GiveSmart is a fundraising, event, and donor management platform. GiveSmart helps organizations to connect more with donors through engaging auctions, events, and digital campaigns.
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Bonterra OneCause
Score 8.8 out of 10
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OneCause supports fundraising with online and event fundraising solutions that help nonprofits reach more and raise more. Since 2008, OneCause states they have helped 14,000 cause-driven organizations to raise over $8B through more than 90,000 fundraising events and campaigns.
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Qtego
Score 6.0 out of 10
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Qtego Auction Services in Indianapolis offers the Qtego mobile application to support silent auctions, guest management, ticketing and event registration, and other functions to support fundraising.
Givesmart does not provide the communications, peer-to-peer fundraising, and event webpage features that Salsa Engage used to have. Salsa CRM allowed us to split donations into multiple campaigns/funds or ledgers. Salsa CRM allowed us to upload copies of gift documents. Salsa …
We used DonorPerfect and Handbid in the past and they lacked all the features we needed and their customer support was insufficient. The user experience on these platforms was always a challenge. GiveSmart is more streamlined and we have had better customer support when we run …
OneCause has much of the same functionality, but GiveSmart was less expensive, which is why we went with them. Classy looks much more polished and has a lot more customization options - both on the user-facing end and the reporting/data/back end - but does not let us have user …
We originally selected Mobile Cause as a solution for offering text-to-give options. After utilizing the platform for that, we realized we could also take advantage of its other features for creating forms on our website. At the time, it offered more options for integration …
I have been a guest at other non-profit events that utilized similar software, and I feel that the GiveSmart platform seems more user-friendly. I cannot speak to the efficiency on the administrative side because I have solely used GiveSmart, but I don't find GiveSmart lacking …
It was quite simple to initially set up the fundraising event page. It gave us options in design and reach. GiveSmart provides thorough spreadsheets which makes reconciling between our platform easy. Customer support was simple to access and available when they were needed. In …
GiveSmart is the platform that was already grandfathered when I entered my role. I used Kindful at my last job and GiveSmart at this one. GiveSmart's check-in and check-out process is significantly more accessible and user-friendly. Still, Kindful was used in sync with Square, …
My organization has been using GiveSmart's online donation form for many years. It integrates well into our website, and we like using it for multiple campaigns. Their Events software integrates with our accounting software, a big plus over what we used before. Other …
GiveSmart allows us to use one system for everything which makes doing business and understanding your donors and donations and operating your events much smoother and more efficient. And the information and insights that you can pull from Givesmart are much more extensive.
Ultimately, we chose GiveSmart because it was the upgraded version of the Abila software we had already been using for years. Our donor records get a unique update each year that most donor CRM organizations don't know how to handle. We also liked how they offered the three …
We liked that we could integrate our MailChimp newsletters and email with GiveSmart, the text messaging feature, and it seems the reporting will be easier for us.
All of these websites suit our organizations for their reasons. They are also used simultaneously to collect data. With GiveSmart, I need one website to do what all these do individually. It causes errors on my end and forces me to look in many places for the same information.
We use Givegab every year for an event called IdahoGives. It is effective, but I would definitely not switch from GiveSmart to it. We may start looking at switching over to Classy if GiveSmart doesn't reactivate the android app for their services
Mainly we chose GiveSmart because it allows the option for a donor to specify a total dollar amount they want to give and then divides that dollar amount into monthly payments for them with ease and without having to create an account. The cost of the software is also much …
We currently use both but for separate reasons. GiveSmart is great for our fundraising events and Stripe works very well for facilitating online donations through our website.
It's more cost effective, for starters. OneCause also has the same features when it comes to events, auctions, and fundraising. Lastly, we feel more supported by the OneCause support team and our success manager than we did with alternative platforms.
OneCause is much more simplified and the service level is much higher. BetterUnite does not have the same level of customer service, and their platform is not as user friendly.
