16. ^ Hall, Christine (2021-10-20). "Countable brings in $12M for virtual brand communities". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  17. ^ Strom, Stephanie. "Social Networking Sites Move Into Charity World". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  18. ^ Constine, Josh (2019-05-01). "Sean Parker's Brigade/Causes acquired by gov-tech app Countable". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  19. ^ "Peoplecount.org".
  20. ^ Kopp, Lawrence (2009-02-27). "How to setup a Facebook "Causes" page for your nonprofit". nj. Retrieved 2021-02-23.