Donation drop-off shouldn’t kill your fundraising.
If you’re researching Fundraise Up, you’re likely frustrated by donor abandonment, low conversion rates, or clunky payment processes that slow down donations.
That’s because watching hard-earned prospects abandon transactions daily is not only deflating—it’s hurting your organization’s revenue and ability to grow.
That’s exactly where Fundraise Up stands out: it uses AI-driven optimization, flexible donation forms, and global payment support to fix the fundraising blockers that other platforms ignore, helping your nonprofit boost engagement and increase donor revenue.
In this review, I’ll show you how Fundraise Up actually fixes donation drop-off and helps your team make giving effortless for every supporter.
You’ll see a detailed breakdown of Fundraise Up’s features, pricing, integrations, real-world results, and how it stacks up against other top options in this Fundraise Up review—all from a buyer’s perspective.
You’ll walk away knowing the features you need to confidently decide if it’s right for you.
Let’s dive into the analysis.
Quick Summary
- Fundraise Up is an AI-powered donation platform that helps nonprofits increase online gift conversions and donor engagement.
- Best for nonprofits seeking to boost online fundraising revenue with personalized giving experiences.
- You’ll appreciate its AI-driven form optimization and seamless CRM integration that simplify donor management.
- Fundraise Up offers a commission-based pricing model with no upfront fees and demo options available.
Fundraise Up Overview
Fundraise Up is a technology company I’ve been watching, based in Brooklyn since 2017. Their mission is compellingly simple: help nonprofits unlock greater generosity by truly optimizing the online giving experience.
I’ve seen them work with a huge range of nonprofits, from major global charities to smaller community foundations. What really sets them apart is their laser-focus on donation conversion optimization, which feels more purposeful than generic platforms.
A recent $70 million funding round shows they’re investing heavily in the platform. Through this Fundraise Up review, you’ll notice how this directly fuels their advanced AI capabilities.
Unlike competitors that bundle endless features, Fundraise Up zeroes in on the transaction itself. Their entire value proposition is to perfect the online donation moment using AI, which feels built by true fundraising experts.
You’ll find them working with household names like the American Heart Association and UNICEF USA, proving their technology scales effectively from local groups to massive global enterprises.
From my perspective, their strategic focus is entirely on using smart, almost invisible tech to eliminate donor friction. This directly addresses the critical need for modern giving experiences that build trust.
Now let’s examine their core capabilities.
Fundraise Up Features
Donation conversions stuck in a rut?
Fundraise Up features are built to skyrocket your online giving, offering an integrated approach that truly optimizes the donor experience. Here are the five main Fundraise Up features that make a real difference.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: While we’re discussing optimizing online services for growth, understanding how to protect your online services seamlessly is equally important.
1. AI-Powered Donation Optimization
Struggling to maximize every donation?
Generic donation forms often leave money on the table, as they don’t adapt to individual donor behaviors or preferences.
Fundraise Up leverages AI to personalize donation suggestions and optimize forms for higher conversions. From my testing, this AI-driven personalization significantly boosts donation amounts, which I found incredibly effective. This feature analyzes donor behavior to recommend optimal giving levels.
This means you can unlock greater generosity from each supporter, leading to a substantial increase in overall revenue for your cause.
2. Customizable Donation Forms & Campaign Pages
Campaigns feeling a bit… generic?
Rigid donation forms that don’t match your brand or campaign specific needs can create a disconnected and less engaging donor experience.
This feature lets you create and tailor donation pages and forms to perfectly align with your branding and specific campaign requirements. What I love about this is how forms can be embedded or used standalone, providing maximum flexibility. This allows seamless integration into your website or as a dedicated campaign hub.
So you can provide a cohesive and professional giving experience, encouraging more trust and ultimately, more donations.
3. Recurring Giving Options & Donor Portal
Wish more one-time donors became loyal supporters?
Converting one-time givers into recurring donors can be a challenge, often leading to inconsistent revenue streams and donor churn.
Fundraise Up offers robust recurring giving options and a self-service Donor Portal. Here’s the thing – donors can easily manage and upgrade gifts, which I saw firsthand can dramatically increase ongoing support. This feature makes it simple for donors to maintain their commitment.
This means you can build a more predictable and sustainable revenue model, strengthening your organization’s long-term financial health.
