Announcing: Classy Is Now a Certified B Corporation

Classy Family,

Today, I’m excited to announce that Classy is officially a Certified B Corporation. We’re proud to stand with socially responsible companies that have blazed the trail before us, like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, AllBirds, Lemonade, and many others.

In a way this milestone was a long time coming, as we’ve always thought about business a bit differently. In our view, the very nature of our work necessitates it, making giving easier for nonprofits and their supporters.

We believed then, as we do now, that a company will find its greatest success by marrying purpose and profit. For us this means an unwavering dedication to our clients and the broader social sector, combined with a stakeholder-led approach to business decisions. This philosophy has led to programs like the Classy Awards, now the largest impact awards program in the country, and ClassyGives, an innovative volunteering program for our team and clients.

Now we’ve taken things one step further with our B Corp Certification, which is the highest standard of social and environmental performance out there for business. It was tough to get, and it’ll be tough to maintain (the way it should be). But we believe that becoming a Certified B Corporation will ensure that our founding principles hold true as we continue to grow.

Our Score and Our Stakeholder Promise

The B Corp Certification process is comprehensive and challenging, with over 200 questions about your business that you need to fill out and verify. Only 4% of the 120,000 companies who have gone through the process have been successfully certified—which is why we are tremendously proud to not only pass the certification process, but launch with a score of 115.3 (with the minimum being 80).

Classy was assessed across five areas: governance, customers, workers, environment, and community. With the certification comes a promise to each one of our stakeholders.

• For our customers, we will strive to deliver unquestionable value to you and your supporters. Before we were Classy, we were fundraisers ourselves, trying to humbly raise money for cancer research. We’ve been in your shoes and that’s why we understand firsthand that your time is limited. You need to increase sustainable revenue, and your supporters deserve an exceptional giving experience.

• At the heart of Classy is our team. You are driven by passion and a commitment to our mission, and we want you to feel like every moment you’ve invested in Classy has provided you with growth, accomplishment, and purpose. We are committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment where all team members can thrive.

• To our investors, through your commitment to Classy, you are enabling thousands of organizations working on the front lines to address today’s social and environmental challenges. We’re focused on maximizing your investment over the long run and creating meaningful value in the world from your support.

• Our community is central to our efforts to make giving easier and help advance the social sector. As a purpose-driven company ourselves, we must practice what we preach. This is illustrated through the Classy Awards, the Collaborative, and ClassyGives, as well as our recent environmental commitments towards a more sustainable future.

Bigger Than Us

Classy started as a passion project to raise money for a cause that we cared deeply about. Now we want to help create a world where anyone, anywhere, can easily support the causes they care about. To us, becoming a Certified B Corporation will help get us one step closer to this vision.

But we know we can’t do it alone. So I invite all of you to join us on this journey—to challenge us if we falter, and to challenge yourselves (and your companies) with a higher standard of social and environmental performance.

For Classy, this is day one in a way, and I’ve never been more excited to see what the future holds.

Onward and upward!

Scot Chisholm