GiveSmart was the smart choice for a small town public library to put on a world class online auction
May 26, 2021

GiveSmart was the smart choice for a small town public library to put on a world class online auction

Emilie Knud-Hansen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with GiveSmart

While GiveSmart is obviously good at what it does, it is not designed for a small community non-profit. It offers an excessive amount of information that has no bearing on a small group like ours. I sought out one of your customers, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, to find a company to help us put on an online auction. Our events are always in-person, but that changed with the pandemic. My cochair Karen Starkey and I learned as much as we could in order to put on the auction, and it was a huge success, thank you! But it was extremely labor intensive for an organization that is unlikely to merge membership information.
  • Has the right categories under "users" with an opportunity to edit.
  • Compile statistics on practically minute-by-minute basis.
  • Instant emails to the auction bidders....a few thought they were misleading.
  • A variety of templates for communication. We didn't really use them, but appreciate them.
  • As mentioned, I would love to see a GiveSmart version that helps "little" non-profits with event-planning and fundraising.
  • Not clear the difference between a donor and a user....the event donors should be separate.
  • There was no way to list an auction item that had two or more donors. There should be a way to enter info about additional donors so they are included in the right database.
  • Because of the above, 175 emails went out after the auction, but were intended only for the winners....we might have goofed, but it wasn't clear.
  • We were able to have a bank sponsor to underwrite the cost of the software.
  • With that sponsorship, we exceeded our goal of $3,000 to $5,000.
  • The technical support was great...very responsive and helpful. We could not have afforded the more extensive package, and we didn't miss it...I think!!
  • We all learned a lot about the value of a company like GiveSmart....thank you for not treating us like a small customer.
If a basic computer illiterate like me could make it work, I would call it very user-friendly.
They were always there when we needed them!
For a large nonprofit business or service, I think GiveSmart would be a great way to merge membership with fundraising events and such. There is an obvious advantage to track a member through all stages of support, from donations to participating in an event. Even large for-profit businesses would be well-served by the way the software organizes people, places and things...including employees and clients.

Again, a small Maryland county library, as incredible as we are, can not make enough use of GiveSmart of justify extending our one-year agreement unless, God forbid, we are forced back into the virtual world. Books do not sell well online!