We’re just a group of people trying to leave the world a better place than we found it. We do that by raising money for important causes around the globe via online competitions through our role as a professional fundraiser.

A professional fundraiser (sometimes called a commercial fundraiser for charitable purposes, professional solicitor, or paid solicitor) is a person or entity who is paid to raise money for, and directly solicit donations on behalf of, one or more charitable organizations. Unlike fundraising consultants who simply advise nonprofits in their fundraising efforts, professional fundraisers are directly involved in solicitations, which may be conducted online, over the phone, or even in-person (think door-to-door sales).

When to consider a professional fundraiser:

Nonprofit employees tend to wear many hats, meaning that only part of their job is dedicated to fundraising; or they have just a small team in development. Sometimes, newer nonprofits might have trouble getting off the ground due to a lack of brand recognition.

In these cases, hiring a professional fundraiser could be the solution. Professional fundraisers know the industry inside and out; they know the trends and have the most updated donor behavior statistics. They can provide the marketing expertise that many nonprofits lack. Because they likely have worked with a number of charities, they utilize tools that nonprofits don’t typically have access to, in addition to a network of sponsors and other connections.

Not all professional fundraisers are equal!

Nonprofits need to look for a fundraiser whose values align with theirs. There are also specific legal compliance issues with each state, and professional fundraisers have to get approval to solicit funds in over 40 jurisdictions. Donors should look for the same alignment and transparency when it comes to high administrative costs, i.e., how much of the money raised actually goes to the charity. An average of about 40% of donations go to meet overhead expenses, according to Charity Navigator. When working with a professional fundraiser, consider their and their partner charity’s pass-through rates.

Charities around the world struggle to raise enough money year-round to carry out and expand their missions. Fundraisers can be extremely expensive to operate, and many non-profit organizations lack the funds to staff, publicize, operate, and run highly effective campaigns. So they turn to professional fundraisers like Colossal! Our company takes the responsibility of staffing, publicizing, and facilitating the fundraiser so that the charity can focus on their mission.

Professional fundraisers are measured by their pass-through rate. When you donate through a Colossal competition, you can rest assured that we are committed to delivering one of the highest pass-through rates in the industry.

DTCare is a nationally registered 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in 2019 to better address and expand humanitarian operations across the globe. Colossal has partnered with DTCare to strengthen our fundraising capabilities and provide the best experience possible for those who participate in a Colossal competition. When you donate through a Colossal competition, your money goes directly to DTCare, which allows us to return a tax-deductible receipt for your donation!

Action Initiative Team (AIT) is a nationally registered 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting humanitarian and community-based initiatives. Colossal has partnered with Action Initiative Team to help expand the reach and impact of their mission through our competitions. When you donate through a Colossal competition, your contribution goes directly to Action Initiative Team, allowing us to provide a tax-deductible receipt for your donation.

We partner with a variety of brands, publications, influencers, and charities to develop amazing prize packages for our competitions. Interested people sign up and we vet them to make sure they are real humans and good candidates for the competition. People vote for their favorite, and the competitor with the most votes in the final round wins!

The vetting process goes both ways when it comes to choosing a designated charity beneficiary. Just like charities vet Colossal to ensure we have a satisfactory pass-through rate, we vet charities to ensure the money is used to support their mission! Charities are rated on their own pass-through rates, accountability, and transparency. We use Charity Navigator to vet our non-profit partners. DTCare and AIT also has their own vetting process, which, when combined with our own, helps to ensure that donations are directed to only the best causes.

We love collaboration! Colossal Sponsorships are available in all shapes and sizes. You can sponsor a competition with products, advertising, experiences… whatever you’ve got! No matter how your brand gets involved in a Colossal competition, it will be front and center in a world-wide campaign that reaches millions of people and supports a phenomenal cause. It doesn’t get any better than this when it comes to advertising. Contact us to learn more!

Supporters can vote for their favorite competitor for free, or they can opt to make a donation benefiting a great cause. Every dollar donated is an additional vote cast.

Yes! All donations made through the Colossal platform go to DTCare or Action Initiative Team, (U.S. 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charities). They have partnered with Colossal to make giving internationally and domestically safe, easy and effective for U.S. donors, by raising charitable donations from members of the public to fund monetary grants to other charitable organizations.

In accordance with the Rules of the competition you participated in, as long as the designated grantee specified in the competition remains eligible to receive funds when the competition ends, DTCare or Action Initiative Team will grant the donations, minus certain competition costs and fees (as further specified in the applicable competition Rules) to the designated grantee, after the competition winner is announced.

When you participate in a Colossal competition—whether you’re competing or voting—your information is protected by multiple layers of security.

Donations processed through a Colossal competition are encrypted and handled through a secure, independent payment processor.

We also regularly monitor our websites for vulnerabilities, run security scans, and put safeguards in place to help prevent fraud, misuse, or unauthorized access.

Learn More about how we protect your information by reviewing our Privacy Policy.