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Pros:

GiveSmart is an easy way to integrate fully functional auction and bidding management software in any organization.

Cons:

E en if you use two vendors you can mask that with software so that we don't have to know. I have had many complaints from folks trying to purchase the online raffle tickets.

GiveSmart ratings

Average score

Ease of Use
4.4
Customer Service
4.6
Features
4.2
Value for Money
4.3

Likelihood to recommend

8.5/ 10

GiveSmart has an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 207 user reviews on Capterra.

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Filter reviews (207)

Kenneth
Kenneth
Chief Operating Officer in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Military
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

HIGHLY satisfied customer for over 5 years now. Amazing customer support!

5.0 7 years ago

Comments: Nearly full event management by using this software.

Pros:

Easy to use, customize and edit and update. Features offered have improved each year we have contracted with Givesmart. "One stop shopping" for event and auction management. We have utilized more features each year. What started as just utilizing auction management capability with limited effort into making the online auction site attractive has evolved to guest ticketing, table assignments, a highly customized auction site that reflects the event theme and with real time auction progress and bids scrolling on large screen ad televisions throughout the event venue to increase people's competitive bidding nature. After action information has been vital to determining what auction items had the most interests and highest profit margin. Has enabled us to better focus solicitation efforts for the next year.

Cons:

Really very few cons for the software. Only limitation observed was limited printing options for auction item description for printing on card stock. There needs to be several options for the size and information/photo of the descriptive card tents.

Jessica
Development & Marketing Manager in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

GiveSmart Review

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County uses GiveSmart frequently for events and other giving campaigns. It is super easy to set up campaigns and run them yourself. The GiveSmart staff is incredibly helpful on event days.

Pros:

User friendly Clean, presentable look Unlimited events

Cons:

Setting up new users with passwords tends to be difficult for us

Kierstin
Donor Relations and Events Director in US
Individual & Family Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Bad decision to purchase

3.0 2 years ago

Comments: This was one of the worst technology purchases I have made with an organization. I regret bringing my team into this and spending a lot of money for very limited use cases and poor customer support.

Pros:

I liked the ability to manage event registration, seating, and event fundraising in one place. I liked that sponsors, vendors, volunteers, and attendees could all have their own registration page for the same event.

Cons:

We did not use the Auction component and actually opted for pen and paper after realizing the Givesmart Auction functionality. It does not look appealing or feel easy-to-shop for an attendee who is immersing in the software during the event. There was almost NO customization available for fundraising for units of impact as opposed to dollar amounts. The user (me) had very little ability to redefine an event attendee's experience on the platform. I had to spend weeks if not months requesting very simple changes to the giving forms. My experience with customer support was poor. They would reach out to me a few weeks before my event to see if I was using all the software features available and push me to integrate them that late in the project. There seemed to be no consideration for the user and where they are in the planning process versus what sales objectives they needed to accomplish before my renewal period arrived.

Jessica
Consultant in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

The best product I have found in the online event fundraising market

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: I've worked with GiveSmart for many years -- from the time they were Auctions By Cellular, Gesture and now GiveSmart. I have also worked with competitors and GiveSmart is the best product on the market due to their easy-to-use platform, staff support throughout the event planning process, and their onsite staff teams.

Pros:

GiveSmart has excellent staff support and they are always quick to respond to questions, timely with email responses, and most importantly their onsite staff is excellent.

Cons:

Not a great platform for live auctions - still not good enough to substitute for an "old fashioned" paddle raise. Lack of customization (font size, spacing around images, content) opportunities for the auction displays.

Brandi
Office Manager in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Perfect Addition to Our Events

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: We looked around for awhile at a lot of different products before we settled on GiveSmart. Ultimately this one provided everything we needed with the perfect value for our money. So glad I found it!

Pros:

Very user friendly, all of the features we were looking for in a software program.

Cons:

There are certain things we cannot change/update ourselves. We have to contact support and have them do it.

Bri
Communications and Events Coordinator in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Improving their platform more and more each year!

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: GiveSmart makes it easy to enjoy an event/fundraiser by taking care of all customer needs and questions.

Pros:

The event page was a very clear and concise hub to drive people towards our silent auction. I loved the customization that allowed you to match the design of the link to your event, in addition to the generic donate button.

Cons:

The fact that the back end of the items tab didn't show a photo preview icon on each line. Also, that there isn't a comprehensive final report you can direct download all at once. Instead, you must click into each category of results you want to see one by one and download.

