Following Boston accelerator, Pinkaloo launches charitable giving pilot with Eastern Bank

Coming out of a noted Boston accelerator program, Baltimore’s Pinkaloo has a tangible outcome to show: a pilot of its charitable giving software with Eastern Bank.

Called Give for Good, the initiative allows customers to manage charitable giving within the Boston-based bank’s online banking and mobile experiences. It’s designed to provide a central place to pick a nonprofit of a user’s choice to support and track donations. It also provides a tax receipt in real time.

For the Remington-based company, the launch was the culmination of six months of participation in the MassChallenge FinTech (MCFT) program, which was the first finance-focused program from the long-running accelerator. The company was one of 21 startups that participated in the program, which does not take equity.

Along with the focus on a particular area of tech, the work directly with Eastern Bank was built into the program, Pinkaloo CEO Gideon Taub said.

“For us the real draw was the focus on connecting and partnering startups with enterprise organizations that were looking to innovate and looking to partner, and a tangible goal and a tangible outcome by end of the program,” Taub said.

Super impressed by #MCFT19 cohort #fintech #startup @pinkalootech and partner @easternbank for their incredible work during our inaugural program! #EasternLabs #FintechforGood #GiveforGood https://t.co/VFEcRWGeWJ

— MassChallenge FinTech (@MassChallengeFT) July 17, 2019

When Pinkaloo joined the program after an initial “matchmaking” session, the company and Eastern Bank were teamed with the specific intent of developing a consumer-facing pilot. Working with a startup provides a new way for a financial institution that’s billed as the oldest and largest mutual bank in the United States to embrace new approaches.

“Accessing new innovative startups through our partnership with MCFT helps us test out new digital products with our customers and provide them with a best in class digital experience. Gideon and the Pinkaloo team have been wonderful to work with during the MCFT program, and we’re excited to be piloting our new Give for Good platform with them,” said Ashley Nagle Eknaian, Eastern Bank’s chief digital strategist and head of Eastern Labs, in a statement.

Launched in 2017 by Taub and COO Daniel Gardner, six-employee Pinkaloo is working with customers such as ADP, Guidestar and America’s Charities. The realLIST 2019 company’s latest pilot with Eastern Bank is indicative that the team is seeing opportunities for banks to offer the charitable giving option to their customers.

“We’re seeing a lot of traction amongst financial institutions looking to differentiate and engage with products that their customers are passionate about and excited to use,” Taub said.