Our Profile

Plus Three was founded in 2001 as a partnership by experienced entrepreneurs with deep expertise in strategic online marketing, creative design and software development. Plus Three has developed a technology-driven software suite that has permanently altered the online constituent building and fundraising landscape. The company leverages a powerful combination of technology and marketing services to enable its progressive clients to forge relationships with an army of constituents. Its solutions have enabled organizations to redefine online fundraising as evidenced by its involvement in raising a record breaking $100 million in 2004 in support of progressive causes.

Market Opportunity

With nearly three hundred billion dollars per year in charitable giving, associations and non-profits must improve the way they build constituent groups and raise funds.

Traditionally, few vendors have supported this market directly, forcing fund-raising organizations to utilize technology not specifically designed for progressive fund-raising or selecting vendors whose solutions are unproven in the market in which they are sold. More commonly, organizations have simply relied on proven techniques devoid of technological advancement — flyers, neighborhood canvassing, phone solicitations, etc. Clearly, a market existed for a provider with a pre-existing knowledge of progressive organizations and Web-based marketing who could offer mature technology and bring fundraising to the 21st Century. This technology also needed to be easily modified to meet the varying needs of distinct organizations while meeting stringent security and scalability requirements.

Modern fund-raising has grown increasingly more complex to develop, organize and track.

Charitable giving comes in many varieties-from politically motivated contributions, to altruistic giving; from small dollar contributions to multi-million gifts. To meet the myriad demands of fund-raising organizations vendors need to clearly understand the challenges of fund-raising and the complexities of tracking and accounting for each dollar raised. For instance, the FEC requires that political bodies report each quarter on the exact amount collected and an accounting of who donated each and every dollar. Organizations in this field are also heavily regulated by federal laws such as McCain-Feingold that limit how much an organization can raise from any one contributor, further complicating fund-raising efforts. Without a solution provider who is aware of these requirements and has mechanisms in place to help meet them, customers are forced to dedicate valuable resources to create and manage in-house processes.

It isn't just the organizations who are demanding more in the fund-raising and online communications process. Almost without exception, contributors and constituents are demanding better access, greater transparency, faster communication and true participation with decision making of non-profits and associations. This creates an additional burden on organizations to provide services and solutions that meet the expectations and demands of constituents outside the organization who have embraced online activism.

All of these factors benefit Plus Three who brought together experts in various fields to meet the unique demands and challenges of progressive organizations. The Company's first customer was the DNC and from the start it has worked hand-in-hand with the DNC, and subsequent customers, to fully understand their customers' constituents and provide solutions that maximize the relationships between them.