GiveSmart price and terms
Terms
- Free to start
- PartlyPartly
The terms in full
The Pay-As-You-Go model charges no upfront subscription fee and gives full platform access, but a transaction rate applies on every payment processed and is only disclosed at signup; there is no standing $0 plan and no trial is advertised.
- Sign up without sales
- NoNo
Where these prices come from
givesmart.com, checked
What we checked on GiveSmart
Fees on 200 tickets at $25
On 200 tickets at $25 ($5,000) card processing alone is 3.5% on Visa, Mastercard and Discover, about $175, rising to roughly $197 on American Express at 3.95%; the platform fee itself is never published, so the full total cannot be stated. If fees are passed, buyers pay an effective 3.627% on top.
Our current rates charged to organizations are 3.5% for Mastercard, Visa, and Discover transactions, and 3.95% for American Express transactions.
Fees on 50 tickets at $25
The same percentage applies at any size: 50 tickets at $25 is $1,250, so card processing is about $43.75 at 3.5%, and no minimum or small-event surcharge is published; the subscription or pay-as-you-go platform rate on top is still undisclosed.
On the page: Processing fee section
The fee per ticket
The fee on a paid ticket is a percentage of the transaction, 3.5% or 3.95% by card brand, and organizers can add an optional fixed fee per attendee that defaults to $0.00; no cap is published anywhere on these pages.
When GiveSmart ticketing is activated and fees are pass from an order form, there is an option to pass on a fee per attendee. On newly created…
Who pays the fees
The organizer chooses per campaign between absorbing all transaction fees, charging them to purchasers, or leaving a checkbox so buyers may opt in, set separately for order forms and checkout.
Paid by Organization: The organization absorbs all transaction fees.
Card processing
Fiserv (formerly CardConnect) processes the cards at 3.5% for Visa, Mastercard and Discover and 3.95% for American Express, deducted from proceeds before deposit unless the organizer passes them to buyers.
A credit card processing fee of 3.95% for AMEX and 3.5% for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover credit card purchases are combined daily. The credit card…
All-in price at checkout
The ticket price is shown first and the fee appears afterwards as a line added in the Order Summary, pre-checked but removable when fees are optional, so the first price a buyer sees is not the all-in total.
When an available ticket is selected within an Order Form, a checkbox appears in the Order Summary. The default is for the purchaser to pay the fees,…
Free events
No card processing applies where nothing is charged, and zero-price or complimentary tickets can be issued, but an optional fee per attendee set by the organizer is also charged on comped tickets, and the platform subscription applies regardless.
Note: If a value has been entered in the 'Fee per Attendee' field on the Global Settings, this fee will apply to Comp tickets as well.
Fees on refunds
The buyer can be refunded in full, but the card processing fee is not given back to the organization, so the organizer loses it; where the buyer had opted to cover fees, those fees are returned to the buyer.
Credit card fees are not returned to the organization during a refund; however, when the purchaser opts to pay the credit card fees, those fees will…
Plans and subscriptions
Two pricing models are offered with identical features: a fixed annual subscription that the vendor says carries no per-transaction fees, or pay-as-you-go with no subscription and a transaction rate instead.
Fixed annual subscription fee. No per-transaction fees. No surprise charges.
givesmart.comChecked
Donations and tips
Buyers can donate with or without a ticket through Donate Now, text-to-donate, custom donate items and recurring monthly gifts, and donation levels can appear inside the ticket order form; no platform tip prompt is documented at checkout.
Allow supporters to donate monetarily regardless if they attend the event. Supporters can simply click a button on the Home page and complete their…
Sales tax on tickets
adds a tax line that the organizer sets as a percentage, by charity rules or on selling price, but the vendor states this tax explicitly excludes ticket purchases, and nothing says GiveSmart remits sales tax for you.
