Foundation Source, a cloud-based platform than manages family, corporate and professionally staffed foundations, acquired Vennfi, the financial technology company powering Charityvest, a donor-advised fund (DAF) sponsor.
The Charityvest DAF program was launched to the public in December 2019 as a partnership between Vennfi and Charityvest, a 501(c)(3) public charity and DAF sponsoring organization. Charityvest will continue to operate as a separate, independent entity, managed by its own board of directors.
Foundation Source technology will power the Charityvest DAF program, the turnkey DAF platform, and the workplace giving program according to a statement from the firm.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction was completed on October 17.
“This strategic acquisition is an important milestone in Foundation Source’s mission to make giving easier and more impactful, and we’re excited to make these philanthropic solutions widely available to help people and companies drive change,” Joseph Mrak III, CEO of Foundation Source, said via a statement.
The deal will broaden Foundation Source’s suite of offerings and accelerate the delivery of giving solutions across the wealth management industry through a turnkey private label platform that will make offering and administering a donor-advised fund easier and more efficient for DAF sponsors, broker-dealers, independent registered investment advisors and other financial services organizations, according to information from the firm. The acquisition includes a workplace program that allows employers to streamline corporate and employee giving efforts.
“As financial advisors and wealth management firms look for ways to differentiate themselves beyond traditional investment advisory expertise, a full set of philanthropic capabilities is essential for holistic client engagement,” Mrak continued via the statement.
“After a highly collaborative and exploratory process over many months, it became clear that, together, we can catalyze more giving by making it more accessible, secure, and efficient for more people. We are enormously excited to join the Foundation Source team to unlock even more purposeful giving in the years ahead,” Vennfi CEO Stephen Kump said via a statement.
The Vennfi management team, led by Kump, will join Foundation Source.
Headquartered in Atlanta, among Vennfi financial backers are Y Combinator, Sovereign’s Capital, and Teamworthy Ventures. Foundation Source was acquired during 2023 by private equity firm GTCR.
Foundation Source earlier this year acquired planned giving software and services firm, PG Calc, as part of its growth strategy to build a single platform for a wide range of flexible, popular, tax-advantaged resources that make giving easier.
Foundation Source supports more than 4,000 charitable organizations, administers more than $25 billion in foundation assets, and facilitates more than 120,000 grants and planned gifts annually, according to data from the firm.