BGF-backed Eventmaster acquires iDonate

Eventmaster, the leading Irish fundraising, ticketing and membership platform, supported by BGF, has acquired iDonate, one of Ireland’s best-known digital fundraising platforms.

Eventmaster has delivered strong growth in recent years, expanding its customer base, and scaling its platform across fundraising, ticketing and membership services for organisations nationwide. Led by Founder and CEO John Cleary, the company has continued to innovate and expand its presence in the Irish market.

Meanwhile, iDonate has grown to become one of Ireland’s best-known fundraising platforms, under the leadership of Alan Coyne, CEO. It supports charities and community groups, with online fundraising tools and a strong donor experience.

John Cleary, Founder & CEO at Eventmaster, said: “The acquisition of iDonate represents a significant step forward for Eventmaster. This acquisition reinforces the position of Eventmaster as the industry leader across event participation ticketing, and now fundraising, in Ireland. We look forward to delivering an enhanced service to our existing customers, and extending our ticketing and membership products to the iDonate customer base in both the domestic and international markets.”

The acquisition will combine Eventmaster’s event management, ticketing and membership capabilities with iDonate’s fundraising expertise, creating a single, end-to-end solution for charities, community groups, sporting organisations and event organisers.

Alan Coyne, CEO at iDonate, said: “For over 15 years, iDonate has focused on empowering charities and fundraisers with simple, powerful technology. Becoming part of the Eventmaster group allows us to accelerate our vision, and significantly expand what we can offer charities, fundraisers and event organisers. Eventmaster shares our values, our ambition and our commitment to delivering best-in-class technology. This marks a major milestone for iDonate, and a very positive step forward for our customers and team, enabling us to innovate faster, scale internationally and continue raising the bar for digital fundraising.”

As part of the transaction, Alan Coyne will continue with the combined business and will lead fundraising across the group, working alongside John Cleary and the wider team.

Eventmaster raised growth capital from BGF in 2024, which provided funding to support the company’s strategic development, product roadmap, and continued expansion across Ireland and internationally. In connection with this transaction, BGF is also providing follow-on growth capital, to support Eventmaster’s acquisition of iDonate, reinforcing its long-term commitment to backing Irish, founder-led businesses executing ambitious growth plans.

The acquisition strengthens Eventmaster’s fundraising proposition and broadens the combined group’s ability to serve customers across multiple use cases, from ticket sales and event registrations to memberships and digital fundraising campaigns.

The combined business will focus on: building an integrated customer experience, enabling organisers and charities to manage participation, fundraising and engagement in one ecosystem; elevated fundraising capabilities, blending iDonate’s brand strength with Eventmaster’s platform and infrastructure; and an enhanced product roadmap, improving usability, reporting and supporter engagement over time.

Joe Higgins, Investor at BGF, commented: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Eventmaster, as it embarks on the next stage of its growth journey. Eventmaster has demonstrated impressive momentum in building a market-leading platform for fundraising, ticketing and membership services in Ireland. The acquisition of iDonate represents a highly complementary strategic move that will strengthen the group’s offering, and deliver even greater value to charities, community organisations and event organisers nationwide. Our follow-on investment underlines BGF’s long-term commitment to backing ambitious, founder-led businesses with the potential to scale and innovate.”