Overview

Funraise is a nonprofit fundraising platform for organizations that want donation campaigns and donor records managed together. It suits registered nonprofits and NGOs with a national organization identification number; its broad fundraising toolkit is compelling, but the free plan is limited to organizations raising under $1 million annually.

Rather than treating donations as isolated transactions, Funraise connects fundraising activity with donor history and reporting. That makes it a strong fit for organizations coordinating multiple giving channels, while those outside its eligibility requirements or seeking predictable premium pricing should consider other options.

Key features

Fundraising and donor management

Funraise supports website donations, campaign websites, peer-to-peer fundraising, events and ticketing, recurring giving, employer matching, auctions, and text-to-give. Automated emails add a communication tool to that mix. For organizations running campaigns across several channels, having these activities within one platform can simplify coordination; organizations needing only a basic donation form may find its broader scope unnecessary.

The donor CRM stores giving history, interactions, notes, tags, and other donor data. Donor segmentation and automated receipts are also supported. This combination gives teams a way to connect giving records with follow-up and organize constituents, rather than relying on a donation tool alone.

Reporting, mobile, and integrations

Fundraising Intelligence provides prebuilt nonprofit reports, visual dashboards, and AI revenue predictions. Advanced reporting is useful for organizations that need more than transaction totals, though the platform’s most specific reporting tools are part of Premium Plans.

The Funraise App collects in-person payments, syncs transactions to the Funraise account, updates donor profiles, and scans event tickets. That is a practical extension for teams handling events or gifts face to face, with activity tied back to donor records.

Integrations include Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, QuickBooks Online, HubSpot, Virtuous, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Constant Contact, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, Streamlabs, Double the Donation, and payment services including Stripe, PayPal, BitPay, Apple Pay, and Venmo. Funraise can collect card, PayPal, ACH, Apple Pay, and Bitcoin payments. A Zapier webhook can pass donation data into other tools for task automation. The range is a strength for organizations with established systems, though which integrations are available depends on plan.

Security, support, and migration

Funraise is a PCI Level 1 certified service provider and works with Sikich as its qualified security assessor. It runs on AWS, uses a premium Postgres cluster with hot standby and encryption at rest, and encrypts communications with TLS 1.2 or higher. Support resources include a knowledge base, developer and Salesforce documentation, a community forum, Funraise University, and chat contact.

All organizations can use the data import tool for donors and donations. Recurring subscription migration is available in most cases, depending on the current payment gateway; organizations moving recurring gifts should confirm compatibility before switching.

Pricing

Free: 0.00 USD per free, billed monthly, for organizations raising under $1 million annually. The free plan is a reasonable starting point for eligible organizations, but the annual fundraising ceiling makes it a poor fit for groups whose receipts exceed that threshold.

Premium Plans: custom pricing; talk with Sales. Premium includes peer-to-peer fundraising, Fundraising Intelligence, wealth screening, SMS messaging, text-to-give, auctions, email campaigns, all integrations, and the Funraise API. Organizations needing those capabilities should weigh the added scope against a price that depends on a sales conversation.

Funraise offers a free plan, but its eligibility and fundraising ceiling matter: it is not an unrestricted no-cost option for every nonprofit. The premium tier adds key tools and integrations, with no published fixed monthly or annual price.

Platforms

Funraise supports Android, iOS, web, and API access. Its mobile app is particularly relevant to organizations collecting payments and scanning tickets at in-person events.

Who it's for

Funraise is best suited to registered nonprofits and NGOs that need online and in-person giving, donor management, and reporting in one system. Organizations running varied campaigns or managing recurring gifts can benefit from its connected toolkit and payment options. It is not a fit for entities that cannot meet its nonprofit identification requirement, and larger organizations should assess Premium Plans against their budget and annual fundraising volume.

Pros and cons

Pros

Broad fundraising coverage: Donation forms, campaigns, events, recurring giving, auctions, and text-to-give support multiple ways to raise funds.
Donor records connected to giving: History, interactions, notes, and tags provide more context than transaction records alone.
Useful event and payment support: The app handles in-person payments and ticket scanning, while payment options include card, ACH, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Bitcoin.
Advanced reporting: Prebuilt reports, dashboards, and revenue predictions can help teams interpret fundraising activity.
Import support: Donor and donation imports are open to all organizations, with recurring migration possible in many cases.

Cons

Strict organization eligibility: Only registered nonprofits or NGOs with a national identification number qualify.
Free plan ceiling: Organizations raising $1 million or more annually fall outside the stated free-plan scope.
Premium cost requires sales contact: Organizations cannot compare Premium Plans against a fixed listed price.
Some capabilities are premium-only: Peer-to-peer fundraising, wealth screening, SMS, text-to-give, auctions, email campaigns, all integrations, and the API sit in Premium Plans.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison of tools focused on constituent records, explore Donor Management Software or Nonprofit CRM Software. Teams centered on campaign participation can compare Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Software; organizations focused on tracking gifts can review Donation Management. For payment infrastructure or online giving forms, see Nonprofit Payment Processing Software and Nonprofit Online Donation Software.

CiviCRM is worth considering for organizations that want a web-based CRM with a free option and a Starter plan at 15.00 USD per month per instance, with unlimited users and up to 5,000 contacts.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud may suit eligible nonprofits seeking a free starting point: its Power of Us Program provides 10 free Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or Sales/Service Cloud licenses.

Trail Blazer is an alternative for smaller contact databases, with its Non-Profit Manager plan starting at 50.00 USD per month for fewer than 500 contacts, plus setup fees of $295 to $495.

CharityEngine offers a paid fundraising platform spanning donation forms, automated workflows, event management, segmentation, direct mail, and reporting.

Karpura is another web-based freemium option.

PWI Charity CRM is a web-based paid option.

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is a paid web and API option with custom quote pricing based on organizational needs.

Bloomerang is worth comparing for organizations already considering its CRM bundle: Bloomerang Fundraising is 40.00 USD per month billed annually and must be purchased with Bloomerang CRM.

Verdict

Choose Funraise if your eligible nonprofit wants fundraising campaigns, donor records, and reporting in one platform, particularly if events and multiple payment channels are part of its work. Its broad toolkit and in-person app are meaningful advantages; the under-$1-million free-plan ceiling and sales-led premium pricing are the main reasons to look elsewhere.

	Funraise	Houdini
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	Free	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, Web	Linux
Free plan	Yes	—
Donation forms	—	Yes
Recurring donations	—	Yes
Event fundraising	—	Yes
Campaign reporting	—	advanced
Payment processing	—	separate

Funraise vs Houdini

Funraise

Houdini