GiveSmart Review: Overview, Features, Pricing & Alternatives in 2025

Fundraising chaos. Sound familiar?

If you’re running events or online campaigns, you know how tough it is to juggle auctions, guest lists, donations, and donor data—all in one place.

The truth is, you’re probably still stuck with messy spreadsheets and endless manual data entry that keep you up at night wondering if donors slipped through the cracks.

That’s where GiveSmart steps in, offering an all-in-one platform for nonprofit event management, mobile bidding, donor CRM, and data insight. Having meticulously tested GiveSmart, I noticed their integration of auctions, ticketing, and peer-to-peer fundraising really simplifies your workflow and helps drive donations—no matter your event style.

In this review, I’ll break down how GiveSmart can finally organize your fundraising chaos and empower you to focus on building donor relationships, not spreadsheets.

In this GiveSmart review, you’ll see deep dives into features, pricing, strengths, limitations, and how it stacks up against other fundraising solutions.

You’ll walk away with the insights and features you need to make a confident, informed decision about your next fundraising platform.

Let’s get started.

GiveSmart Overview

Based in Florida, GiveSmart has been active in the market since 2013. Their mission is to help nonprofits boost fundraising by creating a better, more engaging experience for your donors.

They work with nonprofits, foundations, and schools seeking an all-in-one fundraising solution. What I find really sets them apart is their dedicated focus on combining event and online fundraising tools into a single, easy-to-use platform for your team.

Following their acquisition by Momentive, the recent MIP Fund Accounting integration is a key development. It’s a smart move, and I will cover its practical impact through this GiveSmart review.

Unlike competitors like Blackbaud that can feel disjointed, GiveSmart bundles everything together. Their approach of avoiding complex and costly add-ons is a major advantage for organizations that want straightforward pricing without surprises.

You’ll find them working with a wide range of organizations, from local school PTAs running their first silent auctions to large national foundations managing sophisticated, multi-channel annual campaigns.

From what I’ve seen, their current strategy is to create a single source of truth for your team. The goal is connecting live event data directly to your financial reporting, which eliminates tedious manual work and provides better insights.

Now let’s examine their core capabilities in detail.

GiveSmart Features

Constantly struggling to hit your fundraising goals?

GiveSmart features are designed to simplify and enhance your fundraising efforts across events, online campaigns, and donor management. Here are the five main GiveSmart features that can revolutionize your nonprofit’s approach.

1. Mobile Bidding & Silent Auctions

Tired of clunky, paper-based auctions?

Manual bidding processes can limit participation and reduce your auction revenue, creating unnecessary headaches for your team.

This feature allows supporters to bid on items directly from their mobile devices, dramatically expanding your reach. From my testing, the intuitive design for product descriptions makes setting up and managing silent auctions incredibly easy.

This means you can potentially increase your auction revenue by up to 30%, engaging more bidders from anywhere.

2. Online Fundraising & Donation Forms

Is collecting online donations a hassle?

Complicated donation processes can deter potential donors and limit your overall fundraising reach, leaving money on the table.

GiveSmart provides customizable, mobile-responsive donation forms for various campaigns, including text-to-donate options. What I love about this approach is how it simplifies recurring giving and broadens your mission’s reach. This feature truly makes it easier for donors to contribute.

So you can effortlessly capture donations, ensuring your organization can fund its vital programs more effectively.

3. Event Management & Ticketing

Planning events feel overwhelming?

Managing guests, tickets, and seating manually can be a huge time sink, diverting staff from more critical tasks.

This feature streamlines event planning with integrated ticketing, guest management, and contactless check-in/out. GiveSmart shines by supporting in-person, online, and hybrid events seamlessly, simplifying administrative tasks.

This means you can execute flawless events, saving your team countless hours and reducing logistical stress.

4. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Want to empower your biggest advocates?

Mobilizing supporters for fundraising can be challenging without the right tools, limiting your campaign’s viral potential.

GiveSmart allows supporters to easily create and share their own fundraising campaigns for various events like marathons or art competitions. This feature enables you to acquire new donors and deepen existing donor engagement by leveraging your community.

The result is your organization can tap into new networks, expanding your donor base and increasing overall contributions.

5. Donor CRM & Data Insights

Struggling with fragmented donor data?

Manual data entry and disparate systems can lead to inconsistent donor communication and inaccurate reporting, hindering strategic decisions.

