Linkedin Co-founder Reid Hoffman along with Bill Gates & others lead latest funding round of more than $30 million in change.org. The news was first disclosed by Reid Hoffman on his Linkedin account.
Other existing Change.org investors include Richard Branson, Ashton Kutcher, and the rapper Nas.
Change.org performs functions that are key to a healthy democracy functions that were once mostly the domain of daily newspapers and other traditional news outlets. It informs its users about issues and developments that are of local, national, and even global relevance. It gives a megaphone to marginalized and disenfranchised communities. Its users and petition starters hold powerful interests accountable.
Founded by Ben Rattray in 2007, the platform has attracted nearly 200 million users in 196 countries.
In its decade of existence, Change.org petitions have resulted in more than 21,000 victories, i.e., instances in which a government agency, corporation, or other entity has changed a regulation or a policy in the face of a Change.org petition urging it to do so.
So when Change.org’s users sign a petition, they know they’re not just sounding off on a message board or engaging in empty rhetoric. They’re leveraging the human capital of their voices with thousands or even millions of like-minded others, in a way that regularly results in significant impact.
Change.org benefits from the same virtuous cycle that Amazon, Airbnb, and other consumer Internet giants depend on to improve user engagement, identify the products and services that consumers want most, and increase revenues.