Best Alternatives to GoFundMe – 7 Top Choices for Raising Money

GoFundMe is the #1 fundraising platform online. This for-profit crowdfunding platform enables people to raise money for various causes, from medical expenses for critical surgeries to creative projects, personal campaigns, or donations toward criminal justice reform. 

With GoFundMe, there’s a 0% platform fee, no deadlines for raising funds, and you can raise money for virtually any cause. However, this crowdfunding platform has notable limitations. For instance, only residents in specific countries can create campaigns through GoFundMe.

To withdraw funds through GoFundMe, you must be over 18 years old, possess a government-issued ID, and meet their other stringent requirements. These restrictions can make collecting donations challenging. Additionally, GoFundMe donors cannot contribute anonymously.

If you want to raise money for a cause you’re passionate about without meeting the specific requirements of this platform, exploring alternative crowdfunding options may prove beneficial. 

Below are the seven best alternatives to GoFundMe that provide creative control over your fundraising efforts, easy sharing capabilities, and comprehensive progress tracking. These fundraising platforms vary significantly, making it essential to research each option before deciding.

Top 7 GoFundMe Alternatives

Before selecting from the fundraising platforms below, determine your specific goals: what you’re raising money for, your target audience, your outreach strategy, and whether you have deadlines or set targets. Once you’ve clarified these elements, finding the best GoFundMe alternative becomes straightforward.

Explore our top picks for the best GoFundMe alternatives below.

 1. Facebook Fundraising

While you may know you can sell stuff on Facebook, did you realize you can also create fundraising campaigns? Facebook Fundraising is ideal if you want to quickly launch a fundraiser for yourself, a nonprofit, or a friend. With Facebook Fundraising, you only need a Facebook account, and there are no platform fees! 

Facebook Fundraising allows you to categorize your nonprofit campaign under specific causes like education or crisis relief, helping attract users interested in your mission. Facebook also provides various tips to help you achieve your fundraising goals and increase donations over time. 

Sharing your fundraiser is seamless since your friends can view all activity on their timelines. When someone donates, only the campaign creator can see the amount. Unlike GoFundMe, Facebook Fundraising also offers anonymous donation options. 

Nonprofit organizations receive donations directly from Facebook with no payment processing fees for contributions made within the social network. Personal fundraiser donations are processed through the creator’s bank account, Stripe, or Facebook’s payment processor. 

Facebook Fundraising is excellent if you want to support a cause without creating new social media accounts. The platform lets you access fundraising tools, engage family and friends, and maximize donations without hidden fees found on some crowdfunding sites.

2. Fundly

Fundly is a donation platform equipped with powerful fundraising tools that help individuals and nonprofits scale their online campaigns. With Fundly, you can create interactive slideshows, videos, and photo galleries for your crowdfunding page. Since this platform gives you complete creative control, engaging more supporters becomes effortless. 

Fundly’s free mobile app allows you to post and share fundraising events from anywhere. Regardless of your fundraising goal or target amount, your campaigns have no time limits. You can keep your audience engaged by posting blog-style updates that supporters can subscribe to receive. Your campaign displays beautifully on both mobile devices and computers thanks to Fundly’s responsive design. 

When someone donates or likes your fundraiser, it appears in Facebook’s activity feed, naturally attracting more friends and followers. You can also import contacts and use customizable email templates to spread awareness. Additionally, you’ll receive email notifications about your fundraiser, enabling quick responses to donor interactions. 

If you’re committed to a cause you want to support, Fundly is an outstanding choice. The platform helps you rapidly scale your fundraising page and generate significant campaign attention. Their comprehensive quick-start guide simplifies campaign setup, even for first-time fundraisers. For personalized fundraising pages and successful campaigns, Fundly delivers results.

All donations through Fundly are processed securely via Stripe. Their mobile app makes it easy to sync accounts with your campaign, helping you reach wider audiences and monitor your fundraiser from anywhere. 

3. Bonfire

Bonfire ranks among the popular crowdfunding platforms as a t-shirt fundraising platform designed for nonprofits and individuals seeking to unite their communities. Bonfire enables fundraising through custom shirts and hoodies. If you’re interested in team-based fundraising, this is the ideal platform.