Stephanie
Director of Development in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Limited functionality and customization

2.0 5 years ago

Comments: I wish the people selling the product and facilitating its use had actual fundraising experience

Pros:

My staff had used it before and thought it was easier to use.

Cons:

Lacked basic software capabilities and extremely limited customization

Matt
Associate Director of Resource Development in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

GiveSmart is great

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Fantastic. Highly recommended.

Pros:

Fantastic customer service. Like, seriously, the best. Better than any other vendor we use. The product is loaded with features, most of which we take advantage of -- auction items, auction packages, raffle tickets, event tickets, paddle raises, donations, users, registrants, etc. It's very intuitive to use; not difficult to set up a new event; very thorough and reporting capabilities; easy to process credit cards and receive payments...

Cons:

The visual design is a bit bland. Could be more pretty.

Heather
Senior Consultant in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Great customer support

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: I loved the platform and the interface. The customer service it fantastic - especially that they have people come out and help with your events that truly care about the nonprofit sector. They really went above and beyond to help us close the auction and get the data inputted correctly!

Pros:

I really liked the salespeople and the way thy helped you with anything you needed. This is the best customer support I've seen from all mobile bidding sites.

Cons:

My only negative is the price for small nonprofits. If it were more affordable, I would use them again and again!

Mindee
CEO/Executive Director in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Virtual Auction Support & Success

4.0 4 years ago

Pros:

GiveSmart allows you to retain auction item and participant information from year to year, saving significant time on data entry.

Cons:

The label printing functionality needs to be expanded/further developed.

Amy
Director of Special Events in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Givesmart for fundraising

4.0 2 years ago

Pros:

Givesmart's platform looks great on the user end. it had all the functionalities I was use to and the price was better. Once I got used to the back end, I was able to set up my site easily

Cons:

There is a strong learning curve (at least for me) and I felt it was not as user friendly as other platforms. Some things were not very intuitive and took a lot of trial and error to figure out. Learning the system was time consuming and many features are still not available.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Nonprofit Organization Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Amazing event support

4.0 6 years ago

Comments: GiveSmart provides much needed day of event support as well as an easy to use interface for auction bidding. Reporting has helped ease the closeout process and assure everyone receives their items and we receive payment. They send continuous follow-up to donors for payment post event. You also have access to crowdfunding for 6 months after your event has ended.

Pros:

Easily create auction website to link to your website. Bidders receive texts when they have been outbidded. You are able to create endless silent and live auction items for your page. Event support is so responsive and you are able to customize your support needs for in state and out of state events. Their team arrive to your event with ipads to complete donor bidder profiles on site. They will come to your booth in exhibit hall and encourage people to register for bidding. They are super friendly and outgoing and are great as live auction spotters. They raise far more than their cost and double our giving. You are able to even enter in different pledge amounts as donation items on the auction site.

Cons:

They are a little costly however it's worth it for a smooth, successful event. I do wish the website was a little more attractive and grouped the silent and live items together. The items appear kind of small and cramped together.

Meghan
Meghan
Manager of Auxiliaries + Volunteer Leadership in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Individual & Family Services, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Worth the investment to skyrocket your event fundraising!

5.0 7 years ago

Pros:

Ultimately, it has very clear ROI for the agency. The transition from paper building to mobile has drastically increased our pre-event and day of event fundraising. My favorite part about the software is the increase in funds collected the night of the event. It was incredibly unfortunately how much staff time we had to dedicate post event to collecting money, for many of our events we not have 100% funds collected the night of the event, which frees our staff up to focus on thanking donors. Lastly, the interface is very easy to understand and navigate. We have a number of events that have more mature attendees, who were skeptical when we began to make the transition from paper to electronic. After one use they all required we use the technology at future events. This is also a credit to the Gesture onsite staff who really meet the attendees where they are at and give extra attention when needed!

Cons:

I guess my comments would be both a pro and a con. The fact that Gesture is constantly evolving and improving the technology it can sometimes be hard to keep up with all of the current offerings and capabilities as a client. This is one of many vendors you work with so it can be hard to keep yourself educated. Although, this is when you really rely on your account manager to relay this information to you, which our, representtaive, does a wonderful job.

Karen
Karen
Gala Chairman in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great company, easy to use, lots of great features!

