Struggling to keep donations organized?
If you’re evaluating nonprofit software, chances are you’re frustrated by scattered donor data, clunky donation forms, and time-consuming manual updates.
The reality is, the constant data mess leaves you chasing your fundraising goals instead of spending time on your mission’s impact.
Funraise aims to fix these daily headaches with an all-in-one fundraising platform—combining streamlined donor management, modern donation tools, event ticketing, peer-to-peer campaigns, and smart analytics, all built for nonprofit realities.
In this review, I’ll break down how Funraise can help you save time and drive more support, based on real research and hands-on analysis.
You’ll find a thorough Funraise review covering how the solution stacks up across key features, pricing, ease of setup, and how it compares to platforms like Classy, Donorbox, and Neon One.
You’ll walk away with the insights and details you need to pick the features you need to build long-term fundraising success.
Let’s get started.
Quick Summary
- Funraise is a cloud-based fundraising platform that simplifies online donations, donor management, and peer-to-peer campaigns for nonprofits.
- Best for nonprofit teams seeking an all-in-one digital fundraising and donor engagement solution.
- You’ll appreciate its user-friendly design and strong customer support that help your team manage campaigns and grow donor reach effectively.
- Funraise offers tiered pricing including a free plan, with demos available but no specified free trial duration.
Funraise Overview
Funraise has been helping nonprofits since 2015, based out of Long Beach, California. Their mission is simple: provide modern, effective fundraising tools that are actually enjoyable to use for your team.
What sets them apart is their dedicated focus on nonprofits that need an all-in-one platform. They don’t just offer a CRM; they tightly integrate donation tools directly, which I find simplifies your tech stack and daily workflows.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: Speaking of CRM, if you’re exploring options for managing supporter data, my guide on best nonprofit CRM software can provide further insights.
A key moment was their 2018 funding round, which has clearly fueled significant platform growth and innovation. You can see the direct impact in their feature maturity throughout this Funraise review.
Unlike competitors that can feel clunky or dated, Funraise really doubles down on a modern, mobile-first donor experience. This focus feels like it was designed by fundraisers who actually understand the critical importance of high-converting, user-friendly donation pages.
They work with a diverse mix of organizations, from established national charities to smaller, growing nonprofits. All are looking to boost online giving and donor engagement without a needlessly complex or expensive system.
I found that Funraise’s strategic priority is making fundraising data truly actionable with its “Intelligence” features. This aligns perfectly with the sector’s shift toward data-driven decisions that help you improve donor retention and grow support.
Now let’s examine their capabilities.
Funraise Features
Struggling to manage your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts?
Funraise features are designed to be an all-in-one platform for nonprofits, focusing on streamlining fundraising and donor management. Here are the five main Funraise features that empower organizations.
1. Online Fundraising Tools
Are your donation forms hurting conversion rates?
Clunky, non-mobile-friendly forms can frustrate donors and lead to abandoned contributions. This directly impacts your ability to raise vital funds.
Funraise provides customizable, mobile-optimized online donation forms and branded pages. From my testing, the variety of payment options available really stands out, ensuring a seamless experience. This feature ensures supporters can give easily, whether via credit card, Apple Pay, or even Bitcoin.
This means you can maximize donations with an accessible and user-friendly giving process, converting more interest into actual funds.
2. Donor Management (Nonprofit CRM)
Is keeping track of your donors a disorganized mess?
Without a centralized donor database, personalizing outreach and understanding giving history becomes nearly impossible. This can lead to missed opportunities for engagement.
Funraise includes a robust donor management system that acts as a central hub for all donor data. What I love about this approach is how it lets you easily track interactions, notes, and preferences, creating comprehensive donor profiles. This feature is crucial for maintaining organized records and understanding your supporters.
The result is you can build stronger donor relationships through personalized communication and more strategic, targeted fundraising appeals.
3. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) & Crowdfunding
Want to extend your fundraising reach beyond your direct network?
Relying solely on direct appeals limits your fundraising potential, making it hard to tap into wider communities. You need your supporters to become fundraisers themselves.
Funraise enables nonprofits to launch powerful crowdfunding and peer-to-peer campaigns. This is where Funraise shines; its customizable fundraising pages empower supporters to rally their own networks, expanding your reach exponentially. This feature significantly boosts your fundraising capacity by leveraging individual connections.
