11 Top Social Impact Startups to Follow in 2024

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Social impact startups work to develop solutions to major problems facing the world today. Whether it is fighting food waste or developing environmental impact solutions to address the climate crisis, these company's innovations help to create a brighter future.

We identified the most exciting, innovative, and creative social impact companies to watch in 2024 and beyond. From recycling revolutions to a bureaucratic document reader for immigrants, these are the top social impact startups to follow. 

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Social Impact Companies to Watch

Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the most exciting social impact startups of 2024 that startup-lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow. 

Disclaimer: With so many exciting startups launching and growing worldwide, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.

1. Blisser

  • Location: Stockholm, Sweden
  • Founders: Andre Haug, Sara Fernstrom
  • Founded In: 2020
  • Funding: Angel, $940,000
  • Investors Include: Talent Resources Ventures, AlphaLab Capital

Blisser is a social impact startup that connects users with impactful leaders and prestigious talent, uniting them for the greater good by allowing people to purchase personalized video content from the artists and leaders they admire, with the profits being donated directly to a charity of the talent's choice. On the digital platform, users can send and receive personal messages from the talent to help inspire and entertain, and global social issues are given center stage, with no less than 10% of every purchase going directly to a charity. Blisser was founded in 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic to create positive change in the world.

2. CIRCA5000

  • Location: London, United Kingdom
  • Founders: Matt Latham, Tom McGillycuddy
  • Founded In: 2018
  • Funding: Equity Crowdfunding, $16.6 Million
  • Investors Include: 500 Global, Ada Ventures, Possible Ventures

CIRCA5000 calls itself the investment platform of the human future. This social impact startup, also known as CIRCA5K, is an impact investing app that connects investors with causes they believe in. The startup was founded with the aim of revolutionizing the world of investment and showing future generations that wealth can be built while simultaneously contributing towards a better overall future for the planet and humanity.

3. Do Good Points

Do Good Points is a social fintech startup founded by Andy Choi. On a mission to gamify giving, Do Good Points offers the first rewards system for charitable donations. The startup also boasts an internal nonprofit, The Do Good Foundation, which seeks to make a positive impact through the improvement of mental health for younger generations.

4. ABC Doc

  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Founders: Marina Guseva, Vladislav Pinskij
  • Founded In: 2020
  • Funding: Seed, $546,000
  • Investors Include: Impulse VC

ABC Doc is a Berlin-based social impact startup that provides a web-based service to recognize bureaucratic letters, develop a summary of the letter, and suggest next steps using artificial intelligence. This relatively young company's product offering also includes an app that allows users to quickly assess the content of a letter, help them determine whether they need to take action, and either reply, dispute, pay, or, locate relevant legal assistance if required. The offering is specifically focused on tackling bureaucratic inequality in Germany, which has historically created a major problem for the migrant community.

5. Sana Labs

Sanas' tagline is "Goodbye one-size-fits-all," and in this social impact startup's context, that refers to workplace learning. The company seeks to help democratize learning in the workplace by creating an engaging and personalized education platform. This edtech solution uses artificial intelligence to create an all-in-one platform that empowers organizations to design, deliver, and optimize learning material that adapts to each individual's unique learning style. This makes workplace education more enjoyable and accessible and also helps team members feel more fulfilled and satisfied in their roles. Sana partners with many influential and fast-growing organizations globally to help empower their teams to achieve their full potential. 

6. FreeWater

  • Location: Austin, Texas
  • Founders: Josh Cliffords 
  • Founded In: 2020 
  • Funding: Self-Funded, $270,000
  • Investors Include: N/A

FreeWater is an innovative social startup that is giving water away for free while donating to charity. By selling advertisements on their paper water bottles, the startup is able to provide free drinking water as well as build water wells in Africa. The startup’s next big mission: free supermarkets. 

7. Trellis Housing Finance Limited

  • Location: Karachi, Pakistan
  • Founders: Jamshed Meherhomji, Samuel Hjelmfelt
  • Founded In: 2020
  • Funding: Seed, $2 Million
  • Investors Include: Fatima Gobi Ventures, Insitor Partners

Trellis Housing Finance Limited seeks to provide affordable home financing to low and middle-income earners in Pakistan. This social impact startup's values include equal opportunity, meritocracy, innovation, integrity, and respect, and it is on a mission to take the lead in Pakistan's housing finance market through product innovation and the introduction of technology to reduce costs.

8. Deed

  • Location: Brooklyn, New York
  • Founders: Aske Ertmann, Deevee Kashi, Steven Liu
  • Founded In: 2016
  • Funding: Series A, $12.8 Million
  • Investors Include: Y Combinator, SquareOne Venture Capital, Earlybird Venture Capital

Deed's slogan is “technology for togetherness,” and the startup lives up to this phrase. With Deed, workplace giving, donations, and volunteering opportunities are melded into one easy-to-use platform. From a streamlined user experience built to keep employees engaged to a content library packed with volunteer opportunities, Deed is a digital transformation in corporate volunteering.

9. Goodr

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia
  • Founders: Jasmine Crowe
  • Founded In: 2017
  • Funding: Series A, $12.3 Million
  • Investors Include: Backstage Capital, Precursor Ventures, Tech Square Ventures

Goodr is a food surplus management platform working to eliminate food insecurity for underserved communities and combat food waste overall. Through their SaaS product, built on the blockchain, businesses are able to earn money through the donation of potential food waste. This is done by connecting the business with nonprofits and other organizations for donations and providing them with an IR-friendly donation record for tax purposes. The platform is built not only to help feed communities but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

10. FreeWill

  • Location: New York, New York
  • Founders: Jennifer Xia, Patrick Schmitt
  • Founded In: 2016
  • Funding: Series B, $30 Million
  • Investors Include: Bain Capital Double Impact Fund, ICONIQ Growth, HearstLab

At the crossroads of legal tech and social impact is FreeWill, a startup dedicated to offering legal forms and information for estate planning. Through FreeWill, donors and fundraisers are able to draft a will or living will easily, make beneficiary designations, and assign durable financial power of attorney (DFPOA). The platform is supported by nonprofits and is 100% free to use.

11. Goodera

  • Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Founders: Abhishek Humbad, Richa Bajpai
  • Founded In: 2020
  • Funding: Series A, $27.6 Million
  • Investors Include: Elevation Capital, Zoom Ventures, Omidyar Network

Goodera makes corporate volunteering easier than ever without sacrificing impact. Their platform boasts over one million employee volunteers in over 100 countries from major companies such as McDonald's, Target, and Amazon. A global CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility platform, Goodera leverages data science as well as cloud and voice technology to bring volunteer opportunities to companies and people worldwide.

Final Thoughts

Using new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, social impact startups are equipped with the tools to empower their users to change the world. From streamlined CSR program opportunities to free estate planning, these mission-driven startups have made waves in the past year, bringing their vision to the world.

Whether you're interested in launching a social impact startup, dabbling in impact investing, or working at a social care company, these new platforms are the top startups to watch in the social impact sector.