Zeffy

Overview

Zeffy is an organization-focused fundraising and donor-management platform for eligible nonprofits and registered charities. It is best suited to groups that want donation, event, and in-person payment tools under one roof without platform or processing charges. Its optional donor-tip funding model and strict eligibility rules are central to the decision.

Zeffy says more than 100,000 nonprofits have raised over $2 billion through the platform. Personal fundraising is not supported, and eligible organizations must be based in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, or Germany and have an organization bank account.

Key features

Fundraising and donor management

Donation forms, recurring gifts, peer-to-peer campaigns, memberships, auctions, raffles, and eCommerce cover several common fundraising formats. Donor management and standard campaign reporting are included, making Zeffy a practical fit for organizations seeking to coordinate giving activity alongside donor records rather than use a donation form alone.

Event ticketing and payments

Ticketing supports multiple ticket types, capacity limits, custom attendee questions, QR-code check-in, free registration, and pay-what-you-can tickets. That range suits nonprofit events with different admission options, while the in-person payment app can accept cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay through Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android without a physical reader.

Integrations and data handling

Zeffy connects with more than 1,000 tools through native integrations, Zapier, viaSocket, QuickBooks, a public API, and webhooks. Stripe manages payments; Zeffy says Stripe is PCI Service Provider Level 1 certified and that Zeffy does not store or process card information. Donor data is encrypted with SSL or TLS and stored on Amazon RDS servers in Canada. Zeffy says its privacy practices comply with GDPR, UK GDPR, PIPEDA, Quebec privacy law, CCPA/CPRA, and certain U.S. state privacy laws.

Support

A weekly live demo with the support team, a prerecorded demo, and a searchable knowledge base give organizations several ways to get oriented or find answers.

Pricing

Zeffy offers a Free plan at no cost, billed always. It includes donation forms and recurring gifts, event ticketing and fundraising, peer-to-peer campaigns, donor CRM and management, email and newsletter tools, and Tap to Pay in-person payments. The plan is described as including all features, with no platform, transaction, or credit-card fees.

There is no cheaper tier that trades features for a lower price: the free plan includes the full feature set. Instead, the tradeoff is the funding model. Nonprofits pay no listed platform or payment fees, while optional donor tips fund Zeffy; organizations should consider whether that approach suits their donors and fundraising process. The plan is restricted to nonprofits.

Platforms

Zeffy is available on the web, iOS, and Android. The mobile apps are especially relevant for in-person giving because Tap to Pay works on iPhone and Android phones without a separate reader.

Who it's for

Zeffy is a strong match for eligible nonprofits and registered charities that want donation collection, recurring gifts, event fundraising, donor management, and mobile in-person payments in one free platform. It is not suitable for individuals, organizations outside its supported countries, or groups without an organization bank account.

Pros and cons

• Pros: The free plan includes the full feature set, with no platform, transaction, or credit-card fees for nonprofits.
• Pros: Donation, event, peer-to-peer, membership, auction, raffle, eCommerce, donor-management, and in-person payment tools cover varied fundraising needs.
• Pros: Ticket capacity limits, attendee questions, QR check-in, and pay-what-you-can options support flexible event setups.
• Pros: More than 1,000 integrations and a public API and webhooks can connect fundraising operations with other tools.
• Cons: Eligibility is limited by organization type and country, and an organization bank account is required.
• Cons: Optional donor tips, rather than a conventional platform fee, fund the service; organizations need to decide whether that model fits their audience.
• Cons: Individuals cannot use Zeffy for personal fundraising.

Alternatives

For event-focused comparisons, see Nonprofit Event Management Software. Organizations comparing fundraising platforms can browse Nonprofit Fundraising Software, while payment-specific needs are covered by Nonprofit Payment Processing Software. For donation collection and donor records, compare the Nonprofit Online Donation Software and Donation Management lists.

RegFox is an event-registration alternative with a free plan that charges $0.99 plus 1% per paid registration, capped at $4.99 per registrant. Humanitix offers free events with no ticket fee and a paid-ticket plan at $0.99 a month per paid ticket, so it may suit organizers chiefly comparing event ticketing fees. RunSignup has a free-event option with no processing fee for a $0 cart and charges per cart for registration processing.

Cvent is a paid event platform with a free trial for its registration product; its Professional plan uses custom pricing. Kindest Events has a free Kickstart plan with three admin seats and a 5% platform fee, waived for the first $50K of the first year, which may appeal to organizations weighing a seat-limited, fee-based option. Eventbrite offers free event publishing with unlimited publishing and no ticketing fees on free tickets. Zoho Backstage has a free tier capped at 100 attendees per event and 300 RSVP invites per event. CanadaHelps Events charges $5, paid once as a 5.0% transaction fee on paid ticket events, including credit-card fees, with no upfront or monthly fees and no fee for free events.

Verdict

Zeffy is an easy recommendation for an eligible nonprofit that wants broad fundraising and donor-management tools without platform or payment fees. Its breadth and included Tap to Pay make it more than a donation-form option, but organizations should look elsewhere if they are ineligible, need personal fundraising, or do not want optional donor tips to fund their platform.