UPDONOR is striving to disrupt the nonprofit sector. The startup, founded by Business Administration and Computer Science double major Matthew Grant ’25, provides nonprofit organizations with end-to-end technology services, including software for fundraising, invoices, accounting, fraud protection, donor management, and much more. Now, it’s been named one of the most disruptive student startups in the country by POETS AND QUANTS
When he first started developing the idea three years ago, Grant knew he wanted to assist low budget organizations who lack much-needed support.
“I’ve always wanted to…do something that makes an impact, giving money to businesses, helping businesses,” Grant said. “The rich get richer kind of thing is not as fulfilling for me.”
UpDonor, unlike competitors like Mailchimp or Squarespace, offers comprehensive services instead of single features like email or website-building.
“My goal from day one was to bring all of those [features] together into something that’s easy to use and easy to understand,” Grant explained. “So from that sense, I do think it’s definitely disruptive.”
Nonprofits are often cash-strapped, but Grant feels charitable organizations deserve as much technological convenience as well-funded companies.
“Seventy percent of all nonprofits don’t use any form of dedicated software, and the 30% that do are generally the big wealthy nonprofits.” Grant said. “Having a tool like UpDonor that addresses those needs, without any venture capital backing, just a guy helping out, I think that’s important.”
Grant’s startup, like so many others, is a labor of love. He gets his ingenuity and perseverance from his family, which he refers to as “go-getters” and “grinders.” That approach has served Grant well while building a company in a difficult industry.
“I know I don’t have unlimited funds,” Grant said. “And so every decision I make is very carefully thought out and every cent is used wisely, very much like the nonprofits that I serve.”