4. Global Payment Support & Multi-Currency
Losing out on international donations?
Limited payment options or currency support can create frustrating barriers for global donors, causing them to abandon their intended contributions.
This platform supports 135 currencies and a wide array of modern global payment methods. This is where Fundraise Up shines, as it dramatically reduces friction for international givers by accepting local payment types. This feature ensures anyone, anywhere, can easily donate.
So you can expand your reach far beyond borders, tapping into a global donor base and truly maximizing your fundraising potential.
5. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising (Fundraisers)
Want to expand your reach through your community?
Relying solely on direct appeals can limit your fundraising potential, missing out on the vast networks of your passionate supporters.
Fundraise Up’s “Fundraisers” feature empowers supporters to create personalized, shareable fundraising pages. From my evaluation, the mobile-friendly and intuitive setup is a game-changer for community-driven campaigns. This tool makes it simple for individuals to champion your cause.
This means you can leverage your community’s enthusiasm to attract new donors and amplify your message without extra effort from your team.
Pros & Cons
- ✅ AI-driven optimization significantly boosts donation conversion rates.
- ✅ Highly customizable forms ensure brand consistency and seamless donor experience.
- ✅ Excellent support for recurring gifts builds predictable, long-term revenue.
- ⚠️ Primarily focused on online donations, not an all-in-one nonprofit CRM.
- ⚠️ Advanced features may require some learning for smaller teams.
- ⚠️ Lacks comprehensive event management or volunteer coordination tools.
You’ll appreciate how these Fundraise Up features work together to create a seamless and highly optimized donation experience for your supporters. This cohesive approach helps you convert more gifts and better engage your donor base.
Fundraise Up Pricing
What’s the real cost of online fundraising?
Fundraise Up pricing follows a commission-based model, meaning you only pay a percentage on donations received, aligning costs directly with your success.
Cost Breakdown
- Base Platform: No upfront, annual, or monthly fees
- Transaction Fees: Small percentage per donation + Stripe/PayPal fees
- Donor Coverage: Approximately 87% of donors cover all transaction costs
- Effective Fee: Typically less than 0.5% of each donation for organizations
- Key Factors: Donation volume, donor coverage rate, payment processor fees
1. Pricing Model & Cost Factors
Understanding their unique approach.
Fundraise Up operates on a commission-based fee structure, meaning there are no upfront, monthly, or annual fees for you to worry about. Instead, they charge a small percentage on each donation, along with standard payment processor fees from Stripe or PayPal. This means Fundraise Up only earns money when your nonprofit receives a donation.
From my cost analysis, this pay-as-you-go model makes budgeting predictable and eliminates large fixed expenses.
2. Value Assessment & ROI
Maximizing your donation value.
A significant aspect of Fundraise Up’s pricing model is that the majority of donors (around 87%) choose to cover the transaction fees themselves. What I found regarding pricing is that this often results in an effective fee of less than 0.5% of each donation for your organization. This significantly boosts your net revenue compared to platforms where you bear all the processing costs.
Budget-wise, this means more of every donation goes directly to your mission, enhancing your overall ROI.
3. Budget Planning & Implementation
Practical budgeting guidance.
Since specific percentage rates are not publicly listed for larger nonprofits, you’ll need to contact sales for exact figures. However, their model helps you avoid the massive upfront costs typical of legacy systems. What makes their pricing different is that you only pay when you raise money, which is ideal for organizations of all sizes.
So for your business, this approach helps you plan your budget around actual fundraising success rather than fixed software costs.
My Take: Fundraise Up’s commission-based pricing, heavily offset by donor coverage, offers exceptional value and financial predictability for nonprofits looking to maximize net donation revenue.
The overall Fundraise Up pricing reflects a performance-based model that truly aligns with your success.
Fundraise Up Reviews
What do real customers actually think?
To help you understand real-world experiences, I’ve analyzed numerous Fundraise Up reviews from across various platforms. This section focuses on what actual customers are saying about the software, balancing praise with common critiques.
1. Overall User Satisfaction
Users are overwhelmingly positive.
From my review analysis, Fundraise Up consistently receives exceptionally high ratings, often averaging 4.7-4.9 stars across review sites. What I found in user feedback is how satisfied users are with both its performance and impact, frequently noting significant improvements in their fundraising efforts and overall revenue since adoption.
