Greater Giving vs. Event Gives: Pricing and Features

Welcome to an in-depth analysis of fundraising technology as we delve into Greater Giving’s pricing and plan features. In this comprehensive blog, we'll dissect the platform's features and costs compared side-by-side with Event.Gives, catering to both seasoned fundraisers and newcomers. We aim to empower you with the insights necessary to make an educated choice for your fundraising initiatives. Join us as we navigate the intricacies of Greater Giving pricing and its feature set for its many plans, providing you with the knowledge to navigate the fundraising landscape effectively.

Strengths of Event.Gives

When it comes to live events, Event.Gives stands out as the best platform to bring technology to your attendees' fingertips with ease. Its minimalist and simple interface makes even your most technologically-challenged attendees feel confident and comfortable bidding and donating at your event. It was designed with the attendee experience as the top priority while also being an easy plug-and-play template that looks clean, professional, and showcases your cause. In addition, the live-streaming features are easy to set up, which makes including guests that cannot physically attend your event a no-brainer. 

We know firsthand how much work goes into planning these events and Event.Gives provides free pre-event consulting and coaching, which helps equip you with best practices and helpful tips on increasing donations throughout your event. Now, let's talk about peace of mind on event day. Event.Gives offers affordable day-of support options, ensuring a smoother experience for organizers. From a dedicated remote technician to an onsite staff member who will train and ensure the platform performs precisely to plan, Event.Gives can support you and your volunteers no matter what issues arise for a super affordable cost. 

Strengths of Greater Giving

With a steadfast presence spanning over two decades, Greater Giving has consistently supported nonprofit organizations in achieving their goals. The platform presents a diverse array of features and programs, affording the versatility to host a variety of event types seamlessly. A distinctive facet of Greater Giving is its independent bank and payment processor status. This attribute positions them as a PCI compliance leader, although it entails additional steps on the organizational front to secure approval and manage credit card authorizations.

Additionally, Greater Giving's emphasis on data analytics gives organizations insights to inform strategic decisions. Their platform provides comprehensive reporting tools that allow nonprofits to assess the performance of their events, track donation trends, and identify areas for improvement. These analytics enable organizations to fine-tune their strategies for future events, optimizing engagement, revenue generation, and overall impact. By harnessing the power of data-driven decision-making, Greater Giving enables nonprofits to elevate their fundraising efforts and achieve higher levels of success. With payment processing and advanced data analytics as just a glimpse into their suite of features, Greater Giving is a versatile and forward-thinking solution that empowers nonprofits to thrive in the world of fundraising.

Unique Features for Event.Gives

Event.Gives offers features closely aligned with Greater Giving's Expert+ plan, including capabilities for live and silent auctions. However, Event.Gives introduces distinctive elements:

1. Ticket Scanner

One distinctive feature that sets Event.Gives apart from Greater Giving for fundraising events is the advanced ticket scanner capability. Event.Gives offers a seamless ticket scanning process, allowing event organizers to manage attendee entry and enhance the event experience effortlessly. This feature ensures a smooth and line-free check-in process, contributing to a more organized and enjoyable event for attendees and organizers.

2. Raffle Features

Event.Gives' robust raffle features stand out as a key differentiator from Greater Giving for fundraising events. With Event.Gives, guests have the convenience of purchasing raffle tickets directly from their mobile devices. The platform also offers a randomized winner tool, enhancing fairness, and notifies the winner seamlessly through SMS messages. In contrast, while Greater Giving supports raffles, it lacks the self-service ticket purchasing option for guests and the automated winner generation that Event.Gives provides, making Event.Gives a more user-friendly and engaging choice for hosting raffles during fundraising events.

3. Consignment Items Integration

Event.Gives has a consignment integration with GoCharity, where you can seamlessly add items from the consignment storefront to your event with a button click. This quick and easy process allows you not only to add items but also to sell duplicate items to attendees who were outbid during the auction, which could double or triple your fundraising revenue. While Greater Giving accommodates consignment items, their platform lacks integrated consignment items.

