Benevity Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors

Benevity was acquired by Hg for $1B in December 2020.

Benevity acquisition price

$1B

Acquired by Hg · Dec 2020

Benevity revenue

$100M

Series C · Oct 2019

Cumulative funding Benevity raised

$70M

across 3 funding rounds

Key investors in Benevity

  • JMI Equity
  • General Atlantic
  • Generation Investment Management
  • The Rise Fund

Benevity Overview

About Benevity

Benevity is a Calgary-headquartered provider of employee engagement platforms for corporate philanthropy, including donation matching, volunteering coordination, and grant management. Launched in 2008, it serves global enterprises with tools for payroll giving, disaster response campaigns, and impact reporting across 45 countries. The platform processes millions in donations annually, integrating with HR systems like Workday.


Founded

2008

HQ

CanadaCalgary

Status

Acquired

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Subscription

Revenue

$100M (Oct 2019)

Valuation

$400M (Oct 2019)

Benevity Acquisition

Benevity was acquired by Hg for $1B on 3 December 2020.

Before the acquisition Benevity had raised $70M across 3 funding rounds.

Benevity is a Calgary-based corporate social responsibility and ESG software company that provides an integrated platform for corporate giving, employee engagement, and nonprofit partnership management. The company serves approximately 650 enterprise clients including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Google, and Honda, with technology available in 20 languages serving approximately 19 million users globally. Benevity had previously raised $40 million in a Series C funding round in October 2019 at a valuation of approximately $400 million USD. Hg, a London-based software-focused private equity firm with over $30 billion in assets under management, announced on December 3, 2020 that it would acquire a controlling stake in Benevity, with the transaction reportedly valuing the company at over $1 billion USD. The deal was structured as a majority acquisition by Hg from the Hg Saturn 2 Fund, with existing investors JMI Equity and General Atlantic rolling in significant portions of their stakes and remaining as significant minority investors alongside management. The transaction closed February 1, 2021, with Hg subsequently bringing on additional investors including The Rise Fund, Generation Investment Management, and Canadian pension funds CPPIB, AIMCo, and Vestcor.

Benevity acquisition details
AcquirerDateTypePrice
  • Hg
3 Dec 2020PE buyout$1B

Benevity Valuation

Benevity is currently valued at $400M, based on its Series C in October 2019.

The $40M round included General Atlantic and JMI Equity.

Benevity valuation by funding round

Benevity valuation by funding round
DateStageValuationRevenue Multiple
Oct 2019Series C$400M4.0x

Benevity Revenue

Benevity's latest recorded revenue is $100M, as of its Series C in October 2019. At a $400M valuation, that implies a 4.0x revenue multiple.

Benevity revenue by funding round

Benevity revenue and valuation multiple by funding round
DateRevenue *ValuationRevenue MultipleStage
Oct 2019$100M$400M4.0xSeries C

* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.

Benevity Funding History

Benevity has raised a total of $70M across 3 funding rounds.

Benevity's first fundraising round was a $30M Series A in July 2015. The most recent completed round was a undisclosed-stage round in February 2021.

Benevity funding rounds

Benevity funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Feb 2021Undisclosed stageGeneration Investment Management; The Rise Fund--Generation Investment Management and TPG's The Rise Fund took strategic minority stakes in Benevity, the Calgary-based corporate purpose software company, in a deal announced on 18 February 2021. The two impact investors joined Hg, which had become majority investor in December 2020, alongside Canadian co-investors CPPIB, AIMCo and Vestcor. Terms were not disclosed; the investment was framed as support for Benevity's international growth in corporate giving and employee engagement software.
Oct 2019Series CGeneral Atlantic; JMI Equity$40M$400MBenevity, a Calgary-based provider of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee engagement software, raised $40 million in a Series C funding round on October 22, 2019, from General Atlantic and JMI Equity. The platform enables companies to engage employees, customers, and communities in purpose-driven activities including giving, volunteering, sustainability initiatives, community grant making, and citizen activism. The funding supports product innovation such as mobile solutions and public-facing engagement capabilities, as well as team expansion from over 600 to an additional 200 positions in technology, sales, client success, and operations. At the time of the round, Benevity reported a valuation close to $400 million USD and approximately $100 million in annual revenue, positioning it as one of Canada's largest early-stage tech companies. The company had over 600 clients, signed 50 new large enterprises in the first half of 2019, and maintained a 99% client retention rate. Previous funding included a $38 million CAD Series A in 2015 from JMI Equity and an undisclosed nine-figure investment from General Atlantic in January 2018. Benevity serves major clients like Microsoft, Nike, and Whole Foods as a certified B-corporation. JMI Equity participated since the Series A, while General Atlantic increased its stake. The investors highlighted Benevity's leadership in the growing CSR and employee engagement market.
Jul 2015Series AJMI Equity (lead)$30M-Benevity, founded in 2008 and based in Calgary, provides workplace giving, volunteering, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) software solutions as a B2B SaaS platform. It enables companies to engage employees and customers in social impact activities, including donations, matching gifts, volunteer management, and community grants, serving nearly 100 Fortune 1000 companies by 2015. The platform has supported large-scale programs, processing billions in donations and millions of volunteer hours globally over time. On July 22, 2015, Benevity raised $38 million CAD in a Series A growth funding round led by and entirely from JMI Equity, a growth equity firm focused on software companies. JMI General Partner Bob Nye joined the board as part of the transaction. The funding aimed to accelerate product innovation, service excellence, speed, scale, and global expansion, building on Benevity's rapid growth, having more than doubled in size each of the prior three years. Later rounds included a Series B in January 2018 from JMI Equity, Series C of $40 million in October 2019 co-led by General Atlantic and JMI Equity, and subsequent private equity rounds, with one source citing ~$100 million annual revenue and ~$400 million valuation around the 2019 round, and a $1 billion valuation by December 2020. Benevity achieved high client retention (98-99%), grew to over 600 clients and employees, and was later backed by investors like Generation Investment Management before acquisition developments with Hg Capital.

