Impala is a for-profit software-based business platform that is designed to allow grantmakers and fundraisers to research and analyze nonprofits ecosystem while identifying potential clients, connections, and grantmakers. 1
Impala claims to have mapped 213 million relationships between funders and foundations, with more than 3 million organizations and 3 million e-mails available as a part of its database. 2
History and Leadership
Impala was co-founded in June 2020 by Harvard University alumni Shahar Brukner and Simon Dickson. In September 2024, Impala launched a nonprofit relationship-building tool called Paths. 3 4 1
As of September 2024, Brukner is the CEO of Impala. 5 Brukner is also the founder of the nonprofit group Israeli Policy Fellowship. 6
Danielle Belanger is Impala’s partnerships director, David Fox-Estrin is the partnerships manager, and Laurel Chausse is a customer success member. 7
Activities
Impala is a for-profit software-based business platform designed to allow grant makers and fundraisers to research and analyze nonprofits while identifying potential clients, connections, and grant makers. 1
Impala’s data analysis services claim to assist grant makers in conducting research, engaging funders across different networks, and connecting with potential board members. It further claims to assist consultants with conducting business development while running matchmaking services to connect consultants with new clients. 8
Impala’s “Path Service” claims to be designed to allow grantmakers to collaborate and communicate across different sectors, while supporting business development, cultivating client lists, and providing service enhancement for providers and vendors. 8
On its website, Impala claims to have mapped roughly 213 million relationships between funders and foundations, including roughly 3 million organizations and 3 million e-mails that are available as a part of its database. 2
Impala claims to allows nonprofit members the means to conduct grant and funders research, create lists of potential clients, and allows members to compare themselves to other nonprofits in similar networks. 1
The tool’s database is made from over 16 million individuals listed in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 tax returns that allows for data mapping and different networks of data for its users to utilize. 2
For grantmakers specifically, Impala claims to run a separate service platform 9 that allows members to look at profiles on nonprofits located in the United States, analyzing and comparing portfolios with other nonprofits, and identifying funding organizations that overlap with other nonprofit groups. 1
For fundraisers, Impala’s data provides a list of fundraisers that includes grants and peer nonprofits. The organization also provides contact information for potential funders on its portal. 10 Impala also hosts webinars for grant makers 11 and conferences on philanthropy. 12 The left-of-center U.S. Democracy Hub is a project of Impala. 13
Partners and Cooperation
Impala is in partnership with Philanthropy Massachusetts while previously working with nonprofit foundations including the Jewish Funders Network, the Foundation for Metrowest, the Barr Foundation, the Boston Foundation, Multifaith Alliance, Essex Community Foundation, and the Palette Fund. 14 7 11
Impala has also co-hosted events with similar organizations including Philanthropy Massachusetts, MetroWest Nonprofit Network, HSF, Foundation for Metrowest, UTEC, Boston Women’s Fund, the Boston Foundation, Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, Community Foundation for Nantucket, ECCF, United Way of Greater New Bedford, Jacob’s Pillow, Mass Cultural Council, TSNE, and One Worcester. 15 7
Funding
Impala is a for-profit entity. Its main sources of revenue include monthly service fees for its customers, ranging from $90 to $142 per month 8 while fees for fundraisers are charged $5,000 per year. 10
Impala has received financial support from the Barr Foundation and the Boston Foundation. 7 In its first round of pre-seed investing fundraising in 2022, Impala raised a reported $1.05 million. 16
References
- “impala.” Idealist. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.idealist.org/en/business/86e153ac6d244412b61f726cc3546e24-impala-kings-county.
- “The Unified Platform for the Nonprofit Sector.” Impala. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://impala.digital/.
- “Impala.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/company/impala-digital-platform/about/.
- “Impala Platform Launches Nonprofit Relationship Building Tool, Paths.” NonProfit PRO. September 20, 2023. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.nonprofitpro.com/article/impala-platform-launches-nonprofit-relationship-building-tool-paths/.
- “About Impala.” Impala. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://impala.digital/about-us.
- “Shahar Brukner.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 30, 0224. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahar-brukner-959b63165/.
- “PowerPoint Introduction to the Boston Foundation Community.” Impala. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://www.tbf.org/-/media/tbf/files/forum-materials/impala-info-session-ppt.pdf.
- “Testimonials.” Impala. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://impala.digital/paths.
- “Grantmakers.” Impala. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://impala.digital/who-we-serve-grantmakers.
- “Impala for Fundraisers.” Impala. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://impala.digital/impala-for-fundraisers.
- “Meet impala: A Free, New Network Platform for Grantseekers & Fundraisers.” The Boston Foundation. October 24, 2022. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://www.tbf.org/news-and-insights/videos/2022/october/impala-info-session-20221024.
- “Events.” Impala. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://impala.digital/events.
- “Home.” U.S. Democracy Hub. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://impala.digital/democracy.
- “Home.” Impala. Accessed September 30, 2024.
- “Tweet.” Impala. Posted July 10, 2023. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://x.com/impala_digital/status/1678381812475731969.
- “Impala Raises $1.05M for its Business Intelligence Platform for the Non-Profit World.” AlleyWatch. January 2022. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://www.alleywatch.com/2022/01/impala-business-intelligence-non-profit-platform-data-simon-dickson/.