Aktivate – a rapidly growing provider of scholastic sports management software, announced today the closing of a $3.7 million Series A funding round. This funding round was led by Will Ventures, Tal Ventures, and Benson Oak Ventures with participation from 97212 and Tieferes Ventures. Aktivate’s total funding to date is now at over $14 million since its founding in 2020.
Currently working with 6 of the top 10 largest school districts in the nation, Aktivate is looking to grow by 200% to 300% in the next year and use the funds to enhance existing capabilities with new in-app integrations. In the last decade, the youth sports industry has grown by over 60% and multiplied in value to an estimated $30 billion to $40 billion annually.
Despite this growth, many schools have been still struggling to find funding for athletic departments and rely on annual fundraisers to get the necessary financial support. And supplementing its core registration, scheduling, and communication capabilities, Aktivate’s integrated digital fundraising tool enables directors to keep track of donor information, donation goals, and statuses. By utilizing online crowdfunding, Aktivate users are able to dramatically increase their reach and secure significantly more funds than their in-person initiatives with a fraction of the effort. Collectively, Aktivate’s fundraising platform has helped raise over $35 million.
Aktivate is a central platform designed for the needs and responsibilities of athletic directors in America’s school districts. And one of the biggest pain points they face in scholastic sports is the frustration that comes with managing and monitoring multiple timelines and processes. Plus Aktivate integrates essential undertakings into one place, managing pre/post-season registration, scheduling, communication, and more. This system reduces chances for error or noncompliance and allows directors and coaches alike to spend less time on paperwork, fundraising, and logistics and more time hands-on with kids.
Last year, Aktivate grew dramatically, seeing approximately 250% revenue growth year-over-year. This year, Aktivate’s platform passed the one million mark for active users and partnered with the likes of United Healthcare and NCSA College Recruiting (owned by Endeavor). With the potential for over 50 million users across the United States, Aktivate aims to grow another 200% to 300% in the next year. The company aims to release new products and services throughout the year and into Q1 2024.
KEY QUOTES:
“Aktivate’s fundraising solution is the digital evolution of the traditional school bake sale. Due to obvious limitations for in-person fundraising, such as a smaller reach and a lack of consistent follow up, these efforts typically fall short of their goals. Aktivate accounts for these shortcomings and actually increases the outcome, which is invaluable to any athletic director who handles financing programs for hundreds, potentially thousands, of children.”
— Brian Reilly, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Will Ventures
“Aktivate has been designed to be the swiss army knife to every scholastic sports community. Across industries, organizations are utilizing new technology to organize themselves and prevent errors; academics and educators shouldn’t be left behind. We are proud to offer our solutions at a price that is a fraction of competitors to accelerate access to modern technology to all.”
— Aktivate chairman and former CEO of AOL, Jon Miller
“We are the athletic director’s best friend, providing them the keys to build strong communities through scholastic sports. With this funding, we plan to continue scaling our platform to better meet the needs of sports departments in districts across the country, and provide the utmost value for our users.”
— Aktivate CEO Hesky Kutscher
