8 Best Classy Alternatives to Fundraise More Efficiently

If you're looking for nonprofit tools to help you accept donations, manage your donor relationships, and scale your organization, you might be curious about trying Classy. But with high fees and contracts, that might not work for every nonprofit. In this article, we'll share the best alternatives to Classy that fit most nonprofit's needs and budgets.

8 minutes read
8 Best Classy Alternatives to Fundraise More Efficiently

Let’s face it: when you’re looking for fundraising software, it can be hard to find the tools that fit both your needs and your budget.

You might be tempted to go with Classy, one of the most well-known fundraising software companies for nonprofits. But you might not be ready to take on their cost.

Some organizations simply need a solution that works for them without the hefty price tag.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the 10 best alternatives to Classy. For each, we’ll outline their features, affordability, and our final verdict.

BonusChoosing the best Classy Alternative for your nonprofit


8 Best Classy Alternatives for Better Fundraising and Data Management

Finding the right fundraising software for your organization doesn’t have to be a headache! Let’s take a look at our number one pick for alternatives to Classy: Donorbox!


1. Donorbox

Donorbox is a leading online fundraising solution for 80,000+ organizations from 96 countries. With powerful fundraising and donor management tools, Donorbox has helped them raise more than $2 billion in donations.

Donorbox thrives on its range of intuitive and affordable features that suit all kinds and sizes of organizations. It grows to fit your needs at every step of your fundraising journey.

classy alternatives - Donorbox

Fundraise With Donorbox

Features

Organizations like Black Girls Code, Honnold Foundation, Maya’s Hope, etc. have used Donorbox features to increase their fundraising by 100-400%. These features are built with both nonprofits and donors in mind. Let’s have a look at some key Donorbox features

  • Embeddable and popup donation forms with customization options.
  • Unlimited fundraising campaign pages that are easy to design and share.
  • Recurring donations with daily/weekly/monthly/bimonthly/quarterly/yearly intervals.
  • Crowdfunding pages with dedicated space for the campaign story, updates, a donor wall, a subscription option, and more.
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising to invite supporters to fundraise with customizable pages.
  • Event ticketing helps create beautiful event pages and embeddable ticketing forms with unlimited ticket tiers, deadlines, ticket quantity, tax-deductibility information, the option to donate, Apple Pay payments, and more.
  • Membership campaigns with monthly and yearly payments.
  • International donations with up to 45 currencies.
  • Donor accounts to help manage donation plans, memberships, QuickDonate, and more.
  • Secure payment processing through Stripe and PayPal.
  • UltraSwift™ Pay makes giving super fast by including digital wallet options like Google Pay, PayPal, Apple Pay, Venmo, etc.
  • Text-to-give and QR code capabilities for quick mobile giving.
  • Automatic and customizable donation receipts as well as year-end tax receipts.
  • Donor management helps store and manage donor data, pull reports, add communication notes, receive important alerts, and more.
  • Integrations with leading CRM tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Blackbaud RE NXT, as well as other 2000+ applications via Zapier.

Affordability

Donorbox is free to start – no signup fees, contracts, or monthly fees involved!

The platform fee is the lowest in the market at just 1.75%. There will be an additional processing fee for Stripe or PayPal. But Donorbox lets you ask your donors to cover these fees, which 80% of them are happy to do.

Donorbox also offers a custom success package for nonprofits willing to level up their fundraising. It includes expert coaching services, premium tools, high-priority support, and an account manager. Learn more about Donorbox Premium here.

Final verdict – Classy vs. Donorbox

Donorbox is a top Classy competitor. It includes all the main features that Classy offers at affordable and transparent pricing.

Classy’s plans might be out of reach for smaller nonprofits. But Donorbox can help you whether you’re starting out or looking to make a switch. It can scale with you as you grow.

Thousands of churches, universities, schools, PTAs, arts and political organizations, animal rescue nonprofits, journalism, and medical organizations have opted for Donorbox to offer their supporters the best giving experience.

Nonprofit experts at Donorbox also work hard to provide organizations with up-to-date fundraising knowledge with the Nonprofit Blog, Donorbox Library, Donorbox Academy, The Nonprofit Podcast, and more.

With free signup and fully customizable features, Donorbox is highly dependable for organizations of any size.

Get started in 4 simple steps –

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2. Give Lively

Give Lively is a philanthropist-funded company that collaborates with nonprofits to create fundraising tech. Created in 2015, Give Lively has over 8,000 active member nonprofits.