This means you can engage a broader community and tap into new donor bases, often raising more than traditional campaigns alone.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: Beyond specific fundraising tools, effective operation often requires robust support systems. If you’re also looking into operational efficiency, my article on Service Level Agreement Software covers how to boost satisfaction.
4. Events & Ticketing
Does event management feel like a logistical nightmare?
Handling registrations, tickets, and on-site check-ins for events can be overwhelming and prone to errors. This takes valuable time away from your mission.
Funraise offers comprehensive tools to host virtual and in-person events, managing everything from registration to ticketing. I found the QR scanning for guest check-in particularly useful for streamlining event day operations. This feature simplifies the entire event fundraising lifecycle.
So you could manage your events with ease, ensuring a smooth experience for both your team and attendees, from initial setup to day-of logistics.
5. Fundraising Intelligence (Data & Reporting)
Are you making fundraising decisions based on guesswork?
Lacking insights into donor behavior and campaign performance can lead to inefficient fundraising strategies. You need data to truly optimize your efforts.
Funraise provides advanced analytics and reporting through its “Fundraising Intelligence” tool. Here’s the thing – it helps you make data-driven decisions to optimize campaigns, identifying trends and improving donor retention. This feature empowers you to understand your fundraising effectiveness with custom reports.
This means you get the insights needed to refine your strategies, increase donor retention rates, and ultimately maximize your overall fundraising impact.
Pros & Cons
- ✅ User-friendly interface simplifies fundraising and donor management processes.
- ✅ Exceptional customer support with dedicated success managers.
- ✅ Powerful peer-to-peer and crowdfunding tools extend outreach.
- ⚠️ May have a learning curve for smaller organizations new to integrated platforms.
- ⚠️ Some users might not utilize all the robust features available.
- ⚠️ Detailed integrations with niche third-party tools might vary.
You’ll actually appreciate how these Funraise features work together as an integrated platform rather than separate tools, making your fundraising more efficient.
Funraise Pricing
Is Funraise pricing a mystery?
Funraise pricing features a tiered model with public plans and custom options, balancing transparent starting points with flexibility for larger organizations.
Plan | Price & Features |
---|---|
Free Plan | 3.5% platform fee • One donation form • Up to 1,000 supporters • Recurring donations • Donor management |
Light Plan | $275.00/month • Donation forms & pages • 5 fundraising websites • Peer-to-peer fundraising • Automated tasks |
Spark Plan | $300/month (billed annually) • 3% platform fee • Household management • Campaign sites • Events & ticketing |
Movement Plan | $550/month (billed annually) • 2% platform fee • Text engagement • Peer-to-peer fundraising • Dedicated success manager |
Standard Plan | Contact sales for pricing • Salesforce & Raiser’s Edge integrations • Recurring migration services • Attachments & webhooks • Full core features |
Premium Plan | Contact sales for pricing • All Standard features • Enhanced support • Advanced capabilities |
Enterprise Plan | Pricing available upon request (0-2% platform fee) • Fundraising Intelligence • Priority Support • Funraise API • High-volume solutions |
1. Value Assessment
Solid value for nonprofits.
From my cost analysis, Funraise’s “Donors Cover Fees” feature is a game-changer, potentially reducing your effective platform fee to 0%. This innovative approach means your nonprofit keeps more of every donation by having donors optionally cover the platform cost.
This helps your budget by maximizing the funds directly available for your mission, rather than administrative overhead.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: While we’re discussing optimizing your nonprofit’s output, understanding the best grammar checker software is equally important for clear communication.
2. Trial/Demo Options
Smart evaluation options exist.
While a free trial duration isn’t specified, Funraise offers free demos, allowing you to see the platform in action. What I found valuable is that you can explore features like donation forms and donor management firsthand, which helps you understand its practical use.
This lets you assess Funraise’s fit for your organization before committing to a paid plan.
3. Plan Comparison
Choosing the right plan is key.
The Free Plan is great for startups, but the Spark or Movement plans offer better value with lower platform fees and more features as you grow. What stood out is how larger nonprofits benefit from custom Enterprise pricing, which provides advanced tools like Fundraising Intelligence.
This tiered approach helps you match Funraise pricing to your actual fundraising needs and scale.
My Take: Funraise’s pricing model, especially the “Donors Cover Fees” feature, positions it as a highly cost-effective solution for nonprofits of all sizes, making it an excellent budget-friendly choice.
The overall Funraise pricing reflects excellent value for nonprofits focused on maximizing donations.
