Givebutter vs.
Sponsor A Purpose
Discover why nonprofits choose Sponsor A Purpose
A Givebutter alternative for when fundraising is not the whole job
Givebutter is a capable fundraising platform, with CRM basics, offline donations, role-based permissions, and filtering. But it stops short of what a growing nonprofit actually needs. Sponsor A Purpose keeps the same free model, with a complete platform on top. Nonprofits weighing Givebutter alternatives are usually past the fundraising question. The gap is grants, volunteers and the stewardship prompts that say who to ask next.
What SAPu offers
Custom & flexible reporting
Advanced filtering and custom reports, all free, no upgrade required
A complete toolkit
Full website, Google Ad Grants, non-fundraising intake forms, and consulting included
It replaces your whole stack, not just Givebutter
A CRM here, a donation form there, email somewhere else. Sponsor A Purpose brings all of it into one connected platform.
Cost and what you get free
Both platforms charge 0% in platform fees, run on an optional donor tip, and cap neither staff users nor contacts. The split is what sits behind Givebutter Plus: saved multi-condition segments and deeper reporting are a paid tier there, and are not here.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Givebutter |
|---|---|---|
| 0% platform fees on donation processing | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Donor tip model funds the platform | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Unlimited staff users | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Unlimited contacts in the free CRM | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
Donor CRM
Givebutter's CRM is genuinely good and matches ours on records, segmentation, custom fields, households and tasks. What it does not carry is giving metrics and donor scoring, or the stewardship prompts that recommend who to ask next and roughly for how much.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Givebutter |
|---|---|---|
| Donor records with full giving history | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Segmentation and custom fields | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Notes, tasks and follow-up reminders | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Household and organization linking | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Custom report builder | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
| Giving metrics and donor scoring | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
| Stewardship ask recommendations | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
Giving and payments
Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, recurring giving, DAF giving and employer matching gifts run on both sides. Givebutter adds event ticketing and a mobile app for door check-in, and both are better than anything we offer for a ticketed event.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Givebutter |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Pay, Google Pay and ACH | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Recurring giving | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Mobile app for event check-in | Sponsor A Purpose: no | Givebutter: yes |
| Event ticketing | Sponsor A Purpose: no | Givebutter: yes |
| Corporate matching gifts | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| DAF giving built into the widget | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
Communication and automation
Givebutter includes email in the free platform and sends text messages and printed direct mail, none of which we match. Our email is priced by email contacts. Prebuilt donor journeys run on both.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Givebutter |
|---|---|---|
| Email campaigns | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
| Email included at no extra cost | Sponsor A Purpose: no | Givebutter: yes |
| Text messaging to supporters | Sponsor A Purpose: no | Givebutter: yes |
| Printed direct mail | Sponsor A Purpose: no | Givebutter: yes |
| Prebuilt donor journeys | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
Grants
Givebutter does no grant work. Grant discovery on IRS 990 funder filings and AI-assisted writing are add-ons here, alongside deadline and pipeline tracking.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Givebutter |
|---|---|---|
| Grant discovery on IRS 990 data | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
| AI grant writing | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
Volunteers
Givebutter has no volunteer side. Volunteers and fosters sit on the same record set as donors with us, with volunteer management as a $29 a month add-on.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Givebutter |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer and foster records | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
| Volunteer management | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
Services and support
Both platforms are nonprofit-only, and Givebutter runs 24/7 chat with phone support on the Plus tier. On services, Givebutter points you at its Experts marketplace of third-party freelancers; website design, hosting and growth consulting are work we do ourselves, as paid services.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | Givebutter |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment scheduling | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
| Website design and hosting (service) | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
| Growth consulting (service) | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: no |
| Nonprofit-only focus | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | Givebutter: yes |
Sponsor A Purpose vs. Givebutter: common questions
Everything Givebutter offers, and the things it doesn't.
Same free model. Same great donation processing. Plus a full organizational website, Google Ad Grant management, non-fundraising intake forms, and a consulting team that Givebutter simply can't match. Built for nonprofits serious about growing.