Who has invested in Benevity?

4 investors have backed Benevity across its funding rounds, including JMI Equity, General Atlantic, Generation Investment Management and The Rise Fund.

Lead investors include JMI Equity.


Benevity Investors

Investors in Benevity by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
JMI EquityUnited StatesBaltimore, MD2LeadJul 2015
General AtlanticUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantOct 2019

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Acquisitions by Benevity

Benevity has acquired 4 companies to date.

Last acquisition by Benevity was on December 9th 2021. Benevity acquired Alaya for undisclosed valuation.


Latest Acquisitions by Benevity

Alaya
Versaic
Trust CSR Ltd.
GrantStream
Description
Alaya is a Paris-headquartered software provider for corporate social responsibility and employee engagement programs. The platform manages volunteering, donations, sustainability initiatives, diversity efforts, and wellbeing actions for enterprises worldwide. Alaya serves over 1,000 companies including L'Oréal and BNP Paribas across Europe and North America.
Versaic is a cloud-based provider of corporate social responsibility software headquartered in New York. The platform manages programs for donations, volunteerism, sponsorships, and supplier diversity, processing hundreds of thousands of transactions annually for enterprise clients. Launched in 2006, Versaic customizes workflows for foundations and nonprofits, integrating with ERP systems. It serves global companies like General Electric and Procter & Gamble, tracking CSR metrics across North America and Europe.
Trust CSR Ltd. is a corporate social responsibility consultancy based in the United Kingdom serving enterprise clients like Amazon, British Telecom, DHL, EE, Avanade, National Grid, and Experian. The firm advises on sustainability strategies, ESG reporting, and stakeholder engagement programs. It helps organizations integrate CSR into operations through audits, policy development, and impact measurement frameworks.
GrantStream is a cloud-based grantmaking platform for corporate philanthropy programs used by firms in community investment. The software automates application reviews, decision workflows, impact reporting, and grantee feedback collection. Adopted by blue-chip companies in energy and consumer goods, it streamlines CSR disbursements exceeding millions annually. Headquartered in Canada, GrantStream focuses on intuitive dashboards for administrators. Established in 2000, it integrates with financial ERPs.
HQ CountrySwitzerlandUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanada
HQ City
Geneva
San Francisco, CA
Tetbury
Toronto
Deal Date9 Dec 202128 Mar 201827 Feb 20189 Nov 2015
Valuationundisclosedundisclosedundisclosedundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Benevity Competitors

Benevity competitors include listed companies like Ziff Davis and Eagle Eye, and private ones like GoodBox, CoinBridge, ShopBack and LifeMiles.

Public and private companies comparable to Benevity
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
GoodBoxUnited KingdomUnited KingdomPrivate--$26M-
CoinBridgeIsraelHerzliyaPrivate--$1B-
ShopBackSingaporeSingaporePrivate--$900M-
LifeMilesColombiaBogotáPrivate--$1.1B-
Ziff DavisUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$1.5B$335M$2B1.0x
Eagle EyeUnited KingdomUnited KingdomPublicly listed$65M$15M$190M2.6x

Benevity Public Comps

Benevity is no longer listed, but its public comps include QuinStreet, Ibotta, Eurowag, Groupon, MetropolCard, Eagle Eye, Méliuz, Klevo Rewards, Phunware and Ziff Davis.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
QuinStreet$1.3B$61M0.7x0.7x15.8x7.9x
Ibotta$342M$7M2.5x2.4x114.9x15.3x
Eurowag$2.7B$119M0.5x3.0x10.3x7.5x
Groupon$498M($19M)1.7x1.7x(45.9x)11.4x
MetropolCard$42M$21M4.2x-8.6x-
Eagle Eye$65M$15M2.6x2.6x11.6x12.3x
Méliuz$89M$9M1.0x1.0x9.5x6.8x
Klevo Rewards$2M($1M)29.5x-(45.7x)-

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Common questions about Benevity

When was Benevity founded?Benevity was founded in 2008.
Where is Benevity headquartered?Benevity is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
Is Benevity publicly listed?No, Benevity was acquired by Hg in December 2020.
Who acquired Benevity?Benevity was acquired by Hg in December 2020.
How much was Benevity acquired for?Benevity was acquired for $1B in December 2020.
What is Benevity's valuation?Benevity was last valued at $400M in its Series C in October 2019.
How much funding has Benevity raised?Benevity has raised $70M across 3 funding rounds.
What was Benevity's last funding round?Benevity's last funding round was a undisclosed-stage round in February 2021.
Who are Benevity's investors?Benevity's investors include JMI Equity, General Atlantic, Generation Investment Management and The Rise Fund.
What is Benevity's revenue?Benevity's latest recorded revenue is $100M (October 2019).
What is Benevity's revenue multiple?Benevity's latest valuation implies a 4.0x revenue multiple ($400M valuation on $100M of revenue).
Which companies are comparable to Benevity?Companies comparable to Benevity include GoodBox, CoinBridge, ShopBack, LifeMiles, Ziff Davis and Eagle Eye.
How many companies has Benevity acquired?Benevity has acquired 4 companies, including Alaya, Versaic, Trust CSR Ltd. and GrantStream.

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