6 Questions to Ask If You’re Comparing GiveSmart and OneCause for Your Fundraising 

Since our founding in 2011, GiveSmart has helped tens of thousands of organizations— nonprofits, schools, and associations—successfully fundraise for their missions. And, we’ve been busy and growing along the way.  

We’ve brought five fundraising and donor management solutions together to form one platform that has powers over 31,800 annual campaigns and $5.3 billion in lifetime fundraising. With monthly software updates, regular audits to ensure our blogs, resources, and training are accurate, as well as the publishing of our annual data-driven, transparent Impact Report, we’re the award-winning fundraising, events, and donor management solution for your organization.  

There are other fundraising platforms that, on the surface, offer a similar-ish feature set and other perks comparable to GiveSmart’s. One such software provider that our customers often compared GiveSmart to was OneCause.   

Before you decide on your partner, make sure to ask yourself these six questions. When you’re ready to look at GiveSmart, contact our team of experts today.  

1. Do you know how many donations you’ll accept throughout the year?   

All pricing quotes are not created equal. When comparing the costs, you’re going to see some instances where OneCause’s initial pricing appears lower. But depending on the number of transactions or features needed, that pricing can balloon quickly. Make sure to ask any potential vendor about the cost of:  

• Transaction fees 
• Ticketing fees 
• Merchant account fees 
• Variable credit card fee scales  
• Fees for additional users/admins 
• Fees for new feature use, such as peer-to-peer, auctions, or digital wallets 
• Dormant account fees  
• Fees based on the donation amount 

GiveSmart’s pricing is inclusive and upfront from the beginning. We do not charge any of the above additional fees, outside of industry-standard credit card fees that are the same for every customer, whether you raise $1 or $1 million. Our plans are designed with the modern nonprofit in mind, without the hassle, and cost, of constant à la carte add-ons. 

GiveSmart offers one contract and transparent pricing based on the plan that you choose. Our GiveSmart fundraising plans include text-to-donate, unlimited users/admins, unlimited peer-to-peer campaigns, customizable, embeddable donation forms, digital wallet payments, and dozens of included integrations. GiveSmart never charges additional transaction or ticketing fees.  

“We’ve used OneCause for some events before GiveSmart. It’s just not as user-friendly. The interface the guests see isn’t as nice. As an administrator, it wasn’t as easy to use. One event using GiveSmart and we knew this was the platform we needed to continue on with.”

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2. Do you plan to hold a variety of campaign types, including text giving, peer-to-peer, online giving, and auctions?  

GiveSmart has a rich history of event (ticketing, auctions, guest management, etc.), peer-to-peer, and online fundraising. We support 8,550 auction bids, $3.56 million donations, and 61,640 texts every single day.  

And we’re just getting started. All GiveSmart customers have unlimited access to many of the highest impact tools.  

Our robust peer-to-peer fundraising features help you broaden your mission’s reach. We know nonprofits have varied needs, so our multi-campaign structure, easily customizable pages for teams and individuals, text-to-donate for each user, social sharing, message center, and community chat feature were all designed with your volunteers and donors in mind. With over 4,200 peer-to-peer campaigns run in 2022, we’re the clear choice for all of your year-round fundraising efforts. 

“We have looked at both Greater Giving and OneCause, and ultimately for what you get for the same price, this [GiveSmart] seems to be the most user-friendly and easy-to-use software. The staff is always available to help with questions. We have used GiveSmart for 7 years, and see no reason to switch.”

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3. Would you like the flexibility to explore a variety of fundraising types and tools without deciding your whole year plan now? 

You likely aren’t planning to repeat your events, campaigns, merchandise offerings, and revenue enhancers the exact same way year over year. You also, more likely than not, have increased fundraising goals, regardless of performance. You have to grow. And, you don’t have an unlimited budget to do so. 

You will need additional tools that you may not be using today. You shouldn’t have to pay extra to try them out, either, or have fees attached to every single one. Even with a higher-level plan, OneCause charges fees or requires additional payment for text-to-donate, auctions, peer-to-peer fundraising, and more. GiveSmart doesn’t.  

4. What sort of integrations are offered? 

Nonprofits and schools depend on data integrity within their CRM. You shouldn’t have to use a manual .CSV upload to get your data where you need it. GiveSmart integrates with leading CRMs, including: 

• Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge  
• Bloomerang  
• DonorPerfect  
• eTapestry  
• Kindful 
• NeonCRM 
• Omegafi/Compass  
• Salesforce 

GiveSmart also offers our own modern, easy-to-use Donor CRM, saving your team time and effort. With us, all of your fundraising and donor management tools are streamlined; meaning you sign one contract, have one contact, and use one support team.   

And, GiveSmart’s integrations reach beyond CRMs. Our platform integrates with livestreaming tools to best support your dynamic, exciting event. You can directly embed videos from Canva Video, Facebook Live, YouTube, YouTube Live, and Vimeo Livestream. This is included with every GiveSmart subscription. 

Better shape your strategy and plans with GiveSmart’s integration with Google Analytics. This gives you powerful insight into your website traffic and fundraising multi-campaign success. This is also included with every GiveSmart subscription. 

5. Do you plan on hosting fundraisers or working on your fundraising sites at night or on the weekends?  

Your volunteers and staff work nights and weekends for your mission. Our support team is available when you need them via phone, chat, and email, working those nights and weekends, too. OneCause support is limited to Monday through Friday, during the workday.     

Day-of live, remote support is available to all GiveSmart customers any day of the week. Our day-of support team is exclusively staffed by GiveSmart employees. When you use a Remote Tech, you’re getting our expert team members only, with the average Remote Technician having 3.5 years of GiveSmart experience.  

And if you need more hands at your event, we’ve vetted a select network of partners to staff your onsite events. 

With an average customer satisfaction (CSAT) average score of over 91%, it’s no surprise that GiveSmart clients who use our professional services, such as a Remote Tech, raise 37% more than those who do not.  

“GiveSmart has many similar aspects to other programs, but it offers more customer support. There are times when you just can’t figure it out, but GiveSmart is there, ready to offer guidance.”

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6. Do you have multiple people who need to use your fundraising event and campaign platform? 

We don’t leave you on your own to figure out our software for yourself. GiveSmart’s Help Center offers thousands of training guides, step-by-step how-tos, hours of on-demand training videos, and templates to give all users the information they need to find success in setup and campaign execution.  

In addition to our Help Center, we offer Personalized Training, Guided Implementation, and Remote Technicians—all GiveSmart team members with years of experience whose sole purpose is to support you and your organization through your individual needs and goals, so that you can maximize your annual GiveSmart subscription. 

GiveSmart gives you time to actively fundraise and steward donors. 

Our extensive knowledge base also includes customer-only, live webinars and free access to a dedicated Community of like-minded, dedicated fundraisers. GiveSmart customers raised $1.3+ billion in 2022.  

Your fundraising isn’t just one campaign or even a year, it extends beyond that. You deserve award-winning, year-round fundraising and donor management tools that support your goals and help you grow, without having to pay more for additional feature access.  

Our easy-to-use, customizable fundraising and donor management platform support your organization’s fundraising campaigns, 365 days a year. Looking to get started with GiveSmart?