Better Giving

Better Giving is a nonprofit giving platform built around an embeddable donation form, with fundraising tools and donor-data exports. It suits nonprofits that want a broad range of gift types and control over their giving setup. Its free hosted offering is compelling, but processing is separate and self-hosting requires the organization to take on substantial operational work.

Overview

Better Giving is aimed at nonprofits, including faith organizations, schools, and universities. Organizations abroad and U.S. groups without 501(c)(3) status can use its fiscal sponsorship option to offer tax-deductible U.S. giving. Better Giving says it is a U.S. 501(c)(3) public charity and has served nonprofits since 2021.

Key features

The embeddable form accepts cards, bank and ACH payments, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, stock, donor-advised funds, IRA/QCD gifts, and cryptocurrency. Bringing those methods together through one integration can simplify the giving experience; DAFpay via Chariot is built in.

Recurring donations, peer-to-peer campaigns, dedication gifts, program-specific giving, goal-tracking progress bars, automated receipts, and reporting cover a broad range of fundraising needs. Donor-level data and giving history can be exported by CSV or API at no charge, which gives organizations a practical route to retain and use their records beyond the platform.

Better Giving says stored card credentials may not transfer directly to a new processor because transfer depends on card-network rules, PCI-DSS, and that processor. If direct transfer is not possible, it can provide gift schedules and support donor reauthorization. That portability option helps, but reauthorization can still require donors to act.

The platform and donation form are public code and can be self-hosted with an organization’s own gateway. That gives technical teams more control, but they must pay gateway processing costs and handle receipts, compliance, and operations themselves. Better Giving’s security policy says data is encrypted in transit with TLS 1.2+ and at rest with AES-256, and that it does not store or process raw card data. It says Stripe handles donations as a PCI DSS Level 1-certified processor and that Better Giving maintains PCI DSS 4.0 SAQ A through the Stripe integration. Live chat is offered for additional support; portability requests can be sent to [email protected].

Pricing

The core Fundraising & fund management plan costs nothing and includes all features, with donor contributions optional. That makes it a strong fit for organizations seeking hosted fundraising tools without a platform subscription, though payment processing remains separate.

The Self-hosted plan costs nothing for the open-source software, with gateway processing costs paid by the organization. It is better suited to teams able to manage their own payment gateway, receipts, compliance, and day-to-day operations; organizations wanting those responsibilities handled for them should prefer the hosted plan.

Fiscal sponsorship costs $2.90, paid once, billed per sponsored gift. It gives organizations abroad or groups without 501(c)(3) status a way to offer tax-deductible U.S. giving, but the per-gift charge matters for fundraising volume. Better Giving has no free trial.

Platforms

Better Giving is available on the web, through an API, and as self-hosted software. The API and self-hosting options suit organizations with technical capacity or a need to connect giving data to their own systems; the web offering is the straightforward choice for teams that do not want to operate their own instance.

Who it's for

Better Giving is a good match for nonprofits that want diverse donation methods, recurring and peer-to-peer fundraising, and unrestricted access to donor exports. It is particularly relevant to faith organizations, schools, universities, and organizations that need fiscal sponsorship. It is less suitable for teams seeking bundled payment processing or organizations without the capacity to manage the responsibilities of self-hosting.

Pros and cons

• Pros: The free core plan includes all features, and donor records can be exported by CSV or API without charge.
• Pros: A wide range of payment and gift types, including stock, DAFs, IRA/QCDs, and crypto, sit alongside recurring and peer-to-peer fundraising.
• Pros: Public code and self-hosting give technically capable organizations an alternative to the hosted setup.
• Cons: Payment processing is separate, so a free platform plan does not mean gifts are cost-free to process.
• Cons: Self-hosted organizations must manage gateway costs, receipts, compliance, and operations.
• Cons: Moving stored card credentials can depend on outside rules; some donors may need to reauthorize their gifts.

Alternatives

Nonprofit Fundraising Software is a useful category comparison for organizations weighing fundraising platforms. For teams focused specifically on gift matching or online donation tools, see Nonprofit Matching Gift Software and Nonprofit Online Donation Software.

Givebutter is worth considering for organizations that want web, Android, and iOS access alongside donation forms, fundraising pages, events, auctions, donor management, and CRM on a free plan.

Amply is a better fit for teams centered on matching gifts: its free tier is feature-limited with no flat fees, while its Standard plan costs from $5 (priced on request) for everything included.

BetterWorld offers a free plan with a 0% platform fee and standard payment processing fees, while its Flex plan adds a 2.2-5% platform fee. It may suit organizations comparing platform-fee structures.

GoFundMe Pro is aimed at nonprofits with annual revenue under $1 million through Essentials, which has zero subscription fees and setup costs, core product access, and additional fees and add-ons.

Whitelabel may suit organizations seeking unlimited campaigns and donors with no monthly or setup fees or contracts; per-gift charges and card and bank costs are passed through at cost.

Anthology Encompass is another option for organizations comparing fundraising software.

GivingFuel has a Starter plan at $9 a month for annual online giving under $100,000, with a 2% platform fee and one admin account. Its All-In plan is an option for organizations with annual online giving under $1M.

Greater Giving may suit organizations seeking event-focused packages with custom proposals based on usage and fundraising needs.

Verdict

Choose Better Giving if your nonprofit wants a free, feature-inclusive fundraising platform, broad gift acceptance, and access to donor data without export charges. Its standout trade-off is flexibility: hosted use avoids self-hosting duties, while open-source deployment offers control at the cost of gateway, compliance, and operational work. Look elsewhere if you need payment processing bundled into the platform or a setup that removes those responsibilities.