SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bright Funds, in conjunction with #GivingTuesday – the national day of giving – announced the public launch of its donation platform, which aims to dramatically change the way donors give to charity. Bright Funds intends to solve three primary problems faced by donors:

1. Donors – especially Millennials – are frustrated by both the lack of an enjoyable giving experience and the lack of innovation in the charitable giving space
2. Donors demand accountability in their dealings with nonprofits
3. Donors increasingly care about the impact and outcomes of their donations.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121127/SF18984LOGO)

Bright Funds enables donors to invest in "mutual funds" of the world's best nonprofits through an online technology platform that integrates seamlessly into social media and employee benefit systems.  Bright Funds members build a personalized portfolio of funds such as poverty, education and the environment. For example, a donor may allocate 60% of her portfolio to water and 40% to education, and in a single transaction of any amount, have her contribution evenly allocated among the carefully selected nonprofits in each respective fund.

Co-founder Ty Walrod said of the launch, "This is a game changing development in the donation process.  Donors can focus on causes, rather than individual nonprofits. Each of our funds addresses a significant global challenge, and our approach ensures that a contribution to one of our funds is an investment in a holistic, sustainable solution to a big world problem."  Walrod previously co-founded and built OutServe, the association of LGBT service members, which within just two years became one of the most influential LGBT organizations in Washington and the largest LGBT employee resource group in the world. Walrod was inspired to start Bright Funds after his experience with donors and lessons learned building OutServe.

According to Leila Janah, the Founder and CEO of Samasource, "Bright Funds combines the visibility of Mint.com with the trust of Vanguard into a single, great service improving the way we invest in nonprofits. Bright Funds has the potential to revolutionize the way we give." Janah is both an advisor to and investor in Bright Funds.

About Bright Funds: Founded in February of 2012 and based in San Francisco, California, Bright Funds is a better way to give, helping people direct their charitable giving to the causes they care about.  With Bright Funds, individuals and employees create personalized giving portfolios and contribute to thoroughly researched funds of highly effective nonprofits, all working to address the greatest challenges of our time.  In one platform, Bright Funds brings together the power of research, the reliability of a trusted financial service, and the convenience of centralized contributions and tax reporting.  Learn how you can invest in a better world at brightfunds.org, and follow @brightfunds on twitter.

SOURCE Bright Funds