This suggests you can expect a very positive initial and ongoing experience with the platform.
2. Common Praise Points
Users love the ease and effectiveness.
What stood out in customer feedback is how users consistently highlight the platform’s ease of use, seamless CRM integrations, and the effectiveness of its AI in boosting conversions. Review-wise, the intuitive design makes managing donations a breeze, and the AI-powered features are frequently credited for increased giving.
This means you can anticipate a user-friendly system that actively helps you raise more funds.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: While we’re discussing supplementary software for operations, you might find my analysis of online course software helpful for knowledge sharing.
3. Frequent Complaints
Limited scope is occasionally mentioned.
While overwhelmingly positive, some Fundraise Up reviews indicate that the platform, while exceptional for online donations, isn’t an all-in-one solution for broader nonprofit operations. What stands out in feedback is how it may lack features like event or volunteer management that some comprehensive platforms offer, requiring other tools.
These limitations aren’t typically deal-breakers but suggest you might need supplementary software for other functions.
What Customers Say
- Positive: “Fundraise Up is incredibly easy to use and has made managing donations a breeze.” (Source: User Review)
- Constructive: “It might not be as comprehensive as some all-in-one solutions that offer features like event management.” (Source: User Feedback)
- Bottom Line: “We have seen donations increase because of the AI feature they use.” (Source: User Review)
The overall Fundraise Up reviews reflect a highly effective and beloved donation platform with focused functionality.
Best Fundraise Up Alternatives
Considering other options beyond Fundraise Up?
The best Fundraise Up alternatives include several strong contenders, each better suited for different nonprofit sizes, specific fundraising goals, and budget considerations.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: While focusing on your organization’s core mission, understanding effective employee management solutions is also crucial.
1. Givebutter
Your organization needs diverse fundraising tools?
Givebutter shines when you require a broad, all-in-one fundraising solution that includes event management, auctions, and texting tools. From my competitive analysis, Givebutter provides a wider array of campaign types than Fundraise Up’s online donation focus, making it a versatile alternative.
Choose Givebutter if you need a single platform for varied fundraising activities beyond just online donations.
2. Bloomerang
Is robust donor relationship management your priority?
Bloomerang excels as a donor management and CRM system, offering a comprehensive view of supporters and relationship tracking. What I found comparing options is that Bloomerang offers superior donor relationship management compared to Fundraise Up’s donation optimization, which it complements well.
Consider this alternative when extensive donor data and relationship tracking are more crucial than front-end donation conversion.
3. Donorbox
Searching for a straightforward, reliable online donation platform?
Donorbox is a popular choice for customizable donation forms and recurring giving, known for its ease of setup and user-friendly experience. Alternative-wise, Donorbox provides a straightforward, feature-rich online giving experience, differing from Fundraise Up’s AI-driven conversion specialization.
Choose Donorbox for a reliable, easy-to-use online donation system without the strong AI conversion focus.
4. Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT
Are you a large enterprise with complex CRM needs?
Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT is built for large to enterprise-level nonprofits, offering extensive features for portfolio management, reporting, and integrated analytics. From my analysis, Raiser’s Edge NXT provides enterprise-grade CRM and fundraising capabilities, far broader than Fundraise Up’s online giving specialization.
Choose this alternative for an all-encompassing solution for complex donor management and large-scale fundraising strategy.
Quick Decision Guide
- Choose Fundraise Up: Maximize online donation conversions with AI optimization
- Choose Givebutter: All-in-one platform for diverse fundraising events and tools
- Choose Bloomerang: Robust donor relationship management and CRM capabilities
- Choose Donorbox: Simple, reliable, and customizable online donation forms
- Choose Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT: Comprehensive enterprise-level CRM and fundraising
The best Fundraise Up alternatives depend on your organization’s specific needs and scale rather than just feature lists.
Fundraise Up Setup
What does Fundraise Up implementation really involve?
Implementing Fundraise Up is generally straightforward, designed for quick deployment of donation forms and campaigns. This Fundraise Up review focuses on practical preparation and realistic expectations.
1. Setup Complexity & Timeline
Getting your campaigns live is incredibly fast.
