Our favorite peer-to-peer fundraising platforms for nonprofits

Do a quick search and you will discover there are plenty of options when it comes to peer-to-peer fundraising platforms. And, at Tackle, we have worked with a lot of them. The good, the okay, and the “this is amazing.”

So far on our journey, these are six of our team’s favorite peer-to-peer systems that are geared toward nonprofits. They all have their pros and cons so we thought we’d share a little bit about why we like each one. These favorites are listed in no particular order.

Classy

In 2011, Classy launched it’s peer-to-peer fundraising service, as well as crowdfunding, events, supporter management, and marketing automation. They were one of the first modern peer-to-peer systems to gain traction. Today, the company is used by over 4,000 nonprofit organizations.

From our experience, Classy is a well-supported platform, both backed in funding and with a solid customer service experience. They take a modern approach to their design, keeping in mind the user experience. It’s intuitive and easy to use and embraced by many well-known nonprofits.

Crowdrise by GoFundMe

Crowdrise was founded in 2010 and was acquired by GoFundMe in 2017. The company takes a “fun” spin on crowdfunding and is widely used by “tens of thousands of charities and events,” according to their website.

We like their super simple interface that also provides the ability to create very custom designed pages when needed. Crowdrise also integrates with Salesforce, though it can be spotty at times and usually involves a fairly technical team to get it setup.

Engaging Networks

While lesser-known, Engaging Networks is making waves and serves hundreds of nonprofits around the world.

This platform is a really good system that can be used not only for peer-to-peer fundraising, but also donation forms and even as an email marketing tool. Engaging Networks also integrates really well with Salesforce.

One Cause

After acquiring Great Feats, a company founded by former Convio executives, One Cause now provides peer-to-peer fundraising services and so much more.

One Cause has a super flexible platform that is easy to use and offers the ability to do a lot of different types of fundraising. If you are looking for something that is flexible, this is definitely a great option.

Blackbaud Luminate Online

Luminate Online is a cloud-based Blackbaud product that is widely used by many organizations. Like other systems, it does more than just peer-to-peer fundraising.

While more modern systems tend to be a little more user friendly, many people are already familiar and use Luminate Online so it generally integrates easily with what organizations are already using. It has proven to be very stable and Luminate Online has processes in place to support major fundraising events that see huge traffic in short bursts, which is very handy during those times.

Give Lively

Give Lively was founded in 2015, and is completely free to nonprofits to use. In fact, they have a “Forever Free Pledge” and promise to never charge for their services.

Even though their services are free it does not mean their system is lacking. While there is not a lot of flexibility in customization, their customer service and strong interest in user feedback is highly important to them and they are constantly working to improve their system. And it shows. It is easy to use and simple to get started. This is an excellent option for the small nonprofits who do not have a large budget, as well as the larger ones looking to discover if peer-to-peer fundraising is for them.

 

What are your favorite peer-to-peer fundraising platforms? We’d love to hear your thoughts!