Candid GuideStar vs. GoFundMe Charity

It is just my go-to for any information I need on a potential client as I work in the non-profit consulting space and need to better understand my prospects. As a former nonprofit exec, I valued what we could share on the site as a gold seal for others to learn about our worthiness to invest.

Incentivized

GoFundMe is well suited for personal appeals where a story can be told and donors feel an immediate result or effect. It is less appropriate for larger mass appeals that are not targeted directly to a specific cause. For example, not good for companies to ask for funding for operating expenses.

Incentivized

• Identifying information from funder 990s
• Gives credence to transparency claims

Incentivized

• Peer-to-peer fundraising
• Fundraising pages

Incentivized

• Most 990s are typically a few years behind.
• Organization profiles are only as complete as the organization makes them.

Incentivized

• Need a clearer picture of your campaign status, especially around publishing (making it live).
• Processing rates are not horrible but not great either - If we used our own processor our fees would be cut in half.

Incentivized

GoFundMe is very easy to use and does a great job allowing us to share insights and stories to leave a lasting impression on donors. From setting up the account to ending the appeal, the entire process has been very user-friendly. I'm very impressed with the experience so far and plan to continue using it for future campaigns.

Incentivized

Any support I've ever had to get from them was quick and professional. Their online guides/help docs are also easy to read.

Incentivized

Crowdrise has been great with their customer support. They have always been helpful and available. They also have several resources on their website that has been useful to other areas of our non-profit. Their relatability has been positive for us and has made us feel taken care of and considered.

Incentivized

I have always used Guidestar as my go-to not only when I was a non-profit executive and wanted to ensure we remained worthy of their rating but also now as a non-profit consultant where I need to understand my current and potential partners across financials, key contacts, board members, etc.

Incentivized

Since GFM was selected for us I can't give the rationale behind that. However, I do think that Qgiv and Salsa are more internally user-friendly and provide at least the same amount of functionality. That being said, the other two (I think) require CRMs to use whereas GFM can just integrate with others, making it a better choice for one-off campaigning.

Incentivized

• More informed grant proposals.
• Able to easily and efficiently complete grant research.

Incentivized

• Brought in new donors from outside our solicitation area.
• Appeals to younger audiences.
• Great way to include client testimonials and stories.

Incentivized