GoFundMe is a crowdfunding campaign that can be an excellent way to promote your organization's mission or cause. It can also be one of the best fundraising sites to raise funds quickly for an individual fundraising goal, such as personal causes, medical bills, or to support international fundraisers.
While popular, GoFundMe may not be the best fundraising tool for all situations. Fees and limits to an organization's outreach leave many looking for GoFundMe Alternatives. In this article, we'll supply eight alternatives to create personalized fundraising pages, delve into what they offer, and reviews from real users.
Through its crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe has helped raise over $15 billion for nonprofits, individuals, and groups. Its impact is irrefutable, but other options better suit individual and organizational campaigns.
GoFundMe is a trusted fundraising platform that helps individuals and organizations support their missions. The following pros are a few of the many reasons for this trust:
The benefits of using GoFundMe are sometimes less than the cons. The following cons may make you look for alternatives.
Zeffy is the only 100% free fundraising platform for nonprofits. New and smaller nonprofits rely on holding onto all the money they receive from donors. Zeffy is the only online fundraising platform fee structure that lets them do so without hidden costs or false advertising.
Zeffy is a 100% free fundraising platform for nonprofits with all the features needed to successfully run various campaigns and manage donor relationships without the added cost.
Testimonial: 4.8 stars on Capterra
"I love how Zeffy has made my work life so much easier in many ways. I can manage my email list, send messages to different segments, tag individuals and their interests, sell event tickets, collect membership fees, and track income and engagement. Best of all, I can do all of this (and more) without having a portion of our income being snatched up by a supposed 'ally' of non-profit organizations." - Maude S.
Pricing: 100% free (no startup, platform, transaction, or processing fees)
Spotfund offers a crowdfunding platform for anyone to start a campaign for any cause. When you think about Spotfund vs GoFundMe, consider that Spotfund lets users share and post updates for your fundraising campaign and track its progress.
You'll receive all funds regardless of whether you meet your financial goals. Donors worldwide can give to your campaign, but only users with US bank accounts can create a campaign and withdraw funds.
Spotfund is easy to set up and very flexible for individuals starting out or nonprofits.
Testimonial: 4.7 stars on Trustpilot
"I was able to create a safe and easy fundraiser to help with reaching out to friends and family during a hardship and everything worked seamlessly, efficiently and most effectively. " - Carolyn
Pricing: Spotfund has no setup or platform fees, but credit card processing fees are 2.9% +$0.30 on each donation and up to 3.9% + $0.30 per transaction for international payments.
Bonfire is one of the GoFundMe competitors that’s great for creators and small businesses. You can upload custom artwork to sell t-shirts and other apparel. You can also develop fundraising goals, choose item prices, and sell items like t-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, and more online. Nonprofits, sports teams, and social groups can use Bonfire to spread awareness and raise money for their cause.
Product costs are based on manufacturing, sourcing, and printing expenses. The simpler the design, the less it will cost. You can choose a default price or set prices to fit your organization and community.
Bonfire allows you to design and sell custom apparel with no risk, and big opportunity to raise money through creativity.
Testimonial: 4.5 on Capterra
"Ease of use not only for me but also the proposers and my evaluation committees. Bonfire allows the flexibility for me to set up my projects in a way that meets "my needs." It can handle very simple projects to very complex projects. " - Keri W.
Pricing: The Bonfire product and processing fee is 8% per transaction.
Fundly helps nonprofit organizations and individuals raise money with a crowdfunding campaign for just about anything. Whether it's a personal cause, medical expenses, or credit card payments, individuals can create donation forms with videos and photos to help tell a story.
Fundly lets users make the most of fundraising within social networks with easy sharing with their free Fundly mobile app and integrated fundraising forms on Facebook.
Fundly is a nice option for social sharing, as it lets you integrate your fundraising form into Facebook.