5.0 7 years ago

Comments: I have been able to generate reports that I need for sharing with my committee and for tax letters. Also, the on-line bidding system is a favorite of our guests. I love the messaging too. It allows me to send messages to my guests pre, during, and post event.

Pros:

I love that you can generate reports (I use Excel) with information you need for money raised on tickets-silent-live-raffle items, $ raised by donor, FMV vs what was donated for tax purposes, and the list goes on. The spreadsheets can be sorted as you like for your purposes. I also like the messaging. You can send out text messages to your guests for reminders like auction open for bidding, parking, auction closing, links to photos post event, etc. You can also generate tax letters from the site. A lot of great features!

Cons:

The only thing I wish it could do is generate tax letters for each guest separately. If you need to make a change for one guest, you have to generate all letters as they go into a single PDF file. You can't just generate them for one guest. Not a major problem, just wish it was a feature. Overall it is a great system!

Community Brands Response

7 years ago

Karen - Thank you for the wonderful feedback! We will let our development team know of your suggestion! We love working with Folds of Honor Chicago and look forward to many more incredible events!

Kenneth
Kenneth
COO in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

BEST ONLINE AUCTION RESOURCE OUT THERE

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: Cannot sing their praises more. If you want to go with a group that honestly cares about wanting to make your event a success, use GiveSmart.

Pros:

Customer service is INCREDIBLE. The organizations has utilized GiveSmart for 4 years and has never had an issue. When they assign an event representative to you, you can be assured that any question you may have in setting up the auction site or any technical problems that you may have will be resolved immediately by the assigned rep or they will ensure that they find the right person to correct the issue or answer the question if they cannot immediately help. In addition to the auction management, their pacakge allows for FULL event management; everything from

Cons:

Cost of using the service would be the only negative, and not really a negative because their costs are actually lower than some other options that the organization looked into.

Shelley
Director of Finance in US
Education Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Decent bidding software, horrible customer service

3.0 4 years ago

Comments: Up until this year I have been pleased with GiveSmart. We have been GiveSmart customers for several years, starting out with 501 and then converting platforms to GiveSmart. I have been extremely disappointed with GiveSmart's customer service during the pandemic. They will not budge on previously signed contracts- despite live events (still several months out) being canceled and the GiveSmart team not being allowed to travel. I even asked about just extending our contract so that we can continue to use GiveSmart at a future event (2022?) but even that is apparently not an option- our only option is to be held to a contract and lose our deposit on an event that can't happen. Sad to think they are willing to lose a customer rather than even attempting to work with us.

Pros:

Bidding functionality is great with GiveSmart. The SetUp is easy- as long as you are ok with their preformatted template- the majority of the pages are all formatted and can not be customized, even something simple like trying to move one section up or rearrange various sections on a webpage is simply not possible.

Cons:

Very little customization. Not user friend for virtual events- great for bidding but does not allow streaming or actual event coverage. In order to host a virtual event a secondary software also has to be used to actually stream/ cover the event.

Bettie
Tech Support in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Fundraiser Support

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Easy input of our items & images, because of the Excel sheets provided. Really happy with the reports available.

Pros:

We have used GiveSmart for almost 3 years. Everyone I have been in contact with has been helpful, will go that extra step to make sure I understand. I'm including the Resource area, I have used it several times and if I need more help I use chat. We usually have a large Fundraiser set up each year with Sponsor Recognition, Silent & Live Auctions and we have GiveSmart provide us with 6 GiveSmart support. They help with Registration and Checkout, which makes the fundraiser very streamline. This year is different, we have had two Virtual Fundraisers, which was a very quick transition for us. GiveSmart was a great help and the first one was a great success and we are currently doing the second one now and so far no problems.

Cons:

The only problem is that we do not have an easy connection between GiveSmart & our accounting system. Our Treasurer has trouble with what she receives from GiveSmart.

Lisa
volunteer in US
Philanthropy, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Great assist for raising funds in our community

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Overall our club's experience with its fundraiser using GiveSmart was great. You can have several administrators to share the load of work when you are an all volunteer organization. Our

Pros:

The Customer Service is right by your side in setting up your site and they provide a great "help" base with written and video information. Once you get the hang of uploading your donations it's quite easy. I like that once your account is secured, you can begin working on the site. We start up on our next event in August just lining things up and continue to refine it until our event in April. Takes the pressure off of the volunteers.

