Fundraising is big business.
With tools such as fundraising software making it easy for nonprofits to digitize their fundraising efforts and utilize the power of social media to spread the word about their causes, it’s no wonder that 60 percent of millennials donate an average of $481 each year. You can even create a digital silent auction these days.
It’s no surprise, then that with the popularity of crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe, nonprofits are turning more and more to fundraising tools that include peer-to-peer options. But, like any software, these tools can be expensive (such as pricey GoFundMe fees.) For small nonprofits just starting out, these solutions are potentially prohibitively expensive.
Luckily, there are several free fundraising software platforms available that are either completely free, only charge credit card processing fees or only take a percentage of the donations collected as their fee. As it stands, there are very few fundraising software platforms that are 100 percent free. Oftentimes, they only charge fees relative to your fundraising success. The more successful you are, the more you may need to pay.
We’ve compiled a list of 10 free fundraising platforms that do not charge initial fees to utilize them:
The list we’ve outlined here includes any nonprofit software that includes fundraising features with an available free offering. They may only support one user or one project, but they’re truly free offerings. Scaling, however, will often require full investments.
These products alone have well over 200 validated user reviews on G2 Crowd as of August 23, 2018, and only represent a small portion of the 150-plus fundraising software offerings listed on our platform. Whenever possible, the products are ranked by user satisfaction score.
Image courtesy of Bloomerang
Bloomerang is a platform for nonprofits to manage their fundraising, create and design email messaging and monitor their social media profiles. Users can create profiles for each individual giver and see their donation history, engagement with your nonprofit and “generosity score.”
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What users like:
“Bloomerang makes it easy to keep track of our donors, how much they have given, when they have given and how they are involved. It makes it super simple for anyone in the organization to get on and see how we have been communicating and what has been communicated with each individual donor. I also love how I can BCC Bloomerang on any email and they will automatically upload the email to the corresponding donor's profile.”
— Bloomerang review by Lydia S.
What users dislike:
“The email blast tech is solid, but a little clunky. It doesn't integrate well with how we do our newsletter on our website, but I can do it. Also, some of the reporting is difficult for me to answer specific questions. That said, the reporting is a million times better than what I've had before and so that is splitting a fine hair.”
— Bloomerang review by Sarah T.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
“If you're looking for a donor platform with robust reporting solutions, frequent updates and very timely support, Bloomerang is the right fit for you. If you want attractive donor pages, however, know that you'll have to build and host them yourself, as their platform's pages leave much to be desired.”
— Bloomerang review by an administrator in nonprofit organization management
Image courtesy of Qgiv
Qgiv is a fundraising platform that helps users create online fundraising pages and peer-to-peer fundraising events with social fundraising pages. Users can also use a mobile device to collect in-person donations.
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Paid option:
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What users like:
“I've used Qgiv at three different nonprofits now, and I absolutely love it! The tools are perfect for the small- to medium-sized organizations I work with, including ready-to-go forms, messages and events, PLUS great options for customization. And their customer support absolutely cannot be beat! Their support team is responsive, knowledgeable and always open to feedback for improvements.”
— Qgiv review by Julie O.
What users dislike:
“We like to push the limits of Qgiv, which means it can't always do exactly what we dream up, but Qgiv listens to our requests and input. They offer alternative solutions while they work toward implementing improvements.”
— Qgiv review by Sarah W.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
“This is not the software for you if you are needing one-time payments. Really consider your use of technology like Apple products, Square readers, and your need for recurring payments. This software does not cover all needs.”
— Qgiv review by an administrator in religious institutions
Image courtesy of Qgiv
Donately is a nonprofit fundraising tool used to create fundraising web pages, embed donation forms and collect donor information. The pricing structure revolves around paying a percentage of the donations collected to the platform.
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What users like:
“For someone that is not very "tech-y" like me, this made my job easy. It is extremely user-friendly and donor friendly as well.”
— Donately review by Hannah H.
What users dislike:
“I'm not a developer, so I had a couple of challenges with the styling of our donation form once it was embedded. But, again, CTO Bryan was a huge help and made sure I got it all working right.”