Blackbaud did not have the functionality that I was looking for. I felt like it was too limited. It did not have the silent auction component that I was looking for. Also, Blackbaud charges by the record, which can be very costly, especially when I have a minimum of 10,000 …
We absolutely love 4agood cause for day to day/peer to peer fundraising however, it just was not as robust when it came to event needs which required us to use outside software for those reasons. Givesmart was good, however a change in their packages required outside sourcing …
In our experience, OneCause has more lift on the front end than Greater Giving. Especially since, in my opinion, the registration for a live event isn't of the caliber that I've seen from GG. But, if you can handle the registration and use a third-party tool like GivingFuel or …
OneCause is superior in many ways to GreaterGiving. The website is easy to navigate and the courses and trainings that are offered allow for a smooth transition. There is less room for error, and OneCause helps streamline the process of running such a large event. We've had …
We looked at Auctria and GiveSmart, though we didn't go into great detail with either. We ultimately selected OneCause based on the recommendation of another local school that used it for its auction software. The customer service and support as we made this decision and …
I personally never used Otego but it was more expensive then OneCause and it was a one night deal. With OneCause we get to keep the software all year and get to do more events/ auctions because of that.
GiveSmart definitely works for large in-person ticketed events which also involve auctions, paddle raises, and more. The workflow is relatively easy for guests, and especially for volunteers. We especially like how quickly you can add paddle raise donations to specific people's paddle numbers because it allows us to track in real time. The seating functionality has some odd quirks, but overall it works. We opted not to use it for our main donation capture organization-wide because it doesn't look as professional, nor is it as customizable, as some other options on the market.
They are very well suited at assisting with troubleshooting at registration. They are very helpful at the end of the event, where we are collecting payments and closing out auction items. The ticket process is confusing, and the table seating process is cumbersome.
We used it for mobile bidding at our annual fundraiser. They are also a part of the check-in process. They made both the auction and the check-in process so much easier at the event. We did not use it for donations last year but we absolutely will this year. I personally don't see where it could apply to our company outside of our event, but we will continue to use them for the gala for sure!!
GiveSmart is a very easy-to-use platform that provides robust instruction on use but is so user-friendly that the instructions are mostly not necessary. I find it easy to update, change, and create all aspects of our page. For example, I first used GiveSmart without any instruction from a manager. She instructed me to look around and see what was going on. I was able to navigate the site effectively, and only found a few pieces for which I needed more instruction.
GiveSmart offers a well-made item section. Our gala has a silent auction made up of more than 170 items, and GiveSmart makes it easy to upload those items in bulk or add them individually. It offers every field I would want to have for an item and provides a comprehensive and adjustable front-facing-view for donors that is easy to manipulate.
GiveSmart's main page creator is easy to navigate and create the site you want. They provide helpful details like sizing for images and the ability to create buttons and links and different sections as our needs dictate. It's easy to adjust the colors and design to reflect our branding.
Customer service during planning phases- reps always get back to me to help answer my questions.
Event managers are always great to work with at our Gala. We really need someone to make sure the whole program runs well, and OneCause never disappoints.
Variety of events that we can use this for is awesome! No need for paypal, venmo, etc.
Mobile bidding has been a game changer for us. People can participate in our auction even if they cannot attend the event!
Platform is relatively easy to use- intuitive even for those who are not techy!
The distribution reports do not separate what campaign the transactions were for.
Revenue reports do not clearly state the CC fees for each transaction, which requires manual calculations.
We could not change the item a transaction was billed to if it was wrong. For example, if a donor made a restricted donation but was labeled unrestricted, we were told there was no way to correct it, so we had to keep track of those changes on the side.
Auto-numbering items in auctions need to be editable. Right now, when you add items, they are numbered consecutively, and you can't edit them. I want all of my items to be numbered together by item type. We always have last-minute additions, but there is no ability to renumber.
