GiveSmart helps you with smart giving
May 25, 2021

GiveSmart helps you with smart giving

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with GiveSmart

We use GiveSmart to assist us in our Foundation's auction fundraising and donation asks.

Pros

  • The software platform is very user-friendly.
  • GiveSmart makes auction set-up and display relatively easy.
  • GiveSmart's unlimited use plan is great for organizations that want to host multiple events.

Cons

  • I wish GiveSmart communications allowed you to schedule text messages or at least put them into the exact draft order in which you'd like them to go out.
  • I wish GiveSmart communications gave you the option to text only the group of active auction bidders who at the end of the auction didn't win anything.
  • I also really wish GiveSmart gave you the ability to hold all donation batches/deposits until the end of an event rather than automatically making multiple batch deposits at the end of each day, when you are hosting a multi-day fundraising effort.
  • I wish GiveSmart would allow you to batch delete users that unsubscribe from messaging via bulk delete rather one by one.
  • It would be great if you could separate the inbox/outbox primary admin text message (ours) sent from the multiple auto admin texts sent for easy recall.
  • It would be great to be able to also text just people actively bidding during the course of the event.
  • Positive: GiveSmart has for sure increased our fundraising revenue potential and actual income as well as our reach.
  • Negative: GiveSmart requires a lot of event and platform management and direct oversight in real time. And if you have a question, they almost always point you to watching a video -- which isn't as easy as it sounds. Their help library is not easy to navigate and you often have to watch multiple videos before you find the one that actually answers your exact question. Sometime, it's easier to try and Google the answer. All this takes time. Personally, I'd rather speak with a live person than wade through a bunch of videos.
  • Positive: GiveSmart reports provide fantastic analytics to really break down your event successes and get to know your donors.
None.
Overall, the platform is pretty solid.
I prefer a live person over videos and a live chat in which no one is actually live. Maybe this was just during COVID when customer call centers were experiencing worker shortages but I didn't have much luck with getting customer support over the past year when I had questions as we pivoted from live events to virtual.
I feel pretty good about customizing the platform.
GiveSmart is fantastic for silent and live auctions and online giving asks. It is very appropriate for remote online efforts as well as special events in which the auction is located in one venue area and the dinner or event is located in another.

I don't like using GiveSmart for just fundraising asks or Champions pages when the ask last a couple days or longer. The daily batch deposits create too much daily accounting work in order to reconcile your bank account.

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