Give InKind, a Tacoma, Wash.-based startup that helps people create giving platforms to support their friends and family, was acquired by Wolfe, a Pittsburgh, Pa-based gift card company.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Give InKind will continue to operate its platform.
“We’re really excited about it,” said Laura Malcolm, CEO of Give InKind. “They are going to power a lot of technology for us to expand our product lines.”
Malcolm said she was wary of trying to fundraise again amid uncertain economic conditions. The startup was getting close to profitability, but the deal with Wolfe will bolster its roadmap while returning some capital to investors. She said she reached out to Wolfe via LinkedIn to get the conversation started.
Malcolm, a former product leader at startups such as Learning Core and Brighter.com, will continue to lead Give InKind as CEO. The 9-person company will remain in Tacoma, just south of Seattle.
Founded in 2016, Give InKind aims to help streamline the giving process between friends and family and those in need of meals or other aid as they go through difficult life situations. It lets users send GrubHub deliveries, gift boxes, and more than 200 digital gift cards to recipients.
The pandemic drove demand for the company, as hundreds of hospitals and healthcare facilities began using Give InKind to streamline their meal donations. It has facilitated more than $5 million in support to individuals and organizations across the U.S.
The company went through layoffs earlier this year and cut its marketing spend to help extend runway, as many other tech startups have done throughout 2022.
Give InKind raised $3.3 million from investors including Madrona Venture Group; Trilogy Equity Partners; Keeler Investments; FAM Fund; Grubstakes; X Factor Ventures; Alliance of Angels; SeaChange; Tacoma Venture Fund; Tapas Capital; James and Geraldine Moody. It graduated from Graham & Walker’s accelerator program in 2019.
Wolfe originally launched in 1996 and is led by CEO and founder Jason Wolfe. The company operates PerfectGift.com, GiftYa.com, and GiftCardGranny. It sold GiftCards.com for $120 million in 2016.
Wolfe said the company plans to offer Give InKind’s service to corporate clients for employee engagement and “scale up the consumer awareness of such a great service.”