Change.org raises $25 million from Bill Gates, other big-name investors

Change.org, the platform where users can start petitions and collect online signatures, announced Tuesday that it has raised $25 million in new funding from a high-profile group of investors that includes Bill Gates, Ariana Huffington, Richard Branson and cofounders of Yahoo, Twitter, eBay and LinkedIn.

The funding will go toward expanding the company's engineering team to ramp up global expansion and mobile development and engage politicians and businesses to register, Change.org President and COO Jennifer Dulski told Mashable.

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The company was founded in 2007 by Ben Rattray as a social network for activists, which evolved into a blogging platform before finally reaching its current format as petition hosting service in 2011. The company's status as a certified "B-Corporation" means that its commitment to social responsibility must be regularly reviewed by a third-party nonprofit organization. Read more...

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