Givebutter

Givebutter is a strong fit for nonprofits that want fundraising pages, donation forms, event ticketing, donor CRM, auctions, and outreach in one free-to-start platform. Its economics are compelling, but teams need to understand the donor-tip model and the limits of customization and reporting before making it the center of a gala or campaign.

Free to use with optional donor tips or donor-covered fees; paid Plus features available
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Tool Nutrition Label
Founded 2016
Headquarters Washington, DC, United States
Company Size 51-200 employees
Funding Venture-backed private company
Pricing Model Tip-or-fee fundraising model with optional donor tips, payment processing, and add-on capabilities
Free Trial Free account available
Contract Self-serve free account; paid and advanced nonprofit needs vary by feature
Attendee Capacity Not primarily attendee-capacity priced; suited to nonprofit campaigns, ticketing, donor management, and event fundraising
Mobile App Mobile-friendly donor and campaign experience; confirm organizer app needs for event check-in
Offline Capability No
Data & Compliance Cloud-hosted platform; confirm nonprofit data, payment, and CRM export requirements with Givebutter
Expertise Level Beginner
Event Types
FundraisersGalasNonprofit EventsAuctionsPeer-to-Peer CampaignsCommunity Events
Key Integrations
Stripe (Native) Zapier (Zapier) Donor And Nonprofit Tools (API)
Support Channels
Help CenterChatEmailFundraising resourcesCustomer support
Best For
  • + Small and midsize nonprofits that want fundraising, ticketing, donor records, and messaging in one place
  • + Fundraising events, peer-to-peer campaigns, auctions, and community giving campaigns
  • + Organizations trying to reduce upfront software cost by using a tip-or-fee pricing model
  • + Teams that need fast campaign setup without buying separate CRM, forms, event, and donation tools immediately
Not For
  • Corporate conferences, trade shows, or events that are not fundraising-centered
  • Nonprofits that dislike donor tip prompts or need a fixed traditional SaaS fee model
  • Teams that need deep event-page customization, complex seating, sponsor logistics, or enterprise gala operations
  • Organizations that require advanced reporting and CRM flexibility beyond Givebutter's built-in model
Key Capabilities
Create donation forms, fundraising pages, peer-to-peer campaigns, and event ticketing pages
Sell nonprofit event tickets and accept donations through major cards, digital wallets, and QR codes
Manage donor records, campaign activity, basic CRM workflows, email, and text outreach
Run auctions and event fundraising workflows from the same account
Let donors cover fees or leave optional tips to offset platform costs
Use social sharing, campaign updates, and supporter engagement tools to drive giving
Honest Limitations

Tip Model Needs Donor Experience Review

Givebutter can be free to use when optional tips are enabled, but donor tip prompts can surprise supporters if the checkout copy is not reviewed.

Not General-Purpose Event Software

It is optimized for fundraising, not corporate registration, conference agendas, exhibitor operations, or onsite logistics.

Customization Has Limits

G2 review themes praise ease of use but mention limited event-page customization and missing advanced features.

Reporting May Not Satisfy Every Team

Some users want more robust reporting, so nonprofits should test exports and CRM workflows before migrating.

Technical Friction Still Happens

Capterra summaries highlight strong overall sentiment but also mention glitches, uploads, integration issues, and flexibility limits.

Pricing Breakdown
Plan Price Details
Free Core Platform $0/month Fundraising pages, donation forms, event ticketing, campaigns, CRM, and communication tools with a tip-or-fee model.
Payment Processing Can be donor-covered Donors can be asked to cover payment processing and optionally tip Givebutter, depending account settings.
Givebutter Plus And Advanced Features Varies Advanced messaging, nonprofit workflows, and expanded capabilities may carry additional cost.

Hidden Costs to Watch

  • ! Donor-covered fees and optional tips affect supporter checkout experience.
  • ! Turning off tips or using advanced features may change economics.
  • ! Complex events may still need dedicated auction, seating, production, or CRM tools.

Givebutter is compelling because it lets nonprofits launch fundraising campaigns and event ticketing without a traditional software bill. Donation pages, tickets, donor records, outreach, auctions, and campaign tools all live in one place.

The key tradeoff is the funding model. Optional tips and donor-covered fees can keep software costs low, but event teams should test the checkout experience carefully so supporters understand what they are paying.

Comparing this with other event tools?

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Questions to Ask the Vendor
  1. 1
    How will donor tips, donor-covered fees, and processing fees appear during checkout?
  2. 2
    Which event ticketing, auction, CRM, email, texting, and reporting features are included for free?
  3. 3
    What changes if we disable tips or need advanced Givebutter Plus capabilities?
  4. 4
    Can we export donor, transaction, campaign, and event data cleanly for finance and CRM use?
  5. 5
    What support is available during live fundraising events or gala check-in windows?
How we research tools

We research each tool by reviewing official documentation, pricing pages, and user feedback from Trustpilot, G2, and Capterra. If something's out of date or inaccurate, use the link below to flag it.

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