Features

Give Lively offers some strong tools for fundraisers that you also find on Classy, including –

  • Customizable campaign pages.
  • Embeddable donation widgets.
  • Text-to-donate for easy mobile giving.
  • Event ticketing to help sell event tickets.
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising pages.
  • Team fundraising for collective appeals through peer-to-peer.
  • Integrates with Salesforce, PayPal, and Double the Donation.

Affordability

Give Lively is totally free with a membership, but only for 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Organizations without official 501(c)(3) status can’t use Give Lively’s tools at all. You will need to apply for the membership with the necessary details.

Final verdict – Classy vs. Give Lively

Give Lively is great for smaller 501(c)(3) nonprofits who need a completely free suite of tools.

In this way, Give Lively does beat Classy. They want to serve their mission of offering completely free tools to officially registered nonprofits.


3. Network for Good

Founded in 2001, Network for Good has worked with over 400,000 nonprofit leaders. Although their main focus is donor management, they also have strong online fundraising tools to help nonprofits each step of the way.

alternatives to classy - Network for Good

Features

Network for Good’s fundraising features include –

  • Organize and manage donors effortlessly.
  • Branded giving pages.
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising.
  • Text-to-pledge or text-to-give.
  • Automated tax receipts to donors.
  • Donor profiles with custom fields.
  • Data migration and import.
  • Reporting with custom filters.
  • Pledge management.
  • Ticketing management.
  • Auction functionality.

Affordability

Pricing depends on how many monthly donors your organization has. Their pricing is fully customized, but not available on their website.

Final verdict – Classy vs. Network for Good

Network for Good has a suite of tools that make it a solid Classy competitor. Although they also don’t have transparent pricing and tend to be on the more expensive side, they are trusted in the industry for their strong donor management features.


4. Givebutter

Givebutter was founded by three friends who wanted to create better fundraising tools to support a friend’s nonprofit. Interesting – and also packed with features equivalent to those of Classy at affordable pricing!

Features

Givebutter offers tools to fundraise, track donations, and engage with donors –

  • Branded donation forms and fundraising pages.
  • Recurring donations.
  • Simple and complex ticketing options.
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising.
  • Contact and donation management.
  • Stress-free auction management.
  • Donor engagement tools.
  • Integrates with Mailchimp, Bloomerang, Slack, and more.

Affordability

Givebutter’s fundraising tools are free, as long as you choose to let donors give tips. If you choose not to turn this on, you’ll pay platform fees starting at 1% plus processing fees.

Final verdict – Classy vs. Givebutter

Givebutter integrates with more tools than Classy and comes with a much more reasonable price tag, as long as you’re willing to ask donors to give them tips. Givebutter’s tools also work for organizations of any size.


5. Funraise

Funraise was founded by three nonprofit fundraisers who were tired of using multiple tools all just to fundraise online. This made fundraising effortless not just for them but many other organizations.

Funraise

Features

Funraise offers tools to make your online fundraising more powerful, such as –

  • Customizable online donation forms.
  • Monthly giving programs.
  • Campaign pages.
  • Donor portal app.
  • Facebook integration.
  • Text engagement
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising.
  • Events and ticketing.
  • Donation reports.
  • Automation of tasks, emails, fundraising processes, and more.

Affordability

Funraise’s free plan only includes some of its features like donation buttons, automated donation receipts, donor management, and reports. Their enterprise plan, which includes all of their features, starts at $2,500 a year.

Final verdict – Classy vs. Funraise

Although their free plan doesn’t include all their features, Funraise still beats out Classy when it comes to great fundraising tools for free. Funraise’s free plan is great for smaller nonprofits who want basic tools to make online fundraising easier.


6. Donately

Donately was founded in 2013 in partnership with Fifty & Fifty to create fundraising solutions for nonprofits. This Classy alternative works with over 1,200 nonprofits, churches, businesses, and agencies.

Features

Donately’s features vary depending on the pricing level you choose; here are their offered features –

  • Custom donation forms.
  • Donation pages.
  • Weekly, monthly, and yearly recurring donations.
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising pages.
  • Donor insights & donation data.
  • Text messaging.
  • Integrates with Google Analytics, Quickbooks, and more through Zapier.

Affordability

Donately has 3 pricing levels that offer different features depending on your needs.

