News from the Wire

Pledgeling taps Citron as CEO

Tuesday, August 04, 2015 — 11:19:50 (EDT)

Los Angeles, Aug. 4, 2015 -- Pledgeling, the Silicon Beach-based disruptive charitable donations company, today announced the appointment of James Citron as CEO. Citron takes over as CEO from Founder Matt Minnis, who launched Pledgeling to simplify and streamline the online charitable donation process. Minnis becomes Chairman of the Board.

Pledgeling enables micro and impulse donations to be made at any time from any smartphone, or any web-enabled device. The two-click donation process and best-in-breed mobile application ensure more donations are made and more money goes directly to each charity. In fact, Pledgeling converts six times more transactions than the standard charitable donation website or mobile app due to its ease of use. Citron joins Pledgeling as the company advances to the next stage of its development and growth, having announced its seed funding of more than $4 million earlier this year.

Mobile entrepreneur Citron has been in instrumental in the growth and sale of two mobile companies, launched mobile products in 20 countries and pioneered many of the first mobile innovations that are used by hundreds of brands and one out of every two Americans. He helped jump start the mobile video industry when his products created the first mobile video campaigns for brands, including Disney, Fox and Paramount. One of Citron’s prior companies also sent the first cross-carrier multimedia mobile message (MMS) and today, the technology that he spearheaded the development of still powers 80 per cent of all MMS messages sent by US brands. Citron also has significant transaction experience as a technology investment banker.

“The momentum that Pledgeling is developing in the charitable sector is astounding as we’ve driven more $500,000 to over 1,000 non-profits since the beginning of this year,” said Minnis. “And, our charity partners are excited about how we’re introducing new donors, particularly amongst the hard to reach 18-34 demographic, to thousands of impactful organizations.”

“With his depth of experience and appetite for disruptive technology, we are expecting the appointment of James Citron to take the company to the next level as we continue to consolidate and expand,” he added.

“An estimated 10 billion dollars in charitable donations are lost each year due to the poor user experience of donation channels, their lack of mobile compatibility and the difficulty of giving when consumers feel inspired to do so,” said Citron. “This is unacceptable. We have the opportunity to help solve many of the biggest domestic and global problems by tapping into the best available mobile technology and global citizens’ inherent desire to give back. I am committed and excited to build on the work of the Pledgeling founders, maximizing the potential of our platform, and to do our part to drive massive positive change.”

About James Citron

James Citron is a mobile entrepreneur and disruptor: he builds mobile companies from concept to scale, advises brands how to develop and execute their mobile strategies and leads teams to achieve their greatest potential. Citron has a particular passion for identifying new market opportunities and business models where he can create sustainable, high-growth mobile technology companies. He has built and led mobile businesses from pre-revenue to those with annual sales in the tens of millions of dollars across a wide range of customer segments, from advertising to media to retail to non-profit and government institutions.

About Pledgeling

Pledgeling is a start-up, non-profit organization based in Silicon Beach, Los Angeles. Pledgeling serves as a mobile charity wallet and gives people the capability to make micro-donations as small as $5 to the charities of their choice from their smartphone or any web-enabled device. The company has 501c3 status, and earlier this year announced seed funding of $4.1 million from investors including Double M Partners and angel investors including TV personalities Vanna White and Chris Harrison. Unlike many other charitable giving organizations, Pledgeling does not use any of its proceeds to cover operating costs or credit card processing fees, but donates 100% of the proceeds raised on its platform directly to the charities. To learn more about Pledgeling, please visit www.pledgeling.com .

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Source: Company press release.