Through their platform, nonprofit organizations can establish customized online campaigns (free of charge) that are easily shareable. Bonfire’s fundraising platform, like similar crowdfunding websites, simplifies storytelling and product testing.

Once you launch a campaign, you can connect your Bonfire account to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, making it simple to keep friends and followers informed. You can also share campaign stories directly through your social media accounts.

During checkout, customers can add optional donations. You receive 100% of campaign profits. Once customers order items, they’re printed and shipped directly to buyers. Bonfire accepts PayPal and major credit cards.

Creating an online store featuring custom apparel is both creative and effective for promoting causes you’re passionate about. Building community, sparking meaningful conversations, and expressing creativity through campaigns are additional benefits. 

However, Bonfire charges an 8% payment processing fee like most fundraising platforms. This percentage covers credit card processing and administrative costs.

4. Kickstarter

Kickstarter is another top GoFundMe alternative where you achieve fundraising success only by meeting your goal. The platform caters to creatives, with most Kickstarter projects involving films, games, music, arts, design, and technology. This fundraising platform uses an all-or-nothing model.

Funding isn’t collected unless your project reaches its target. This approach ensures donors feel confident you’ll complete your project. If you have a set budget for a specific project, Kickstarter is among the best platforms for capital campaigns. 

Before starting on Kickstarter, it’s essential to: 

• Identify all potential expenses 
• Consider your reach
• Have a funding target
• Calculate Kickstarter’s fees based on your campaign plan 
• Set a deadline 

Kickstarter’s creator dashboard provides comprehensive activity views so you can easily track performance. The backer report displays your project’s supporters with organized information. Google Analytics integration lets you monitor visitor interactions and plan strategic moves. 

The Kickstarter mobile app works across multiple devices, allowing you to manage your fundraiser anytime, anywhere. 

5. DonateKindly

DonateKindly is a free donation tool designed for nonprofits launching fundraising campaigns. DonateKindly integrates with your organization’s website, offers donors tipping options during donation processes, and provides comprehensive fundraiser data analysis in one dashboard. 

DonateKindly works well for various charities and specializes in serving faith-based organizations. This platform is ideal for launching online fundraisers and reaching broad audiences passionate about supporting your organization. 

DonateKindly charges standard payment processing fees per donation, though they’re minimal. Account setup is completely free. 

6. Givebutter

Givebutter is a platform designed to help people raise money for meaningful causes. Givebutter enables you to create customizable fundraising pages, track group progress, maintain donor engagement, and conduct team fundraising. 

With Givebutter, your fundraising page becomes easily shareable across multiple platforms. If you and your team want to engage communities in fun ways while raising more money, this platform is perfect. Givebutter’s advanced, personalized formats make creating engaging campaigns effortless. 

Givebutter excels at team and peer-to-peer fundraising. Once you create a campaign, the platform enables users to like and comment, providing interactive and enjoyable fundraising experiences. 

Givebutter helps you reach vast audiences through social media sharing, email, or direct links. You can also integrate your campaign with Venmo for payments, Mailchimp for email campaigns, and your website to enable customer participation. 

7. Indiegogo

This GoFundMe alternative allows you to raise funds for innovative projects like films, technological inventions, and more. New projects launch on this site daily, so if you need an active community of like-minded individuals, choose Indiegogo.

You’ll not only raise the funds you need but also create awareness for your project. However, you’ll pay a 5% processing fee based on your location and currency. Indiegogo also charges a 2.9% credit card processing fee per transaction.

Fundraising Without GoFundMe

The seven platforms above are excellent alternatives to GoFundMe. Unlike GoFundMe, many of these platforms allow anonymous donations, private communication, and campaign setup without hidden fees. 

Using these platforms, you’ll effectively spread awareness about causes you’re passionate about while raising funds. Whether you want to fundraise with your team or inform Facebook friends about a nonprofit for your birthday, these platforms will help you achieve your goals creatively and effectively. 

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