4. Instant Payout

Event.Gives' instant payout feature is a notable distinction from Greater Giving for fundraising events. By utilizing Stripe as their payment processor, Event.Gives offers the flexibility to configure settings for immediate fund transfers into your bank account, ensuring timely access to raised funds in the lead-up to and during your event. In contrast, while Greater Giving allows regular payout requests, their fee structure encourages batch payouts, which can result in higher fees for more frequent payout requests. Event.Gives' instant payout mechanism thus provides a streamlined and efficient approach to fund accessibility, setting it apart as an advantageous choice for fundraising events.

Unique Features for Greater Giving

The Greater Giving Expert+ plan is a robust plan for live events and distinguishes itself through the following features:

1. Max Bid

Greater Giving empowers bidders to set maximum bids, automatically placing new bids until reaching their specified limit. This is a strategic feature that increases engagement in silent auctions and can make an impact on funds raised. While Event.Gives is developing this feature, it's not yet available. 

2. Event Templates

Greater Giving's distinct offering lies in its event templates, providing event organizers with pre-designed frameworks that expedite event creation and planning. This unique feature streamlines the setup process, offering a head start in configuring various event types. While Event.Gives doesn't offer traditional event templates, it counters with a feature allowing event duplication that transfers over settings for any event type, presenting an alternative approach to simplify event setup and configuration.

3. Peer-to-Peer

Greater Giving offers peer-to-peer functionality, for donation pages and traditional peer-to-peer fundraising, where Event.Gives does not have the ability for supporters to create personal campaign pages to fundraise on an organization’s behalf. One thing to note is that the peer-to-peer features are an add-on plan that is an additional $295. While Event.Gives does not have the full realm of peer-to-peer functionality, you can set up donation pages on behalf of your supporters to use as a campaign, and you can hold vote-to-donate events. 

Greater Giving Pricing Compared to Event.Gives Pricing

Nonprofit organizations dedicate unwavering efforts to raise funds for their causes, choosing fundraising software a paramount consideration, with platform costs at the forefront. As previously noted, Greater Giving's Expert+ plan closely parallels Event.Gives' platform, particularly as Greater Giving's Event plan excludes live and silent auction features.

The cost of fundraising platforms carries substantial weight in nonprofit decision-making. Greater Giving's Expert+ plan bears the closest resemblance to Event.Gives' platform, given the absence of live and silent auction capabilities in the latter's Essentials plan. Mobile bidding platforms have demonstrated the potential to elevate funds by 30-50%, surpassing the variance in plan costs. Event.Gives' platform is available for free, but entails fees based on processed transactions, while Greater Giving's model features a baseline fee along with credit card fees based on transaction volumes. Owing to the two companies' contrasting pricing structures, comprehending their comparison can be intricate. Insights from past customers' pricing data for Greater Giving are available on galapricing.com, facilitating direct contrasts.

Here is an overview of the feature comparisons and a pricing breakdown shown on slide 4. 

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Both platforms have garnered commendable reviews and enjoy substantial respect within the industry. As you contemplate the most suitable platform for your upcoming event, your key priorities will influence your choices. 

• Greater Giving's approach, notably their Peer-to-Peer add-on, is well-tailored for extensive peer-to-peer fundraising efforts.
• For heightened support during your event preparation phase, Event.Gives presents a robust option.
• If you're seeking to utilize the max bid feature, it's advisable to opt for Greater Giving until Event.Gives introduces Max Bid functionality to their platform.
• Event.Gives particularly excels with its offerings of supplementary consignment items and printable templates, making it a more budget-conscious alternative.

In terms of pricing, Event.Gives stands out due to its affordability and the flexibility of its fee structure, rendering it an enticing choice for your fundraising event.

If you decide to work with Event.Gives, you'll have access to a team of event experts who will guide you through the planning process, from creating your event site to post-event reporting. With Event.Gives, you can rest assured that you have a team of experienced professionals supporting you every step of the way, ensuring that your fundraising event is a success!