A GiveSmart alternative with a year-round donor CRM
GiveSmart is an events and auctions platform: branded event pages, silent auctions with mobile bidding, ticketing and guest management, check-in and check-out, peer-to-peer and text-to-give. Both of its pricing models give you the whole platform. Neither publishes a number, and neither includes a year-round donor database. GiveSmart alternatives for auctions and mobile bidding are a different search from this one. This page is about what happens between the events.
What SAPu offers
A rate you can read
0% platform fees and Stripe at 2.2% + $0.30, published
Donor database included
Records, segmentation, notes and tasks in the free tier
Year-round tooling
Email, journeys, grants and volunteers in the same system
It replaces your whole stack, not just GiveSmart
A CRM here, a donation form there, email somewhere else. Sponsor A Purpose brings all of it into one connected platform.
Cost and what you get free
GiveSmart sells two ways, neither priced publicly: a fixed annual subscription with no per-transaction fee, or pay-as-you-go with the rate disclosed at signup. Sponsor A Purpose publishes both the price and the processing rate, and charges nothing per month for the CRM.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Free core CRM | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| No monthly subscription on the free tier | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Published pricing | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Published processing rates | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Donor CRM
Reporting and dashboards run on both, and GiveSmart's post-event reporting is good. What it does not have is a year-round donor database: records with giving history, segmentation, custom fields, notes and tasks are ours.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Donor records with full giving history | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Segmentation and custom fields | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Notes on contact records | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Tasks and activities | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Reporting and dashboards | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: yes |
Giving and payments
GiveSmart is built for the room: event ticketing and guest management, silent auctions with mobile bidding, and check-in and check-out are all theirs, and we do none of it. Donation forms, recurring giving and unlimited events and campaigns run on both. DAF giving and employer matching gifts are ours.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Donation forms and recurring giving | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: yes |
| Unlimited events and campaigns | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: yes |
| Event ticketing and guest management | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Silent auctions with mobile bidding | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Event check-in and check-out | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| DAF giving built into the widget | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Corporate matching gifts | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Communication and automation
Text-to-give is theirs. Fundraising email campaigns and prebuilt donor journeys are ours, and they are what turns an event guest into a donor who gives again.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Text-to-give | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Fundraising email campaigns | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Prebuilt donor journeys | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Grants
GiveSmart does no grant work. Grant discovery on IRS 990 funder filings and AI-assisted writing are add-ons here.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Grant discovery on IRS 990 funder data | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| AI grant writing | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Volunteers
GiveSmart has no volunteer side. Volunteer management is a $29 a month add-on here.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer management | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Services and support
Both are nonprofit-only, and GiveSmart's support is a genuine strength: 24/7 cover, dedicated implementation and an assigned customer success manager on both plans. Website design, hosting and appointment scheduling are paid services we add.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| 24/7 customer support | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Dedicated implementation support | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Appointment scheduling | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Website design and hosting (service) | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Nonprofit-only focus | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: yes |
