Funds will enable the integration of new features, providing athletic directors with a central service to manage every aspect of their programs
NEW YORK, July 13, 2023 — Aktivate, the fastest-growing provider of scholastic sports management software, today announced the close of a $3.7M Series A funding round. The financing round was led by Will Ventures, Tal Ventures, and Benson Oak Ventures, with participation from 97212 and Tieferes Ventures. Aktivate’s total funding to date now sits at over $14M since its founding in 2020. Currently working with six of the top ten largest school districts in the nation, Aktivate is looking to grow by 200-300% in the next year and use the funds to enhance existing capabilities with new in-app integrations.
Over the last decade, the youth sports industry has grown by over 60% and multiplied in value to an estimated $30 to $40B annually. Despite this growth, many schools still struggle to find funding for athletic departments and rely on annual fundraisers to get the necessary financial support. Supplementing its core registration, scheduling, and communication capabilities, Aktivate’s integrated digital fundraising tool enables directors to keep track of donor information, donation goals, and statuses. By leveraging online crowdfunding, Aktivate users are able to dramatically increase their reach and secure significantly more funds than their in-person initiatives with a fraction of the effort. Collectively, Aktivate’s fundraising platform has helped raise over $35M.
“Aktivate’s fundraising solution is the digital evolution of the traditional school bake sale,” said Brian Reilly, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Will Ventures. “Due to obvious limitations for in-person fundraising, such as a smaller reach and a lack of consistent follow up, these efforts typically fall short of their goals. Aktivate accounts for these shortcomings and actually increases the outcome, which is invaluable to any athletic director who handles financing programs for hundreds, potentially thousands, of children.”
Aktivate is a central platform tailored to the needs and responsibilities of athletic directors in America’s school districts. One of the biggest pain points they face in scholastic sports is the frustration that comes with managing and monitoring multiple timelines and processes. Aktivate integrates essential undertakings into one place, managing pre/post-season registration, scheduling, communication and more. This system significantly reduces chances for error or noncompliance and allows directors and coaches alike to spend less time on paperwork, fundraising and logistics and more time hands-on with kids.
“Aktivate has been designed to be the swiss army knife to every scholastic sports community,” started Aktivate chairman and former CEO of AOL, Jon Miller. “Across industries, organizations are utilizing new technology to organize themselves and prevent errors; academics and educators shouldn’t be left behind. We are proud to offer our solutions at a price that is a fraction of competitors to accelerate access to modern technology to all.”
“We are the athletic director’s best friend, providing them the keys to build strong communities through scholastic sports” said Aktivate CEO Hesky Kutscher. “With this funding, we plan to continue scaling our platform to better meet the needs of sports departments in districts across the country, and provide the utmost value for our users.”
In 2022, Aktivate grew dramatically, seeing approximately 250% revenue growth YoY. In 2023, Aktivate’s platform passed the one million mark for active users and partnered with the likes of United Healthcare and NCSA College Recruiting (owned by Endeavor). With the potential for over 50 million users across the United States, Aktivate aims to grow another 200-300% in the next year. The company aims to release new products and services throughout the year and into Q1 2024.
For more information about Aktivate visit www.aktivate.com for info on its fundraising platform, visit www.aktivatefr.com
About Aktivate
Aktivate is the fastest-growing scholastic sports management and communication platform. Our mission is to help more kids live winning lives. By designing software that reduces the time, energy, and resources Athletic Departments need to responsibly manage all students participating in activities, we aim to help more kids experience the positive benefits of participating in extracurricular activities.
Our comprehensive sports management solution is used by approximately 1MM athletic directors, coaches, state athletic associations, athletes, and parents to manage the complex organizational and funding mechanics of scholastic sports and student activities.
SOURCE Aktivate
