Amicus puts the ‘fun’ back in social fundraising

Amicus has raised $3.2 million to help nonprofits turn their social networks into support networks.

The startup mines social data from Facebook and leverages it into fundraising and outreach. In a nutshell, this platform modernizes traditional mobilization campaigns by providing an online replacement for phone calls, emails, and snail mail.

Amicus gamifies social fundraising by letting users earn points and move up a leader board as a result of how many friends they talk to. There is also the opportunity for people to win real world prizes. On the organizational side, Amicus helps them conserve time and money by creating a more effective outreach channel. Administrators can use the management platform to stay on top of the campaigns.

Customers include juggernauts like the Human Rights Campaign, National Education Association, and the AFL-CIO. During the lead up to the recent election, Amicus powered outreach efforts in the four states that had marriage equality on the ballot.

The company participated in Y Combinator’s 2012 summer class and investors include YC partners Alexis Ohanian, Garry Tan, and Harj Taggar. Other investors include Omidyar, Y Combinator, Peter Thiel’s FF Angel, Andreessen Horowitz, Start Fund, SV Angel, and General Catalyst, IA Ventures, High Peaks Venture Partners, and 500 Startups, as well as existing investors RRE, Quotidian Ventures, Esther Dyson, and other angels. The team is based in New York.