GiveSmart’s integrated Donor CRM provides a cohesive view of all your fundraising activities, eliminating data errors. From my evaluation, the enhanced dashboards and reporting capabilities offer clear insights into donor behavior and performance.

This means you can make data-driven decisions, track donor interactions effectively, and send timely, personalized communications.

These GiveSmart features work together to create a unified fundraising ecosystem that empowers your organization to achieve its goals.

GiveSmart Pricing

Unsure about unpredictable software costs?

GiveSmart pricing is designed to be inclusive and transparent, aiming to avoid hidden fees while giving you robust fundraising tools for your organization.

1. Pricing Model & Cost Factors

Transparent costs from the start.

GiveSmart’s pricing model is a clear monthly subscription, starting at $1,195. What I found regarding pricing is that they aim for an all-inclusive approach, meaning most features like unlimited peer-to-peer campaigns, text-to-donate, and robust support are built into every plan.

This helps your budget stay predictable, avoiding unexpected charges as your fundraising activities scale.

2. Value Assessment & ROI

Maximizing your budget’s impact.

From my cost analysis, GiveSmart offers significant value by bundling powerful features and not charging extra transaction or ticketing fees, unlike many competitors. This eliminates common hidden costs that can quickly inflate your total spend, ensuring more of your raised funds go to your mission.

This means your organization gets robust tools without worrying about an escalating bill with every successful campaign.

3. Budget Planning & Implementation

Planning your fundraising budget.

While the core GiveSmart pricing is straightforward, remember that integrating with CRM providers other than their own may involve additional costs. However, what stood out to me is how they include dependable support regardless of plan, minimizing post-purchase expenses for ongoing assistance.

So for your business, consider your existing CRM needs when planning, but otherwise, expect a clear total cost of ownership.

My Take: GiveSmart’s pricing strategy is highly transparent and value-driven, making it an excellent choice for nonprofits and schools seeking comprehensive fundraising solutions without hidden fees.

The overall GiveSmart pricing reflects upfront value without hidden surprises.

GiveSmart Reviews

What do customers actually think?

This section provides an analysis of real GiveSmart reviews, offering balanced insights into what actual users experience with the platform across various feedback channels.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

Users seem largely pleased.

From my review analysis, GiveSmart maintains consistently high ratings, often averaging above 4 stars on major review sites. What I found in user feedback is how most customers report a positive and impactful experience, especially concerning their fundraising events, which is very promising.

This suggests you can expect GiveSmart to genuinely help achieve your fundraising objectives.

2. Common Praise Points

The ease of use stands out.

Users consistently praise GiveSmart for its intuitive interface, particularly for setting up and managing auctions and events. From the reviews I analyzed, the mobile bidding and text notification features are repeatedly highlighted as game-changers, significantly boosting engagement and revenue for organizations.

This means your event participants will find the process smooth and engaging.

3. Frequent Complaints

CRM integration issues emerge.

While generally positive, frequent complaints revolve around CRM integration limitations with third-party systems and challenges with clean, comprehensive reporting. What stood out in customer feedback is how users often struggle with extracting unified financial data, making manual calculations necessary for some reports.

These limitations might require workarounds if you rely heavily on external CRMs.

The overall GiveSmart reviews reveal a strong platform for event fundraising, despite some reporting and integration limitations.

Best GiveSmart Alternatives

Struggling to pick the perfect fundraising platform?

The best GiveSmart alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different business situations and priorities regarding fundraising, donor management, and event execution.

1. OneCause

Prioritizing robust auction and event management?

OneCause often excels with its strong auction management and clean event planning layout, offering more robust features for complex live and silent auctions. From my competitive analysis, OneCause offers superior in-house U.S.-based support, which can be crucial for critical event days.

You might choose OneCause if your primary focus is on highly robust auction features and dedicated, in-house support.

2. Classy

Need a powerful online fundraising campaign platform?

Classy shines for organizations heavily relying on diverse online campaigns, offering robust tools for recurring donations and peer-to-peer fundraising. What I found comparing options is that Classy provides superior donor profiles and accounting integration, making it a strong alternative for digital-first nonprofits.

Consider this alternative if your organization prioritizes comprehensive online fundraising tools and seamless accounting software integration.

3. Bloomerang

Looking for in-depth donor CRM and reporting?

Bloomerang is a strong contender if your primary need is a comprehensive donor database with excellent tracking and reporting functions, especially for smaller organizations. From my analysis, Bloomerang offers in-depth constituent tracking and superior reports, focusing heavily on donor engagement and retention strategies.

