Doing good is going well: Startup The Social Handshake raises 1.1 million euros in funding 

In short:

• Investment by, among others by JEX, Velocity Fintech Capital and Boralis to sustain rapid growth of Dutch startup The Social Handshake.

• Shortage on the labour market increases demand for ‘payroll giving’ as a benefit to attract and retain talent.

• Growth money is therefore a consequence of increasing demand from businesses for the possibility of tax-free donating to charities.

Amsterdam May 19 2022 – The platform for ‘payroll giving’ The Social Handshake has secured €1.1 million in capital. Via the platform, employees can support charities tax-free, straight from their salary. The popularity of these payroll giving donations has increased exponentially. With this investment, the Amsterdam-based startup therefore wants to sustain the rapid growth and develop complementary products. The investment was led by JEX and Velocity Fintech Capital. Boralis and various startup founders also took part in this investment round.

Shortage on the labour market
Given the shortage on the labour market, the expansion of benefits is one of the HR trends. Also, an increasing amount of employers want to visibly contribute to a sustainable and social world, not least to attract talent. The Social Handshake connects employers, employees and charities through Payroll Giving. Using this platform, employees can support charities of their own choice, straight from their salary. Moreover, they enjoy a tax benefit, which ensures that it costs less to give more. This way, employees and employers make more impact together. The phenomenon of ‘payroll giving’ has existed abroad for a longer period of time and is already popular in the Netherlands among generation Z and millennials.

Sandra van Beest, Founder and CEO of The Social Handshake: “7 in 10 employees expects their workplace to offer possibilities for social impact. Since the launch, we have been flooded with companies wanting to start with Payroll Giving, because doing good has to be easy and people want their euros to end up at the right place. Scaling up with the help of growth money is therefore important. Eventually, we want Payroll Giving to be just as common as a bicycle plan or a day of volunteering, courtesy of the workplace.

100% to charity
With Payroll Giving, charities do not have any fundraising costs and the administrative costs are paid for by the employer. This way, nothing is lost when it comes to the donation. Wessel van Eeden from JustDiggit, one of the charities affiliated with Payroll Giving: “We receive 100% of Payroll Giving donations from The Social Handshake. We can wholly use this to make Africa greener and cooler.” Or even more, as an increasing amount of employers opt to double donations or take part in one-time actions. For example, there is Emergency Giving for Ukraine, but also Christmas Giving, allowing companies to grant employees a budget to donate to charities, instead of a Christmas package. The Social Handshake takes care of the administration and secure payments.

Trusted by corporates and investors.
The Social Handshake can already count on impressive customers such as BUX, Squla, Bain & Company, The Student Hotel and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. With the new group of investors, The Social Handshake also taps into a large network to accelerate the growth. Besides JEX, Velocity Fintech Capital and Boralis, multiple angel investors and startup founders were a part of the investment round. The total financing for The Social Handshake in this round therefore amounts to €1.1 million.

Nick Hillebrand, Founder and General Director of JEX: “The vision of The Social Handshake seamlessly connects to the societal impact that JEX wants to make. We furthermore have the network from JEX to further accelerate the growth and, with that, increase the impact.”