The company was founded by Francesco Nazari Fusetti, Manuela Ravalli and Domenico Gravagno in 2013, having revolutionised charity fundraising by auctioning money-can’t-buy experiences online.
The items for auction on www.charitystars.com have included an evening with Paris Hilton, coffee with fashion entrepreneur Lapo Elkann, breakfast with banking supremo Alessandro Profumo and a brand new motorbike signed by Valentino Rossi.
The money raised goes to a huge number of diverse charities, including Save The Children and Water Aid. More than a million Euros have been passed on to deserving causes nominated by the people providing the items for auction.
As a result, CharityStars has picked up some important awards both at home in Italy and abroad to recognise its innovative approach to fundraising.
Now the company has been boosted by seven new private investors from Italy: Leopoldo Seralvo, Federico Nordio, Niccolò Ragnini, Luca Ferrante Carrante, Gilda Moratti and former Inter Milan vice president Angelomario Moratti.
This incoming capital has been boosted with €290,000 worth of finance from Italian bank Unicredit, bringing the total amount of money in to €1 million Euros.
CharityStars founder and CEO Francesco Nazari Fusetti commented: “We’re delighted and proud to expand our shareholding structure, which goes beyond just economic support. Our new shareholders are active partners with CharityStars, who will help us to expand both in Italy and abroad.”
The funds will be used principally to develop CharityStars’s presence throughout the world: initially in the United Kingdom, where the company already has a London base. Its activities have already caught the eye of a number of British celebrities and non-profit organisations. Following a successful partnership with Liverpool FC, other Premier League clubs such as Southampton and Manchester City have also offered their support. CharityStars has also offered auction items pertaining to the worlds of motorsport and music, as well as gastronomy and art.
This year, CharityStars’s ‘Livebidding’ app was launched: enabling people attending fundraisers to bid for charity auction items in real time via their tablets or smartphones.
In future, CharityStars will continue to use new technology in order to enhance the traditional auction experience.
“The app has helped us to reinvent what people think of as an auction,” explained Nazari Fusetti. “Using the app, it’s now possible to bid live online in order to win unique experiences auctioned during a charity evening.”
Non-profit organisations organise more than 200,000 charity auctions all over the world per year: a market worth an estimated $16 billion dollars, where CharityStars aims to enhance online connectivity and accessibility. By way of example, a recent fundraising dinner held by a major sporting organisation offered the spectacles worn by former Juventus player Edgar Davids for auction. These were eventually won by a Chinese collector, who had followed the auction online throughout the evening.
CharityStars works closely with each organisation that it benefits – through live and online auctions, as well as lotteries – giving valuable marketing support to each non-profit organisation. This completes the company’s mission to become true ambassadors for corporate philanthropy. With the recent investment, its profile within the UK is set to dramatically increase in future.