Their free level is $0 a month with a 4% platform fee. Their starter level is $15 a month, with a reduced platform fee of 3.5%. And their team level is $49 a month with a platform fee of 2%.

Final verdict – Classy vs. Donately

Donately is a great basic option for nonprofits who want fundraising tools without breaking the bank. This can be a solid Classy competitor for smaller nonprofits just starting out with online fundraising.


7. Fundly

Fundly’s tools are specifically geared toward crowdfunding. For organizations mostly interested in crowdfunding functionalities and some other basic fundraising features, this can be a great Classy alternative.

Features

Fundly’s features include the following –

  • Create a custom fundraising page.
  • Post blog-like updates.
  • Embed donation forms into Facebook.
  • Mobile responsive pages.
  • Data analytics.
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising for individuals and teams.
  • Fundraising events and ticket sales.
  • Giving levels.
  • Integrates with Gmail, Constant Contact, and more to communicate with donors.

Affordability

Pricing depends on where you’re located.

In the U.S. and Canada, their pricing is 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. In the U.K., pricing is 2.4% plus 20 pence.

Final verdict – Classy vs. Fundly

If all an organization wants to do is crowdfund, Fundly is a much cheaper and more streamlined alternative to Classy. However, it does miss some functionality when it comes to donor management and integrating with other aspects of online fundraising.


8. Little Green Light

Little Green Light’s founders started the company in 2007 with the goal of helping nonprofits spend less time on data management. They offer solid donor management tools to help nonprofits, along with online fundraising.

alternatives to classy

Features

Little Green Light’s fundraising and data management features include –

  • One-time or recurring donation forms.
  • Secure payment processing with Stripe, PayPal, and ProPay.
  • Constituent management.
  • Import and export data.
  • Contact management.
  • Built-in and customizable reporting.
  • Easy to send receipts.
  • Integrates with Quickbooks, Mailchimp, WealthEngine, and more.

Plus, Little Green Light integrates with Donorbox, giving you a completely streamlined workflow!

Affordability

Little Green Light’s pricing depends on the number of constituents you’ll have. Their lowest option for up to 2.5k constituents is $486 a year billed annually.

Final verdict – Classy vs. Little Green Light

Since Little Green Light is focused on donor management, their tools have a lot of thoughtful features to make them a Classy alternative. Their pricing is more attainable for smaller nonprofits, too.

If you’re looking for in-depth donor data management in addition to basic fundraising, this Classy alternative is a great choice for you.


Choosing the Right Classy Alternative for Your Nonprofit

Classy is a great fundraising tool for nonprofits with a number of useful online fundraising and donor management features. But it is also said to be aimed at enterprise-level organizations with higher pricing plans. As a result, a lot of nonprofits are looking for an alternative that will be a more suitable option for their organizations.

So, as you zero in on an alternative, it is advisable that you keep in mind the following tips –

  • Look for a free plan – Try out the features you need and decide whether this option works for you.
  • Check for add-on integrations – Integrating with marketing, automation, and CRM tools, even if you have to pay a little extra, is worth it for improved donor engagement efforts.
  • Compare with Classy features list – Make a list of Classy features you’d want to use and compare this list with those that the alternative is offering.
  • Think from the giving perspective – Your Classy alternative should also be built for donors. Find out what they’re doing for the best giving experience.
  • Keep your future goals in mind – The right fundraising tool should grow along with you. Remember to discuss your goals as you opt for one.

Donorbox comes with free signup and no monthly fees. It is built keeping your donors’ convenience in mind – while also making it simple for you! Learn about our list of features and integrations on the website to make the best choice for your organization!

Here’s what Nova Ukraine, one of our nonprofit users, has to say about Donorbox –

Get Started With Donorbox


Next Steps

Although it can be easy to go with a big-name company, remember that sometimes big names come with big prices. Choosing which donation software will depend on your size, your fundraising needs, and any goals you have moving forward.

Donorbox has an accessible price point and is an all-in-one fundraising option for organizations. That’s why it’s the number 1 alternative to Classy – and a trusted partner for 80,000+ nonprofits all over the world!

Subscribe to our Nonprofit Blog newsletter if you’d like to receive such insightful blogs, fundraising tips, free resources, and more in your inbox every month!

Get started with Donorbox today and create your fundraising campaign in just 15 minutes.

Lindsey Baker

Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.

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