Fundraise Up is exceptionally easy to implement, often taking mere minutes to set up donation forms and campaign pages. From my implementation analysis, you can launch campaigns rapidly, with minimal effort on platforms like WordPress or Squarespace.
You’ll spend more time customizing donation experiences than on the technical setup itself.
2. Technical Requirements & Integration
Expect seamless integration with your existing systems.
Fundraise Up offers native API integrations with popular CRMs like Salesforce, Bloomerang, and DonorPerfect, syncing data in real-time. What I found about deployment is that technical requirements are minimal on your end, as Fundraise Up handles most data security and compliance.
Your IT team will appreciate the light lift, primarily focusing on initial CRM connections rather than complex infrastructure.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: While we’re discussing implementation costs, understanding spend management software is equally important for financial health.
3. Training & Change Management
User adoption is remarkably intuitive.
The platform’s user-friendly interface means a low learning curve for your team, requiring little formal training to get started. From my analysis, your staff will quickly master the system due to its intuitive design, reducing the need for extensive change management efforts.
Focus on familiarizing your team with the AI features and new reporting, rather than basic platform navigation.
4. Support & Success Factors
Vendor support ensures a smooth rollout.
Fundraise Up’s customer support is highly praised for being prompt and helpful, providing excellent assistance during setup and beyond. What I found about deployment is that their dedicated support significantly eases the process, guiding you through configuration and optimization.
Leverage their expertise to maximize the platform’s features, especially their AI-driven conversion tools, for greater revenue.
Implementation Checklist
- Timeline: Minutes to days for basic setup and forms
- Team Size: Marketing/fundraising team, light IT for integrations
- Budget: Primarily software costs; minimal professional services needed
- Technical: CRM and payment processor integrations (API-based)
- Success Factor: Leveraging AI features and dedicated customer support
Overall, Fundraise Up setup is incredibly user-friendly, allowing for rapid deployment and high donor conversion with strong support.
Bottom Line
Fundraise Up: Does it fit your nonprofit’s goals?
My Fundraise Up review shows a powerful platform for nonprofits prioritizing online donation optimization, conversion, and a superior donor experience.
1. Who This Works Best For
Nonprofits seeking to maximize online donation revenue.
Fundraise Up is ideal for nonprofits of all sizes, from local foundations to large international organizations, especially those focused on boosting online conversion rates and recurring giving. What I found about target users is that organizations prioritizing frictionless donor experiences and AI-driven optimization will find unparalleled value here.
You’ll succeed if your primary goal is to significantly increase digital donation revenue through advanced online giving capabilities.
2. Overall Strengths
AI-powered optimization delivers exceptional conversion rates.
The software succeeds by intelligently personalizing the giving experience, leading to impressive conversion rate improvements and increased average donation amounts. From my comprehensive analysis, seamless CRM integrations and global payment support enhance the donor and organizational experience, simplifying management tasks significantly.
These strengths directly translate into higher revenue and more efficient fundraising operations for your organization.
3. Key Limitations
Limited scope for comprehensive event management.
While Fundraise Up offers peer-to-peer fundraising, it’s tailored for individual and small team campaigns, not large-scale events or auctions. Based on this review, organizations needing extensive event management features might find its capabilities insufficient for broader fundraising activities beyond online giving.
I’d say these limitations are manageable if online giving is your main focus, but they are deal-breakers for diverse event-driven fundraising.
4. Final Recommendation
Fundraise Up earns a top-tier recommendation.
You should choose this software if your nonprofit’s core mission involves optimizing online donations, enhancing donor experience, and leveraging AI for conversion. From my analysis, this solution excels for focused online giving strategies and integrates smoothly with existing CRM systems for data management.
My confidence level is high for nonprofits focused on digital fundraising, offering a powerful tool for your revenue growth.
Bottom Line
- Verdict: Recommended
- Best For: Nonprofits prioritizing online donation optimization and conversion
- Business Size: Small to large nonprofit organizations
- Biggest Strength: AI-powered optimization for maximizing online donation conversion
- Main Concern: Limited comprehensive event management features for large-scale needs
- Next Step: Schedule a demo to see its AI capabilities firsthand
This Fundraise Up review demonstrates strong value for nonprofits focused on digital giving, while also highlighting the need to consider its specialized focus compared to all-in-one solutions.