GiveSmart vs.
Sponsor A Purpose
Discover why nonprofits choose Sponsor A Purpose
A GiveSmart alternative with a year-round donor CRM
GiveSmart is an events and auctions platform: branded event pages, silent auctions with mobile bidding, ticketing and guest management, check-in and check-out, peer-to-peer and text-to-give. Both of its pricing models give you the whole platform. Neither publishes a number, and neither includes a year-round donor database. GiveSmart alternatives for auctions and mobile bidding are a different search from this one. This page is about what happens between the events.
What SAPu offers
A rate you can read
0% platform fees and Stripe at 2.2% + $0.30, published
Donor database included
Records, segmentation, notes and tasks in the free tier
Year-round tooling
Email, journeys, grants and volunteers in the same system
It replaces your whole stack, not just GiveSmart
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
GiveSmart sells two ways, neither priced publicly: a fixed annual subscription with no per-transaction fee, or pay-as-you-go with the rate disclosed at signup. Sponsor A Purpose publishes both the price and the processing rate, and charges nothing per month for the CRM.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Free core CRM | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| No monthly subscription on the free tier | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Published pricing | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Published processing rates | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Donor CRM
Reporting and dashboards run on both, and GiveSmart's post-event reporting is good. What it does not have is a year-round donor database: records with giving history, segmentation, custom fields, notes and tasks are ours.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Donor records with full giving history | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Segmentation and custom fields | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Notes on contact records | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Tasks and activities | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Reporting and dashboards | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: yes |
Giving and payments
GiveSmart is built for the room: event ticketing and guest management, silent auctions with mobile bidding, and check-in and check-out are all theirs, and we do none of it. Donation forms, recurring giving and unlimited events and campaigns run on both. DAF giving and employer matching gifts are ours.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Donation forms and recurring giving | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: yes |
| Unlimited events and campaigns | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: yes |
| Event ticketing and guest management | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Silent auctions with mobile bidding | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Event check-in and check-out | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| DAF giving built into the widget | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Corporate matching gifts | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Communication and automation
Text-to-give is theirs. Fundraising email campaigns and prebuilt donor journeys are ours, and they are what turns an event guest into a donor who gives again.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Text-to-give | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Fundraising email campaigns | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Prebuilt donor journeys | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Grants
GiveSmart does no grant work. Grant discovery on IRS 990 funder filings and AI-assisted writing are add-ons here.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Grant discovery on IRS 990 funder data | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| AI grant writing | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Volunteers
GiveSmart has no volunteer side. Volunteer management is a $29 a month add-on here.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer management | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
Services and support
Both are nonprofit-only, and GiveSmart's support is a genuine strength: 24/7 cover, dedicated implementation and an assigned customer success manager on both plans. Website design, hosting and appointment scheduling are paid services we add.
| Feature | Sponsor A Purpose | GiveSmart |
|---|---|---|
| 24/7 customer support | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Dedicated implementation support | Sponsor A Purpose: no | GiveSmart: yes |
| Appointment scheduling | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Website design and hosting (service) | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: no |
| Nonprofit-only focus | Sponsor A Purpose: yes | GiveSmart: yes |
Sponsor A Purpose vs. GiveSmart: common questions
The gala, or the year around it
If mobile bidding and guest management are what you need, GiveSmart is built for that. If the goal is turning event attendees into donors who give again, Sponsor A Purpose is the system for the rest of the year.