— Donately review by a consultant in aviation & aerospace
Recommendations to others considering the product:
“Make sure you understand the fees. They are not too different from others in the same industry.”
— Donately review by Rodney S.
Image courtesy of Fundraising Report Card
Fundraising Report Card is a performance analytics and reporting tool designed specifically for nonprofits. The tool is built to help nonprofit administrators understand which parts of their fundraising strategy are working (and which are not) so they can recover lost donors.
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What users like:
“I like data. But pulling reports into Excel to manipulate data by hand to get detailed reports on fundraising data takes forever. Fundraising Report Card integrates with our CRM [Kindful] and so now, I push a button, and 10 minutes later — I get to look at ALL of my data in so many ways along with beautiful charts ... it takes minutes to prepare detailed and professional reports for my board of directors instead of hours.”
— Fundraising Report Card review by Amanda M.
What users dislike:
“You need to have Excel abilities that are above average. If you lack Excel abilities the product will not work for you, hence I believe more training should be given to customers who use this product.”
— Fundraising Report Card review by a user in a civic & social organization
Image courtesy of DonorBox
DonorBox is an online fundraising platform that enables nonprofits to set up online donation popup widgets for their websites. Through these widgets, donors can create monthly recurring donations or make a one-time gift. The platform can integrate with a variety of CMS systems and users can export donor data in a CSV.
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Paid option:
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What users like:
“Quick and easy to set up, no cost for small projects.”
— DonorBox review by Rob L.
What users dislike:
“They have Weekly, Monthly and Annual recurring options. It would be great to have a ‘Quarterly’ option (every 3 months).
“Also, they accept donations through Stripe and PayPal. Some cryptocurrency support would be great too.”
— DonorBox review by an administrator
Image courtesy of Snowball
Snowball is a digital fundraising platform that allows nonprofits to create online giving pages, peer-to-peer fundraising pages and special fundraising event tools such as fundraising thermometers. Nonprofits can also collect transaction and donor data to help focus future fundraising efforts.
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Paid option:
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What users like:
“I like how personalized and simple the process is. It's quick, easy and transactions are easy to track.”
— Snowball review by Martina Krystelle P.
What users dislike:
“The only thing that I don't like is the length of time it takes to get paid.”
— Snowball review by a user in non-profit organization management
Image courtesy of Fundly
Fundly is a crowdsourced fundraising platform that allows users to post their cause and raise money by leveraging their social network contacts. The platform is free to use, but a fee is charged for each transaction. All donation pages are hosted on the Fundly site.
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What users like:
“Fundly allows people to raise funds with no requirements, which provides a lot of flexibility to set up different types of campaigns. They also offer some support along the way by presenting some campaign ideas. And for those who are accustomed to mobile, the experience is all mobile-optimized.”
— Fundly review by an administrator in non-profit organization management
What users dislike:
“Fundly, compared with other big grassroots fundraising programs, is less well known. You would have to have a lot of connections to really raise money on the website, as you don't receive a lot of exposure.”
— Fundly review by Vivan M.
Image courtesy of ProcessDonation
ProcessDonation is a nonprofit fundraising tool that helps administrators create fundraising pages, organize peer-to-peer fundraising efforts and fundraise using mobile devices. Users can also organize fundraising events and create a custom or ticket-selling process. The platform is also mobile-friendly.
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Be the first to write a ProcessDonation review!
Image courtesy of DONATION LITE
DONATION Lite is the free version of the DONATION platform. Created for smaller nonprofits with limited needs, DONATION Lite helps nonprofits track donors and their donation history using a variety of reports and profiles.
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Be the first to write a DONATION Lite review!
Image courtesy of Revv
Revv is a donation platform that optimizes leads by allowing users to create and manage custom fundraising pages and forms. Users can also collect donations online and create event pages to sell tickets for a fundraising event.
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Next steps for selecting the best free fundraising software
Free fundraising software can be a great tool for your small or new nonprofit venture. While many of these tools aren’t free in the traditional sense, their pricing models are typical of the pricing models within the industry.
If you’d like some tips on how to boost your digital fundraising, check out our guide on fundraising strategies, or set up a Facebook fundraiser.
* Please note: Reviews may have been edited for spelling and grammar.
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