Testimonial: 2.9 stars on G2
"Fundly is fairly easy and straightforward to use and is a powerful tool - plus, it's in the cloud (so it can be accessed anywhere)." - Veronica F.
Pricing: There is no setup or platform fee to use Fundly, but there is a 2.9% + $0.30 credit card processing fee per transaction.
Givebutter lets nonprofits raise money with features like online donation forms, text-to-donate, recurring giving, DAF donations, and peer-to-peer fundraising tools.
Givebutter's many features make it an excellent tool for growing organizations. Givebutter lets donors tip to cover fees and ensure their donations go entirely to the nonprofit.
Givebutter integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps.
Testimonial: 4.8 stars on Capterra
"Givebutter's cool live fundraising tools are what drew me in. When I watched a fellow nonprofit owner raise $15k in at 15 minutes using a projection of Givebutter's live giving tool, I knew I had to try it." - Jordan K.
Pricing: Givebutter has no setup or platform fees. Payment processing fees of 2.9% + $0.30 apply, with an option to allow donors to cover this expense.
GiveCampus is an online fundraising site led by fundraisers from educational facilities like Stanford and Emory. Their experience raising money for schools and higher education facilities inspired them to create a fundraising platform to address many schools' unique fundraising issues.
GiveCampus lets schools raise funds with online donation pages, giving data and crowdfunding, events, and more. Their wealth data and volunteer management programs help schools identify and track donors and volunteers to help them grow.
GiveCampus uses AI to craft compelling donor outreach in minutes.
Testimonial: 4.7 starts on G2
"I love the ease of use and ability to create simple, effective campaigns. I can add as much or as little detail as needed, and have the ability to meet my donors where they are. The GC platform has been great, especially for giving days and one off projects." - Ashley S.
Pricing: GiveCampus plans start at $1,000 annually.
Kickstarter is one of the best crowdfunding sites for making ideas a reality.
Kickstarter has been around since 2009, and you may recognize it from campaigns for the fidget spinner or prolific fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson. A Kickstarter campaign is an excellent option if you have a unique and creative product or project that needs funding.
Kickstarter doesn't allow fundraising for charities, but individuals can see their dreams come true without needing bank loans, grant funding, or investor demand. Kickstarter lets people control their ideas and reach supporters who care. There is a chance your campaign will fail, and you raise no money, but many campaigns succeed.
History of successful fundraisers and $7.68 billion raised for users
Testimonial: 3.8 stars on G2
"What is most helpful about kickstarter is that it helps the ideas and projects of people come to reality through the funds they receive." - Joel A.
Pricing: If your project is successfully funded, Kickstarter has a 5% platform fee and a 3-5% payment processing fee per transaction. There are no fees for projects that don't meet their goals.
Patreon is another platform for individuals looking to achieve personal fundraising success. You can fundraise for your favorite charity on Patreon, but its primary users are content creators who connect with their audience and raise money online.
Patreon lets users build a membership, sell digital products, and crowdfund to earn consistent income from their supporters.
Patreon puts content creators in the driver's seat.
Testimonial: 4.1 stars on G2
"The advantages of Patreon are it's well-known, and I can upload text or images in seconds. I'm blessed with some Patrons." - Linda S.
Pricing: It's free to list products on Patreon, but most users sign up for one of its plans. Patreon's Pro plan includes an 8% fee of the income earned, and Premium plans have a fee of 12%. Users can also sell digital products on Patreon for a 5% fee plus payment processing.
Now that you've considered GoFundMe's reviews and looked at many fundraising platform alternatives, which should you use?
The answer is very personal and depends on your goals and financial abilities. Individuals have more options than ever before. Whether you're raising funds for yourself, a friend, or your favorite charity, you can find a crowdfunding website with lower platform fees.
If you're looking for ways to promote an innovative product or project, you have fewer options, but they exist. Nonprofit organizations of every size have their pick from Zeffy's 100% free fundraising platform to pricier options like GiveCause.
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