Likelihood to Recommend The OneCause auction platform works well for events of seemingly varying sizes (we are a mid-sized organization, but it seems to scale well). You can run a variety of things within the platform (live auction, silent auction, fund appeal, raffle, etc.), but one should be aware that there are limits to the software and we were forced to worked around these limitations.
Read full review I've used Zoom Webinars for meetings and webinars from two people to 500 people. It has worked well and reliably in each scenario! I especially appreciate that viewers can turn on closed captions if they need them or can have the language translated. That makes this very helpful for our teammates that need that type of assistance.
Read full review Pros Easy online bidding process for our participants (especially using the older software). Detailed tracking and organization for our auction staff to manage everything in one place. Excellent and proactive customer service in the months leading up to the event and in-person at the event itself. Read full review Simple user experience--very intuitive for attendees to join, interact with Q&A Adaptable and feature rich--very easy to set up Webinars for different use cases with features like registration, Q&A, practice session, HQ video, branding and virtual backgrounds, polls/quizzes, post-surveys, breakouts, resources, production studio, FB/YT Live, captions/translation, etc Aesthetically pleasing--new branding options (such as webinar wallpaper, custom backgrounds, and name tags), plus the recent addition of the Production Studio feature, means it's easier than ever to produce beautiful and appealing webinars. Panelists, practice session, and backstage--Zoom makes it easy to set up webinar panelists ahead of time, and get them into the room early for a practice session. The new backstage option is even more powerful than the practice session feature. The bleeding edge--Zoom is continually adding powerful new features for Webinar rooms, where other programs leave you with the same ol' stagnant feature set. Read full review Cons Options to personalize the text descriptions used in the registration process. Some of the wording is confusing and there's no option to edit those text boxes. The set-up for the silent auction options is not exactly the easiest to follow for new users. Having some concrete examples or use cases to consult when first setting up would be helpful. It would be great to have a "check for errors" functionality when you're going through the auction set-up. For example, for some reason when our live auction was set up, two items didn't have "Apply Sales Tax" checked and so they got erroneously listed without the sales tax. Given that ALL the other items had sales tax applied, it seems like it should be easy to have something run in the background that flags potential errors for review. Read full review Like most Zoom products, Zoom Events is actively being improved and updated. The release cycle is monthly, which means event planners need to keep up with changes. While Zoom Events also works for in-person only events, this will require a certain mind-set shift to work well for many organizations. There is a core group of small business Zoom Events users who can provide help to new-comers, and an increasing number of helpful on-boarding resources, but Zoom Tier 1 support still starts out with the most pedantic questions; it's difficult to reach someone who can really help you with a difficult problem if you are not a large Zoom customer. Professional Services is available from Zoom, but it the cost is out of reach of most small businesses and non-profit organizations. Read full review Likelihood to Renew It is ultimately not my call, and we are switching Donor CRMs/fundraising platforms so not sure what that will mean for OneCause.
Read full review We will be renewing with Zoom as long as it continues to meet our needs for client and lead outreach needs in a robust manner. With little error and an easy to use interface, Zoom has met our needs and exceeded our expectations. The cost is right and with a short learning curve, Zoom has been an easy decision to make and maintain.
Read full review Usability I give it this rating because when I first started using OneCause, I was concerned it might be complicated and I could make mistakes that would negatively impact our organization. OneCause's usability has made me feel confident and stress-free in every event we use it for because it is easy to use.
Read full review Zoom [Video Webinar] is easy and secure to use. It has all those feature which can make a virtual meeting go smooth. Zoom [Video Webinar] provides one click join option and easy screen sharing. It also has strong tools to restrict meeting controls and is secure enough to let you start with it. Zoom [Video Webinar] in relation to other video webinar application is easy to use and lightweight, its mobile application is also easy to use.
Read full review Reliability and Availability Support staff is there to help out and it is nice knowing there are available on event day as well
Read full review Performance This feature is amazing. Nice to have reports immediately when the event (auction) is over
Read full review Support Rating They have a fantastic tech support team who typically responds to your questions and concerns within minutes. They are available for emails, phone calls, and have also created videos that walked me through my problems. When you initially get started with their peer2peer platform, they provide you with a consultant whose job is to walk you through setting up your first campaign. You al so receive a specific to you Customer Success Manager who is there for any and all questions and will help you until you find the answers needed!
Read full review Zoom Video Webinar provides users with updates on their newest functions as part of an email subscribed list. They provide you with up-to-date information on all their latest changes and functions for ease [in] transition. Zoom Video Webinar can be contacted easily for any questions or concerns you may have with the platform and the response is timely.
Read full review In-Person Training Very thorough and made sure I understood the process. Staff were very patient as well listening to my questions and understanding certain procedures. As an older person, I can be scared of technology, but this process was very easy to understand and I feel very confident using it.
Read full review Online Training Very thorough and nice to have a refresher when needed. Nice to see when I haven't used in a little while and refresh my mind how to update.
Read full review Implementation Rating 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.
Read full review Implementation was very feasible during our initial usage of the Zoom after COVID-19.
Read full review Alternatives Considered We had used
GiveSmart in the past and had issues with connectivity during our event, when our contract was up we decided to investigate other platforms, we looked at more than just those 3, but can't recall the others.
Givebutter - I absolutely LOVE
Givebutter , so simple to use, but it does not offer an auction component and we didn't want to have 2 different systems to use.
Classy - this platform seemed nice but extremely pricy and we still had to do "add-ons". We could not afford it. We went with OneCause in the end because of the simplicity, and training provided and wanted to give the product a try over sticking with
GiveSmart . We are so happy to have made the switch.
Read full review Go To Webinar has been the standard in webinar technology for years. But it's a terrible experience from an administrator's perspective. You start the program, and 15 windows pop-up, giving you all sorts of configuration choices. In order to operate a webinar smoothly, we needed 4 members on the team (1 speaker, 1 moderator, 2 people managing any tech unknowns and set things up.) Zoom Webinar can be done with a single person because of how easy the options are. Also, put
GoToWebinar in front of somebody new - and watch them fumble for 15 minutes trying to figure out how to present. Zoom, there's not much to explain. Everything is clearly laid out with a clean UX design.
Read full review Scalability The product has everything I need
Read full review Return on Investment Once we joined OneCause for our event fundraising platform we never looked back. Each year we've experienced growth with not only the funds raised but also in the improvement of the event execution. We've learned a tremendous amount for in-person fundraising success through the OneCause team and that has led us to explore virtual and campaign options. The onsite event support has proven so valuable to our event success we have begun budgeting to have that same level of support at all our in-person events. The OneCause event team guides you well during the planning phase and then provides top-notch support and peace of mind the night/day of the event. Read full review I am a user of Zoom, not an administrator, so I can't speak to it's ROI outside of how it effectively allows me to conduct presentations with groups of people I wouldn't normally have in the same room. Zoom has a very positive impact on keeping me connected with my colleagues in a more human way through the use of video and audio when we are conducting meetings. This helps strengthen work relationships so there are less misunderstandings from email or text only systems. Zoom has allowed my company with remote employees all over the place, in addition to multiple physical office locations, conduct quarterly meetings with our CEO that make everyone feel involved. Read full review ScreenShots Zoom Events & Webinars Screenshots