How much does CharityFundraiser cost?

CharityFundraiser is free to start. There is a flat 2% platform fee on funds raised — never on donor tips — with no setup fee, no monthly subscription and no long-term contract. Standard Stripe/PayPal payment processing applies, and a cover-the-fee toggle lets donors absorb it.

What does CharityFundraiser replace?

It replaces multiple separate vendors — auction software (like OneCause or Handbid), donation/peer-to-peer platforms (like Givebutter or ClassyLive), email/SMS marketing, donor CRM, direct mail, and a separate volunteer-management tool — all under one login and one dashboard.

Is there a contract or monthly fee?

No. There is no long-term contract and no monthly subscription. You only pay the flat 2% platform fee when funds come in.

How does CharityFundraiser compare to Givebutter and OneCause?

CharityFundraiser is all-in-one like both, with transparent flat 2% pricing and no donor-tip prompts (unlike Givebutter) and no five-figure annual contract (unlike OneCause). It also ships features neither offers: an AI Coordinator Playbook (auto Run of Show + auctioneer talking points), a real-time volunteer audit trail, and an automated 3-touch donor renewal cadence.

Who built CharityFundraiser?

CharityFundraiser was founded by Larry Scala, a nonprofit auctioneer, emcee and consultant with 30+ years of experience serving organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs and Ducks Unlimited. He is a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, holds a B.S. in Engineering and an MBA, and has run his web development firm Web-Tech Services since 1996.

What is CharityFundraiser?

CharityFundraiser is an all-in-one fundraising platform for nonprofits. It combines online and live silent auctions, peer-to-peer campaigns, donation pages, event ticketing, donor CRM, and AI campaign coaching in a single tool built specifically for 501(c)(3) organizations.

Is CharityFundraiser free for nonprofits?

Yes — there is no setup fee and no monthly minimum. Nonprofits only pay a small percentage on funds raised plus standard payment processing fees. There is a discounted nonprofit rate for verified 501(c)(3) organizations.

What is the best silent auction software for schools?

CharityFundraiser is built for school PTAs, sports teams, and educational foundations. It includes mobile bidding without app downloads, bulk item uploads from Excel, donor receipts, and live big-screen scoreboards — all priced for small school budgets.

How does Text-to-Give work on CharityFundraiser?

Donors text a keyword like GIVE to your dedicated number. Our platform automatically replies with a one-tap donation link tied to your campaign. Donations confirm via reply SMS, and the donor record is created or updated in your CRM in real-time.

Can I run a virtual or hybrid gala on CharityFundraiser?

Yes. The platform supports fully online events, in-person galas with check-in QR codes, and hybrid events. Live-stream scoreboards, paddle-raise / fund-a-need software, and big-screen Show Director are all included.

Does CharityFundraiser integrate with QuickBooks and Stripe?

Yes. Stripe Connect powers direct-to-organization payouts, and QuickBooks Online integration auto-syncs donations as transactions for clean reconciliation at year-end.

How is CharityFundraiser different from Givebutter or OneCause?

Most platforms specialize in one channel (donations OR auctions OR P2P). CharityFundraiser combines them in one tool with first-class AI campaign coaching included, eliminating the need for 3–5 separate vendor subscriptions.

Is there a mobile app for bidding?

No app is required. Bidders use any phone's web browser. The mobile-first interface supports proxy bidding, outbid alerts via web push and SMS, and one-tap buy-now.

CharityFundraiserElite Fundraising Platform

Feature Matrix · Updated Q1 2026

Flat 2%. No donor tip nag. The honest comparison vs OneCause, Givebutter, BiddingForGood, DonorPerfect, WildApricot, and GoFundMe Pro.

We obsessed over the night-of-event workflow, priced it transparently at 2% (less than OneCause, less than Givebutter’s 3% flat or up-to-20% tip), and added a moat nobody else has: an AI donor-intelligence CRM with capacity scoring and moves management, automated year-end tax statements, campaign copy, smart pricing, direct-mail postcards, and a 3-touch donor re-engagement workflow.