Funraise Reviews
What do real customers actually think?
Analyzing Funraise reviews provides clarity on what users genuinely experience, offering insights into their satisfaction levels, common praises, and recurring pain points. This section synthesizes actual customer feedback to help you understand the software’s real-world performance.
1. Overall User Satisfaction
Users are consistently happy.
From my review analysis, Funraise consistently receives excellent user sentiment, with a 93% satisfaction rating on G2 from over 90 reviews. What I found in user feedback is how positive experiences often center on ease of use, making it a favored choice for nonprofits.
This suggests you can expect a generally positive and user-friendly experience.
2. Common Praise Points
The support team wins hearts.
Users frequently commend Funraise for its intuitive platform and exceptional customer support. What stands out in customer feedback is how dedicated Customer Success Managers go above and beyond, offering responsive and creative solutions, which is a common theme in reviews.
This means you can anticipate strong support for any questions or issues.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: While we’re discussing software for organizations, you might find my guide on best mapping software helpful for various needs.
3. Frequent Complaints
Learning curves are noted.
While public reviews rarely detail significant complaints, some users acknowledge the platform’s robustness. What I found in user feedback is how smaller organizations might face a learning curve due to the extensive features available, suggesting not all functionalities are immediately utilized.
These observations seem more like considerations than major deal-breakers.
What Customers Say
- Positive: “Funraise is a very user-friendly platform and makes fundraising and donor management easy.” (G2)
- Constructive: “It’s a very robust platform… we’re not using all its features.” (G2)
- Bottom Line: “The client support received is hands down the best… always a great experience with Funraise Support!!” (G2)
The overall Funraise reviews consistently show high user satisfaction with strong support being a key differentiator.
Best Funraise Alternatives
So many fundraising software choices?
The best Funraise alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different nonprofit sizes, budget considerations, and specific fundraising priorities.
1. Bloomerang
Prioritizing deep donor reporting and customization?
Bloomerang excels if your primary need is highly detailed donor reporting and extensive customization of donor profiles to tailor your communications. From my competitive analysis, Bloomerang provides deeper donor insights and robust reporting capabilities at a potentially lower starting price point.
Choose Bloomerang when granular donor data and budget constraints for smaller contact lists are your top priorities.
2. DonorPerfect
Need comprehensive donor profiles and strong reporting?
DonorPerfect might be a better fit if your organization prioritizes in-depth donor profile management, offering detailed interaction history and preferences. What I found comparing options is that DonorPerfect enhances personalized communication through rich profiles, making it cost-effective for smaller contact lists.
Consider this alternative when in-depth donor profile management and robust reporting for insights into donor behavior are key.
3. Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT
Are you a large enterprise with complex needs?
Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT is ideal for large, established nonprofits with complex data management needs and a significant budget. From my analysis, Raiser’s Edge NXT offers advanced analytics and prospect research, including AI-driven recommendations, serving as a comprehensive enterprise-level alternative.
Choose this alternative when you require highly sophisticated analytics and robust data housing for your extensive operations.
4. Givebutter
Seeking a free, comprehensive solution to start?
Givebutter is an excellent choice for startups or very small nonprofits looking for a comprehensive, free solution to get started with online fundraising. Alternative-wise, Givebutter’s “free forever” model offers extensive tools, including fundraising, CRM, and engagement in one place.
Consider Givebutter when cost is a primary concern and you need an all-in-one platform for basic fundraising and CRM.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: Speaking of organizing different types of events, my guide on best tournament software could be a valuable resource.
Quick Decision Guide
- Choose Funraise: Modern online fundraising, campaign management, and mobile tools
- Choose Bloomerang: Highly detailed donor reporting and customizable profiles
- Choose DonorPerfect: In-depth donor profile management and robust reporting
- Choose Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT: Large enterprise, complex data, advanced analytics
- Choose Givebutter: Small nonprofits needing comprehensive, free fundraising tools
The best Funraise alternatives depend on your organization’s specific needs, budget, and scale, rather than generic feature comparisons.
Funraise Setup
What about Funraise implementation?
Understanding Funraise setup involves grasping its practical deployment process, setup requirements, and potential adoption hurdles from a business perspective. Here’s what you’re looking at.
1. Setup Complexity & Timeline
Getting Funraise running is straightforward.
Funraise implementation is generally user-friendly, with many features readily configurable without deep technical expertise. From my implementation analysis, most organizations find the migration process smooth and can expect a relatively quick setup, supported by extensive documentation and resources provided by Funraise.
