Givebutter

Givebutter has rapidly become one of the most popular fundraising platforms for churches and nonprofits by pioneering the donor tipping model that keeps the platform genuinely free for organizations. Unlike traditional platforms that charge 3-8% of every donation, Givebutter passes 100% of donations to your organization while giving donors the option to add a tip to cover platform costs. The platform combines fundraising tools with a capable donor CRM in one integrated package. Campaign creation is remarkably intuitive - you can launch a professional fundraising page in under ten minutes with their drag-and-drop builder. Campaigns support various formats including one-time giving, recurring donations, peer-to-peer fundraising, crowdfunding with goals and thermometers, and event ticketing. The donor management features surprised us with their depth for a free platform. Contact records capture giving history, communication preferences, and engagement metrics. Segmentation tools let you create targeted lists for email campaigns. The built-in email marketing handles everything from donation receipts to newsletter campaigns with open and click tracking. Event ticketing integrates seamlessly with fundraising. Churches use this for galas, conferences, and special events where ticket sales and additional donations combine. The auction feature works well for charity events, handling item management, bidding, and payment collection. Peer-to-peer fundraising enables your supporters to create their own fundraising pages tied to your campaign. This works excellently for mission trips, building campaigns, or any initiative where personal networks drive giving. Fundraisers can customize their pages, track progress, and receive their own supporter lists. The mobile experience deserves mention - both the donor-facing pages and administrative dashboard work beautifully on phones. This matters because over 60% of online donations now happen on mobile devices. Payment processing handles credit cards, debit cards, ACH bank transfers, PayPal, Venmo, and even cryptocurrency. The tip-based model means organizations receive the full donation amount minus only the payment processor's fees (2.9% + $0.30 for cards, 1% for ACH).

Creating your Givebutter account takes just a few minutes. Visit givebutter.com and click 'Start Free' to begin. Enter your organization name, select 'Religious Organization' or appropriate category, and provide basic contact information. No credit card is required. After account creation, complete your organization profile thoroughly - this information appears on all your fundraising pages and builds donor trust. Upload your logo, write a compelling mission statement, and add photos that show your church's impact. Connect your bank account for receiving funds through the secure verification process. To create your first campaign, click 'Create Campaign' and choose your campaign type. For ongoing church giving, select 'Ongoing' which creates a permanent giving page. For specific projects or goals, choose 'Goal-Based' to display progress thermometers. Event-based campaigns work for galas or special occasions. Customize your campaign page using the visual editor. Add sections for your story, impact photos, testimonials, and giving levels. Configure suggested giving amounts - research shows churches see higher average gifts when offering options like $25, $50, $100, and $250 rather than leaving amounts open-ended. Set up recurring giving options to build sustainable revenue. Enable monthly, quarterly, and annual options. Many churches find adding a 'Suggested: Monthly' tag increases recurring donor conversions significantly. Integrate Givebutter with your other systems using the available connections. Link to Mailchimp for advanced email marketing, connect to Salesforce if you use it for broader CRM needs, or use Zapier to connect to hundreds of other applications. The embed code lets you add giving forms directly to your church website. Invite team members with appropriate access levels. Givebutter supports multiple administrators and limited-access roles for volunteers who need to view but not modify campaigns.