Start free See the platform tour

The honest summary

Pick your current contender

Bottom line

Beautiful donation pages, but their pricing is either a donor-tip nag screen or a 3% flat fee — and our flat 2% beats both.

Where Givebutter wins

Givebutter has polished donation pages and P2P out of the box.
Brand recognition with smaller nonprofits.

Where Givebutter falls short

Their default pricing relies on a 'tip the platform' prompt suggesting up to 20% on top of every gift — donors are increasingly fatigued by this. Turn it off and Givebutter falls back to a 3% flat fee. Our flat 2% beats them either way.
No bid sheets, no QR badge printing, no big-screen live-auction scoreboard.
No enterprise CRM: no AI prospect research / wealth screening, no donor capacity & affinity scoring, no moves management, and no gift-officer portfolios. We ship all of it — the stuff you'd otherwise buy iWave + Bloomerang for.
No automated year-end consolidated tax statements with soft-credits, and no IRS quid-pro-quo / FMV math on tickets and auction wins.
No volunteer accounts with granular POS/door permissions, no PIN-kiosk login, and no volunteer efficiency report — every action on our platform is stamped with the volunteer's name so you can see who's pulling weight.
No AI moat: copy generator, smart-pricing, and donor re-engagement workflow are unique to CharityFundraiser.
No native direct-mail (Lob) and no multi-channel re-engagement automation.

The full matrix

Every feature, side-by-side

Green = included · Amber = partial / add-on · Red = not offered. Verified against each vendor’s public site as of Q1 2026.

Feature	CharityFundraiser Flat 2% — no tips, no surprises	Givebutter Up to 3% flat or 20% tip	OneCause $5K–$25K+ /yr contract	BiddingForGood ~4% per event + setup	DonorPerfect $99+/mo SaaS subscription	WildApricot $60+/mo membership SaaS	GoFundMe Pro Subscription + ~2.9%
Pricing & platform fees
Platform fee on donations	Flat 2%	Up to 3%	$5K–$25K+ /yr	~4% / event	$99+ /mo	$60+ /mo	Subscription + ~2.9%
Predictable, transparent pricing
No donor 'tip' nag screen
Cover-the-fee toggle for donors
Live Stripe Connect direct settlement
Crypto, ACH, Apple/Google Pay
Auctions & event night
Mobile bidding silent auction
Live auction with big-screen scoreboard
Wireless-mic audio capture w/ timestamped paddle bookmarks (settle bid disputes in one click)
Bid sheets (print + scan back)
QR badge label print (Avery 5163)
Anti-snipe auto-extend
Fund-a-Need paddle raise w/ pacing
Parallel paddle-raise capture (one volunteer per increment, no merge conflicts)
Volunteer POS / mobile checkout
Kiosk + sponsor signage
Per-table live guest↔staff chat (scan QR to message staff / quick requests)
Custom registration form (per-guest meal choice, dietary, names)
Min / max ticket quantity per order
Volunteers & event staff
Volunteer accounts with email or 4-digit PIN
Granular permissions (POS / door / scanner)
PIN-only kiosk login for shared tablets
Auto-expire on event day
Audit trail stamped on every scan & sale
Volunteer efficiency report (per-person scans, sales, $)
Public recruitment sign-up pages + hours
Giving & campaigns
Donation pages / forms
Peer-to-peer fundraising
Recurring giving
Text-to-Give shortcode SMS			$
Embeddable donation widget
Custom domain per organization
CRM, donor & data
Built-in donor CRM
Pledges, segments, tiers
Automated tax receipts
Bulk CSV/XLSX import (contacts, items)
Matching gifts lookup
QuickBooks Online auto-sync
Universal CSV import (QuickBooks Nonprofit, Sage Intacct, Blackbaud Financial Edge, Xero)
Enterprise CRM & donor intelligence
AI prospect research / wealth & affinity screening					$
Donor capacity & affinity scoring
AI cultivation brief per donor
Event guest-list screening (one pass)
Moves management (cultivation stages)
Gift-officer portfolios + 'My Portfolio' dashboard
Task / follow-up board with due dates
Householding & soft-credits
Offline / legacy gift logging (check, wire, stock, DAF)
Bulk portfolio reassignment
Automated year-end consolidated tax statements (w/ soft-credits)
IRS quid-pro-quo / FMV on tickets & auction wins
Auto-emailed January tax-statement campaign
Auctioneer network (we're the only one)
Free public directory of 8,800+ auctioneers nationwide
Search by state, city, specialty
Direct-to-auctioneer match suggestions on event create
Side-by-side auctioneer comparison (fees, reviews, experience)
In-platform booking inquiries (threaded responses)
AI & growth (the moat)
AI campaign copy generator
AI smart-pricing for auction items
AI thank-you note generator
AI segment-suggest from donor history
AI Coordinator Playbook + auto Run of Show
Multi-event year-over-year trends + auto-prefill next plan
Renewal Calendar — 3-touch anniversary cadence per donor
AI auctioneer talking points per lot
3-touch donor re-engagement workflow
Native direct-mail postcards					$
Event-night theatre (only us)
Multi-package live-auction bulk sell (3 buyers, one click)
Hidden inventory (count never revealed to bidders)
Match Challenge banner across program, giving page, big-screen
Match milestone confetti ($10K / $25K / $50K / $100K)
Goal-hit confetti (×1 GOAL HIT · ×2 DOUBLED · ×3 TRIPLED)
Tiered big-donor shoutouts ($5K+ = full-stage Trophy banner)
Walk-up arrivals (only us)
QR-poster self-register for walk-ups
Volunteer-side manual walk-in registration
Auto paddle + table seat assigned at check-in
At-door Stripe payment for ticketed walk-ups
Free website included
Free auto-generated Public Profile (hero, mission, board, events, donate)
Lives at /site/{your-slug} — zero CMS to manage
Full custom CMS website + SEO + LLM + geo via sister team
Steep nonprofit discounts on additional sister-team services
Communications & inbox
Email campaigns + templates
Two-way SMS inbox
Unified inbox (SMS + Callback + Web)
Shared inbox across sibling sites
Contact-us / callback widgets
Reports & finance
Real-time event reports
Reconciliation + payout reports
Tax-time exports
Multi-event roll-up
Public transparency page