You’ll want to plan for a dedicated team member to manage the onboarding and data migration for optimal efficiency.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: Speaking of user adoption, my guide on community management software covers how to boost your engagement and ROI.
2. Technical Requirements & Integration
Minimal technical headaches here.
As a cloud-based platform, Funraise requires only an internet connection for access, eliminating complex server or software installations. What I found about deployment is that its integrations with popular tools simplify data flow and connect seamlessly with your existing operational software like Salesforce and QuickBooks.
Prepare to connect your current systems, but don’t anticipate major IT infrastructure overhauls or significant hardware investments.
3. Training & Change Management
User adoption is often intuitive.
While the platform is highly intuitive, Funraise offers comprehensive onboarding and training from their experts, which significantly eases the learning curve. From my analysis, dedicated training ensures your team maximizes platform features, preventing underutilization and driving successful internal adoption of new workflows.
Invest time in their provided training resources and consider a champion within your team to ensure smooth user transitions and effective daily use.
4. Support & Success Factors
Expect strong vendor support throughout.
Funraise consistently receives high marks for its customer support, providing responsive email, phone, and chat assistance during your deployment and beyond. What I found about deployment is that their dedicated Customer Success Managers are invaluable for guidance, often going above and beyond to troubleshoot and offer solutions.
You should leverage this strong support, actively engaging with your Customer Success Manager to address challenges and optimize your Funraise setup.
Implementation Checklist
- Timeline: Weeks to a few months depending on data migration complexity
- Team Size: Dedicated project lead, data entry staff, and user champions
- Budget: Minimal beyond software; possibly professional services for complex migrations
- Technical: Internet access, integration planning for existing tools
- Success Factor: Active engagement with Funraise’s customer support and training
Overall, Funraise setup is designed for ease, offering strong support for a smooth transition and helping nonprofits quickly leverage its features.
Bottom Line
Is Funraise the right choice for your nonprofit?
This Funraise review synthesizes my comprehensive analysis, offering a decisive final assessment to help you determine if this platform aligns with your nonprofit’s fundraising goals.
1. Who This Works Best For
Nonprofits aiming for digital fundraising growth.
Funraise works best for small to mid-sized nonprofits and growing organizations eager to expand their online giving and optimize donor relations. What I found about target users is that organizations prioritizing all-in-one digital fundraising will find this platform particularly effective for streamlining campaigns and donor management.
You’ll succeed if your team is ready to leverage modern giving channels and data-driven insights to maximize your impact.
2. Overall Strengths
Exceptional user-friendliness and powerful conversion rates.
The software succeeds by offering an intuitive platform, high-converting online fundraising tools, and outstanding customer support. From my comprehensive analysis, its “Donors Cover Fees” model significantly reduces costs, while the robust Fundraising Intelligence provides actionable data for strategic decision-making.
These strengths translate into increased efficiency, higher donor engagement, and improved financial outcomes for your nonprofit.
3. Key Limitations
Pricing structure requires careful budget consideration.
While powerful, Funraise’s tiered pricing can be higher than some basic alternatives, potentially posing a challenge for very small organizations with extremely limited budgets. Based on this review, some nonprofits might not utilize all the robust features, leading to potential under-utilization of their investment, especially smaller teams.
I find these limitations are typically manageable trade-offs for the comprehensive value provided, rather than fundamental deal-breakers.
4. Final Recommendation
Funraise earns a strong, confident recommendation.
You should choose this software if your nonprofit seeks a comprehensive, user-friendly platform to elevate digital fundraising, streamline donor management, and gain actionable insights. From my analysis, your organization will benefit from its integrated features and exceptional support, making it a valuable asset for growth.
My confidence level is high for nonprofits looking for an all-in-one solution that delivers significant ROI and operational efficiency.
Bottom Line
- Verdict: Recommended for nonprofits seeking comprehensive digital fundraising
- Best For: Small to mid-sized and growing nonprofit organizations
- Business Size: Nonprofits looking to expand online giving and optimize donor relations
- Biggest Strength: User-friendly interface, high conversion rates, and “Donors Cover Fees”
- Main Concern: Higher pricing for very small budgets or limited feature utilization
- Next Step: Explore a demo to see if its features align with your fundraising strategy
This Funraise review shows strong value for the right nonprofit, providing a powerful, all-in-one platform to elevate your fundraising efforts.