For the most part, we are very satisfied with GiveSmart. There are some additional functions we'd like to see it have and GiveSmart has been responsive in the past to add new features that nonprofits are looking for. Their support teams and account representatives are very friendly and helpful. The ease of their system allows a competent person to enter the data and create campaigns without having to have much technical knowledge.
We are a very small non-profit and are actually looking to use another service just to cut costs, but we may not stay with them and will coming running back to OneCause if we can't make the other option work! The ONLY reason to move would be to reduce the over-head cost of the platform.
For the most part, GiveSmart serves our organization's needs for creating fundraising forms. It is especially useful for our peer-to-peer fundraising and event planning and registration efforts. The dashboard is relatively intuitive, and there have been improvements in creating forms and managing campaigns since shifting from Mobile Cause to GiveSmart Fundraise.
Use of the software is generally fine, but the setup and implementation are not always intuitive. Though the knowledgebase is robust and covers a lot of areas (and the support team is pleasant and knowledgeable), the event setup process (particularly when setting up payment and bank information) can be a bit cumbersome and should really be streamlined
We never experienced any issues with outages, the system being down, etc. It's extremely reliable. That's very important when you're dealing with financial and personal information! We want to make it easy for people to give, and it's great that we've never had to worry about service issues making that more challenging/
We haven't had any issue regarding performance or reliability with GiveSmart. We don't integrate it with any other software so that issue isn't relevant. The pages load quickly and reports are completed almost as soon as you hit the "run" button. Overall, the system works as designed and is pretty quick when people use it.
When I did have to reach out for support it was not always easy to get ahold of anyone to help. There were also times when I did get help where I struggled to understand and be understood. Not a language barrier, but more of a not understanding what my problem was. I am not sure if it was a problem on my end or on theirs, maybe both, lol
OneCause has the BEST customer support I have ever experienced. They are patient, and knowledgeable and always help me when I contact them. Whenever I have inquired how to use a feature or asked about how to do something, they give me the answer but also go above and beyond with additional info that I ended up also using.
We hired OneCause to guide us through our first event after we signed up with them. The staff they sent were pros. They gave us professional guidance and support. Once we had been shown the ropes, we knew we could take the reins and confidently run our next event
GiveSmart provides great training videos on their system. Not everything is covered with their videos but their support staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. I would have given them a ten but not everything is covered in their videos and sometimes you have to find the right word to search for in able to find the right training video.
We just made the change using the band-aid approach. In other words, we just went for it and taught the users how to do it at our first event and went from there. 90-95% of people haven't used a mobile bidding software so most everyone was on the same stage of knowledge so implementing it was easy as people didn't have to re-learn anything.
I don't know if my insights are key but I can say that implementation was done in-house without any outside support for the solution. The staff influencing the solution had very little technical expertise and ability as well which showed just how easily the software was to implement.
We used DonorPerfect and Handbid in the past and they lacked all the features we needed and their customer support was insufficient. The user experience on these platforms was always a challenge. GiveSmart is more streamlined and we have had better customer support when we run into issues.
We looked at Auctria and GiveSmart, though we didn't go into great detail with either. We ultimately selected OneCause based on the recommendation of another local school that used it for its auction software. The customer service and support as we made this decision and transition was a confirmation for us.
For what GiveSmart is designed to do, the software works excellently. We haven't found something GiveSmart cannot do when it is used as designed. However, when GiveSmart is tried to be used as a total CRM, it doesn't do that but that is okay as it wasn't designed to be a total CRM but rather a mobile bidding software.
Our donors always want an easy method to donate before, during, and after our event—GiveSmart definitely gives them that flexibility.
Retaining the information that GiveSmart allows us is important, especially when we compile statistics and reports based on what was processed through our GiveSmart event site.
As I stated earlier in my review, the donation feature that is automatically implemented when purchasing tickets ended up paying for the entire year's subscription! Amazing feature to add for our Non-profit donor base
Having all of the Supporters info saved within the system since we have the same supporters usually year after year! So nice to have