Note: Excludes Ticket Purchases
When you get the money
Money goes to the organization's own merchant bank account as transactions batch nightly, with deposits within five business days of the batch, and no separate payout fee is published; processing fees are netted first.
Transactions are batched at 8:50 PM CST each business day and deposited into your account within 5 business days of the batch date.
Disputed charges
When a buyer disputes a charge with their bank, the amount is withdrawn from the organization's own bank account, so the organizer bears it, and GiveSmart says it is not even notified; no dispute fee amount is published.
Note: When a chargeback is submitted, GiveSmart is not notified. Chargebacks occur outside of GiveSmart. Therefore, limited information is available…
Your buyers’ details
Organizers hold the buyer and attendee records, can export the ticket orders and attendee reports, and can email or text those supporters from the platform's own communications tools.
Can I export my Ticket Orders Report? Yes. Select one of the buttons to the right of the search bar.
Ticket types and discounts
Ticket types carry their own price, quantity, sales start and end times, multiple discount codes with a discount price, and up to 50 attendees per ticket for tables and sponsor packages.
Discount Code (or Coupon Code) Enter the code a purchaser enters for the discounted price. Maximum of 20 alpha or numeric characters. Click…
Reserved seating
Seating is assigned by the organizer from a Seating Management page as tickets sell, not picked by the buyer; buyers can only state a preference through a custom ticket question that staff may honor.
Assign table seats or foursomes as tickets are purchased! Continue to manage assignments throughout sales, making adjustments as needed. Answers to…
Questions at checkout
Custom questions can be asked of purchasers and of each attendee, open-ended or multiple choice, shown on all ticket types or only specific ones, and optionally required.
Include questions purchasers and or attendees can answer at the time of purchase or confirmation. Meal choice, seating preference, dietary…
Registration forms and waivers
Registration collects name, mobile, email and address, can require email, address or a card on file, and adds ticket questions, but organizer-defined fields are capped at two per user and no signable waiver is documented.
Enable up to two custom fields per user to assign values such as table numbers, starting golf holes, or organization IDs, or customize the field…
Online events
Virtual and hybrid fundraisers are supported with a one-screen live stream presentation page where guests watch, chat, bid and donate, and streams can be embedded on the campaign home page.
Our one-screen experience for live stream virtual events allows you to run your program and direct donors to donate, bid, and participate in…
Sell on your own website
An order form or custom page can be embedded on the organization's own website through an iframe code, provided the hosting domain is first added to GiveSmart's include list.
To include your order form on an external website, add the website URL to the Include List. Once added, copy the embed code and provide it to that…
Website builders
embed only: the documented route onto any website is an iframe embed code with a domain allowlist, and no WordPress, Squarespace, Wix or Shopify plugin or app is documented.
On the page: Embed an order form section
Add-ons
Instant items such as merchandise and raffle entries can be sold in the same order form as the tickets, and are paid for at the time of purchase.
Can I sell items available along with ticket purchases? Yes. Visit Sell Instant Items from the Order Form to learn more.
Refunds and transfers by buyers
Purchasers can assign, reassign and unassign their own attendees from the receipt or Pay page and pay themselves at self-checkout, but returns and refunds can only be made by an organization or campaign admin.
Org and Campaign admins can return full ticket orders and choose how to handle the original payment.
Door sales
Tickets can be sold at the door by admins with a swiped, inserted or tapped card through the iOS app and a Clover Go or MagTek reader, or recorded as cash, check or other; the same processing rates apply.
Users can arrange to pay by cash or check directly with the organization. An Admin can indicate the user's checkout using one of these acceptable…
Email to buyers
Organizers can email and text supporters from the platform, choosing recipient groups including ticketed and non-ticketed users, and campaign records carry over when an event site is copied.
Stay connected with supporters via email.
Ad tracking
A Google Analytics 4 tag ID can be added in the Org Hub and tracks all donor-facing campaign pages; the help center never mentions a Meta or Facebook pixel, so only the Google side is established.
