GoFundMe Charity vs. Venmo for Business

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

I had a customer who wanted me to do his wife's birthday party. I sent him the estimate and he gave me a deposit from his Venmo account. When the party was done, he forgot to pay for a week. I reminded him with an invoice and he sent a deposit. It wasn't immediately deposited, but it [arrived the next day].

• Peer-to-peer fundraising
• Fundraising pages

Incentivized

• QR codes for quick payment
• A secure account for customers
• Venmo integrates with QuickBooks

• 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

• Take out transaction fee. They are not PayPal
• More understanding with bitcoin
• Invoicing would be a good feature

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

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

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

PayPal has more work items for businesses. It has invoicing, time tracking, and marketing strategies. I could [use] PayPal to run my business like I do with QuickBooks. Affiliates with other business is crazy. Plus, they also carry debit and credit cards for business and personal purposes. Venmo is the little brother [of PayPal].

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

Incentivized

• Give customers reassurance
• Secure money account
• More marketing strategies