Choose Bloomerang if comprehensive donor CRM, strong reporting, and donor engagement are your top priorities.

4. Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT

Is a highly detailed donor CRM your priority?

Raiser’s Edge NXT excels in providing a highly detailed and comprehensive donor CRM, ideal for long-term donor relationship management and in-depth analytics. What I found comparing options is that Raiser’s Edge provides robust donor profiles for growth opportunity identification, though it often requires more add-ons.

You might consider this alternative if your organization needs deep donor analytics and comprehensive long-term relationship management.

The best GiveSmart alternatives ultimately depend on your specific fundraising priorities and organizational size, not just feature lists.

GiveSmart Setup

What does GiveSmart implementation really entail?

A GiveSmart review reveals a generally manageable deployment, designed to be user-friendly for fundraising, though navigating its features might present an initial learning curve. Here’s a practical breakdown.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Expect an initial learning curve here.

GiveSmart’s platform allows for quick event setup, but its extensive features mean new users might find the interface overwhelming. From my implementation analysis, getting comfortable can require significant time investment to fully utilize all functionalities.

You’ll need to plan for a dedicated period of exploration and basic configuration before launching your first major event.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

Minimal technical hurdles, but plan for integrations.

GiveSmart is a cloud-based, mobile-responsive solution accessible via web browsers, requiring no specific hardware or software beyond your existing devices. What I found about deployment is that it emphasizes secure payment processing and offers integrations with common CRMs and livestreaming tools.

Your IT team will focus on ensuring smooth payment gateway setup and efficient data flow with your existing donor management systems.

3. Training & Change Management

User adoption needs structured support.

While intuitive for basic use, the extensive features mean staff and volunteers will need dedicated training to fully leverage the system. From my analysis, organizations with limited technical expertise may face challenges with complete feature adoption without proper guidance.

Invest in the provided training resources and consider dedicated sessions for your team to ensure everyone masters the platform’s capabilities.

4. Support & Success Factors

Vendor support is a key success enabler.

GiveSmart is highly praised for its responsive support team, available via chat, email, and phone, including nights and weekends, for core platform issues. What I found about deployment is that their quick response time resolves technical issues effectively, though day-of event support might be outsourced and incur additional costs.

You should leverage their strong support channels during initial setup and consider external partners for critical event-day assistance if needed.

Overall, a GiveSmart setup is manageable, but successful implementation hinges on committed user training and leveraging their robust support system.

Bottom Line

GiveSmart: Your fundraising event powerhouse?

This GiveSmart review provides a clear final assessment, guiding you to understand its overall value proposition and whether it aligns with your specific fundraising needs.

1. Who This Works Best For

Nonprofits focused on event-based fundraising.

GiveSmart excels for nonprofit organizations, schools, and associations that heavily rely on event-based fundraising, especially those with multiple events featuring auction components. From my user analysis, fundraising teams managing live or silent auctions find this platform particularly effective for maximizing revenue and streamlining operations.

You’ll achieve significant success if your core fundraising strategy centers around engaging events and mobile-friendly donor interactions.

2. Overall Strengths

Event management and auction capabilities shine.

The software succeeds by offering robust event planning tools, mobile bidding, and text-to-donate features that enhance donor engagement and maximize auction revenue. From my comprehensive analysis, GiveSmart’s user-friendly interface simplifies complex event logistics while its transparent pricing provides peace of mind.

These strengths allow your organization to run smooth, highly engaging fundraising events, driving higher participation and achieving your goals.

3. Key Limitations

CRM integration and reporting need refinement.

While robust for events, some users report challenges with seamless integration with external CRMs and getting comprehensive, clean donor reports. Based on this review, you might incur additional fees for deeper CRM integrations beyond the built-in solution, and manual work may be needed for certain financial reports.

These limitations are important to consider, but for organizations prioritizing event functionality, they often represent manageable trade-offs.

4. Final Recommendation

GiveSmart is strongly recommended for event-focused fundraising.

You should choose this software if your organization frequently hosts fundraising events, particularly those involving auctions and requiring mobile engagement tools. From my analysis, your success will depend on your organization’s focus on event-centric fundraising as its primary revenue driver, rather than broader CRM needs.

My confidence level is high for organizations needing powerful event and auction management with dedicated support.

This GiveSmart review confirms strong value for organizations with event-based fundraising while highlighting important considerations for CRM integration and reporting needs.