DIGITAL FUNDRAISING

Rafflebox

Modernizing the raffle from Nova Scotia

lmost a decade ago, the province of Nova Scotia was in the midst of a brain drain. More than 1,300 people aged 20 to 29 left annually, taking their education, vision, and energy with them. In 2015, hoping to reverse the trend, the local economic development agency launched its Game Changers Youth Retention Action Plan with the goal of creating opportunities for young, local professionals by encouraging local businesses to hire them.

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Among those who had left the province was Simon Cusack, a network technician who, like many, had gone west to Calgary, Alberta, home to North America’s fastest-growing tech scene, a.k.a. the snowy Silicon Valley. Cusack and his cofounder, Matthew Broussard, had in 2016 set up Rafflebox, a digital fundraising platform to help take charities and nonprofits into the digital age. They held their first digital raffle in 2019. From his office in Calgary, Cusack heard from friends back home that the fintech scene was flourishing in Atlantic Canada. Building on its history as a banking center and a hub for call centers, and drawing from its innovative universities, more than 150 fintechs now call Atlantic Canada home.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, in 2020, two things happened, one in Cusack’s work, another in his personal life: With charities unable to host in-person events, Rafflebox’s growth went into overdrive, and Cusack (now a parent) felt a growing urge to move home to Nova Scotia. In 2021, the company opened its Halifax office, now the company’s largest employment center.

“Moving Rafflebox back to the east coast was the best decision we made,” Cusack says. “There’s lots of great talent coming home—and lots of extremely smart individuals already here.”

For Cusack, what makes Atlantic Canada so special for a start-up is the sense of comradery, where the entire community is hoping for the success of all new businesses, where mentors from other companies are plentiful, and where universities have designed tech incubators to nurture the next generation of visionaries.

“Nova Scotia is a really great spot to build a company. There’s lots of potential, lots of talent, lots of resources, and a great work ethic,” he says, adding that companies consistently work together for the common good. “There’s a mindset here that’s different from some other places. Now, one of our main goals is to continue finding the bulk of our staff within Nova Scotia, hiring locally to keep our jobs within the province.”

Headquarters: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Founded: 2016
No. of employees: 45+
Website: rafflebox.ca

Eight years after launching its Game Changers program, Nova Scotia’s efforts—with the aid of the business-boosting Halifax Partnership—certainly appear to have born fruit. Beyond attracting residents like Cusack and his employees back home, 104 Halifax start-ups were led by immigrants in 2023, more than one-third of all start-ups in the province.

Back home now for a few years, Cusack feels his decision to relocate back to Nova Scotia was the right one. “My life is different now, perhaps a little slower that my life was in Alberta. Work-life balance is very important for our organization, and I think people in general are beginning to understand that work–life balance is maybe more important than money.”