Cons:

I have sent suggestions based on a previous product we've used to their IT and wish I would hear back. I also would like to see the company provide a separate pricing index for organizations that are strictly community service and all volunteer. We're working hard to raise funds for our community and have no hired leadership. Makes it tough. A drawback for us has been the ability to create and send a personalized thank you identifying the object and tax information to donors as I upload their donation. We have to do an extra step outside of the product.

Jill
Jill
Director of Advancement and Community Relations in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Education Management, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great product, great people.

5.0 7 years ago

Comments: It makes my online auction much easier.

Pros:

The best thing about Gesture are the people who work there! We LOVE our account rep - she is super responsive. The folks that come out to work the auction are always wonderful too. The extra staff support is essential to our event! I also think the interface is very user-friendly and not overly complicated.

Cons:

I wish there were an easier way to do a mass photo upload for items, and I wish that items said SOLD instead of CLOSED when they are purchased outright, and that they said NOT OPEN FOR BIDDING if they are something being auctioned in the future.

katrina
consultant in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

GiveSmart is a great tool!

4.0 2 years ago

Comments: GiveSmart provides a relatively easy to use auction and ticketing platform that looks good on desktop and mobile. Auction check out is plug n play!

Pros:

The customer service is AMAZING--the chat support has walked me through a myriad of questions and helped me in real time set up campaigns and avoid mistakes.

Cons:

The ticketing feature is not as user friendly as the auction feature and unfortunately information can't be transferred between the two.

Carrie
Special Event Coordinator in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Overall, great product

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: The account managers have been a pleasure to work with. We've also utilized the in-person staff for our auction event. They were professional and helpful.

Pros:

Ease of use, able to quickly set-up a new event and make changes as needed. Encompasses most of our fundraising needs

Cons:

Limited P2P fundraising abilities, which they have started incorporating

Cleve
Retired in US
Religious Institutions, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Covers All The Bases

4.0 4 years ago

Comments: Not a fan of the fact that someone on our dropped the fee for user support and had us go DIY but that's on us and I made it work anyway

Pros:

Fairly easy to figure out. With enough lead time a and lab scenario deployments most folks can work it out.

Cons:

Little cludgy trying to get the card readers and IPADs. Come on now, one stop shopping. E en if you use two vendors you can mask that with software so that we don't have to know. I have had many complaints from folks trying to purchase the online raffle tickets. Once they click the buy they get the message that KS for your purchase. They have actually added multiple tickets to their cart trying to figure out how to actually purchase the tickets. You should change the phrase to "you items have been added to your cart" and NOT thank you for the purchase. Or add verbiage that says now click the "Pay" button to continue.

Val
Executive Director in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great System

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: GiveSmart support is always quick and helpful. Overall GiveSmart works for us, but I wish it was a little more user friendly on the admin side for sponsorship groups and groups of tickets.

Pros:

This system works very well for us for its silent auction capabilities. Easy to use and increased our revenue from a paper system. Also great for instant buys (wine pull, raffle tickets) and donations. Easy to use system for guests.

Cons:

I wish there was more flexibility in the ticket purchasing side. Guests that are part of a group of tickets that have been pre-purchased are not able to go on to update their own information. This makes the check-in process longer as we try to capture the information that is needed (addresses). Did not like having to buy their specific swipers at such a high cost to use once a year.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Nonprofit Organization Management, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

They used to be really good, now just okay

4.0 5 years ago

Comments: They used to be great, they tried to expand, they couldn't handle the workload and the quality declined drastically.

Pros:

Initially, the customer support and the features they offered were amazing, and priced very competitively.

Cons:

They purchased at least one other company, and they experienced a lot of growing pains. The quality of the employees dropped insanely. We no longer work with them.

andrea
Events Manager in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

GiveSmart helped us streamline and go virtual!

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: GiveSmart is easy to use software that helped us transform fundraising events. In particular this year, when we have switched to a virtual format for our fundraising events, we relied on GiveSmart to make it happen Their team of dedicated staff is helpful with guidance and fixing problems. The system is easy to use and navigate and allows us to track and analyze financial and donor information post-event.

Pros:

The ease of use, clear guidelines provided, and helpfulness of the account manager assigned to our project.

Cons:

There are a few functions that would be helpful to add, and figuring out how to correctly apply sales tax can be a bit confusing. It is more expensive than other software, but the ease of use for both the admin and users makes up for the cost difference. You get what you pay for!