Startups
Founded July 2014, The Human Utility matches families needing help with utility bills to people who want to help though payments direct to utility companies.
For over 40 million families in the United States, water and other essential utilities may be unaffordable. In order to afford utilities, families often forgo medication, food, and transportation. The Human Utility's platform divides a bill similar to a loan syndicate expanding the possible number of donors from around the world able to join together to ensure families never lose access to utility service. Donors are matched with a specific family or donate to a universal assistance fund.
Later, we use utility data to design interventions addressing the root causes of why people need help with their utility bills with the goal of never having them lose service again
For over 40 million families in the United States, water and other essential utilities may be unaffordable. In order to afford utilities, families often forgo medication, food, and transportation. The Human Utility's platform divides a bill similar to a loan syndicate expanding the possible number of donors from around the world able to join together to ensure families never lose access to utility service. Donors are matched with a specific family or donate to a universal assistance fund.
Later, we use utility data to design interventions addressing the root causes of why people need help with their utility bills with the goal of never having them lose service again
Overview
Location
United States, California, Oakland
Employees
11-50
Total raised
$120K
Founded date
2014
Investors 1
| Date | Name | Website |
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Funding Rounds 1
| Date | Series | Amount | Investors |
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Mentions in press and media 12
| Date | Title | Description |
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| Jun 10, 2020 | Potential down market could temper VCs’ promise of more diversity | Venture hiring by definition is exclusive. Legally, investors have to be able to fork out their own capital, ranging from hundreds of thousands to multi-millions, to join as a partner of a fund, meaning to be a senior partner typically requ... |
| May 21, 2019 | Request for Startups: Government 2.0 | In 2018, Pew Research Center reported that 57% of Americans believe that children in America today will be worse off financially than their parents. Since 2013, this number has been as high as 65% — even though we are experiencing our 10th ... |
| Feb 20, 2019 | 50 Women-Led Startups That Are Crushing Tech | Stephanie Lampkin, chief executive officer and founder of Blendoor, speaks during the 2019 Makers... [+] Conference in Dana Point, California, U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. The event gathers industry leading females for roundtable discus... |
| Sep 25, 2017 | Tech for good: Filling in the government’s gaps | While traditional industries can get away with ignoring broader social ills or hot-button political issues, tech companies big and small are increasingly expected to solve the former and speak out on the latter — a position that’s either to... |
| Jun 9, 2017 | Funding Friday: The Human Utility Monthly Match | And we are back with this month’s matching campaign to support a good cause. We are moving away from the big well known causes to some lesser known but important efforts to help people who need our help. We are going to start with helping p... |
| Mar 22, 2017 | Causes of the global water crisis and 12 companies trying to solve it | It’s World Water Day. Time to wake up and take shorter showers. That is, if we’re fortunate enough to have them. Water scarcity and pollution are persistent global problems. According to End Water Poverty, some 663 million people around the... |
| Nov 27, 2015 | Founder Stories: Detroit Water Project’s Tiffani Ashley Bell | The co-founder of the Detroit Water Project on creating a non-profit from scratch, coping with government bureaucracy, and how hearing a family’s toilet flush can make it all worthwhile. The Macro : The Detroit Water Project has helped mor... |
| May 6, 2015 | Все стартапы последнего выпуска Y Combinator, ФРИИ, Techstars и Tolstoy Startup Camp Статьи редакции | Редакция ЦП собрала в одном материале все стартапы, которые были представлены на последнем Demo Day стартап-акселераторов Y Combinator, ФРИИ, Techstars и Tolstoy Startup Camp. Y Combinator Выпуск — март 2015 года. Akido Labs — стандартизиро... |
| Mar 18, 2015 | The Detroit Water Project (YC W15) Connects Donors To Unpaid Water Bills | YC welcomes the Detroit Water Project to the Winter 2015 batch: Help can come from anywhere. And people in Detroit need help. In 2014 the City of Detroit was in the middle of the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history and the city ag... |
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FAQ about The Human Utility
When was The Human Utility founded?
The Human Utility was founded in 2014.
How much funding has The Human Utility raised?
The Human Utility has raised $120K in total across 1 funding round.
What has the press written about The Human Utility?
Parsers VC has collected 12 articles mentioning The Human Utility, among them “Potential down market could temper VCs’ promise of more diversity” (Jun 10, 2020) and “Request for Startups: Government 2.0” (May 21, 2019).
Is The Human Utility still active?
Yes, The Human Utility is active; its latest activity on Parsers VC dates from Mar 7, 2024.