Analyze user engagement, such as the number of users who visit the site, number of page views, source clicks, device views, and more by including…
Promoter links
Champion peer-to-peer fundraisers get their own shareable personal pages and can see what they raised, but the vendor describes those pages as collecting monetary donations, not selling tickets on commission.
Champions are individuals committed to the goal of raising funds on behalf of your organization through their own personal fundraising page, which…
Works with
A Salesforce connector syncs settled transactions into Salesforce as Opportunities, and reports export for CRM upload to tools such as Greater Giving and Millennium; Mailchimp, Zapier and accounting integrations are not documented.
The GiveSmart Events Salesforce Connector is an "on demand" API sync, which can sync any settled transactions to your Salesforce instance as…
Free to start
The Pay-As-You-Go model takes no upfront subscription fee, so an organizer can start without paying the platform, but a transaction rate on processed payments applies and is only disclosed at signup.
No annual upfront subscription fee. A clearly disclosed transaction rate applies when payments are processed. Rate disclosed at signup and in your…
givesmart.comChecked
Sign up without a sales call
There is no sign-up path: both pricing models route to Request a Demo, a signed agreement sets the twelve-month subscription, and card processing needs a separately underwritten merchant account application.
Signing a GiveSmart contract provides you a twelve-month subscription to the technology to expand your fundraising throughout the year.
Contract
The annual model is a twelve-month contract covering unlimited events in the year, with contracted fundraisers listed in the agreement; the pay-as-you-go model is presented as avoiding that annual commitment, and no exclusivity is mentioned.
On the page: Opening paragraph
Support on event day
Phone, live chat and email all reach support, but the help center states business hours of 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM Pacific, Monday to Friday, with an emergency phone option for live events on evenings, weekends and nine listed holidays, while marketing pages claim 24/7 support.
7:00 AM–4:00 PM Pacific Time
GiveSmart alternatives
All 9 alternatives6 more alternatives
8 of the 9 publish a price.
- RSVPifyFree, then $0.90 per ticketRegistration, ticketing, guest management, seating, and QR-code check-in in one platform.
- Ticket TailorFree, then about $0.80 per ticketFlat per-ticket fee ticketing paid into your own Stripe, PayPal or Square account.
- GivebutterFree, then $33.80 a monthFree nonprofit fundraising platform with event ticketing, auctions and a built-in donor CRM.
- HumanitixFree, then $1.29 per paid ticketNonprofit ticketing: 5% + $1.29 a paid ticket, card processing included, profits to charity.
Sources and changes
Last changed
Sources23
- help.givesmart.com/help/pass-fees-to-purchaser
- givesmart.com/
- help.givesmart.com/help/create-additional-campaigns
- help.givesmart.com/help/embed-an-order-form-on-your-website
- help.givesmart.com/help/return-a-ticket-order
- help.givesmart.com/help/ticketing-faqs
- help.givesmart.com/help/user-payment-method-options
- help.givesmart.com/help/115001985108-create-ticket-to-purchase
- help.givesmart.com/help/115002436368-seating-management
- help.givesmart.com/help/360006569392-sending-email-messages
- help.givesmart.com/help/360019818152-apply-tax-based-on-selling-price
- help.givesmart.com/help/360027272791-batch-report
- help.givesmart.com/help/360043759952-what-is-champion-fundraising
- help.givesmart.com/help/ask-questions-to-attendees
- help.givesmart.com/help/contacting-events-support
- help.givesmart.com/help/donations-settings
- help.givesmart.com/help/events-salesforce-connector
- help.givesmart.com/help/include-custom-fields-on-user-accounts
- help.givesmart.com/help/merchant-account-faq
- help.givesmart.com/help/purchase-a-ticket-for-a-supporter
- help.givesmart.com/help/set-up-merchant-account
- help.givesmart.com/help/using-google-analytics-tracking
- givesmart.com/solutions/campaign-event-management
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