CharityFundraiser: flat 2% on successful gifts. No setup, no monthly, no contract, no donor tip prompt.

Givebutter: default prompts donors to "tip the platform" up to 20% on top of every gift. Orgs that turn the tip prompt off pay a flat 3%.

OneCause: annual enterprise contract, publicly reported in the $5K–$25K+ range depending on org size and modules.

BiddingForGood (FrontStream): ~4% per-auction transaction fee plus a setup/event fee.

DonorPerfect: SaaS subscription starting around $99/mo plus payment processor fees. Not a transactional fundraising platform — no native auctions or P2P.

WildApricot (Personify): membership-management SaaS billed by contact count (roughly $60–$900+/mo). Great for dues and a simple member website, but not an auction or event-night platform.

GoFundMe Pro (formerly Classy): annual subscription plus ~2.9% processing. Strong crowdfunding / P2P, but no native auctions, scoreboard, or live event-night tools.

All payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) charge their own ~2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee on top — that's industry-standard and not unique to any platform.

Switching is painless

Migrate your recurring donors in minutes — no donor re-entry

Worried about losing your monthly donors when you switch? Don't be. Upload one CSV and we bring your existing recurring gifts across so they keep processing without a break. Cards already on Stripe move over silently with zero donor action; donors coming from another processor simply re-confirm their card once via a secure, branded link. And once they're here, Stripe's Auto Card Updater refreshes expiring cards automatically — so your recurring revenue stops leaking.

Start your switch

The fastest path off your current platform

Start free, import your donor list in 2 minutes, and run your next event on the only platform that ships AI growth tools out of the box.

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