Event.Gives

Event.Gives is a web platform for running fundraising events with ticketing, auctions, donations, and attendee management in one system. It fits nonprofits and other organizations staging live, virtual, hybrid, golf, or peer-to-peer campaigns. The free entry plan lowers the barrier to adoption, while processing and platform charges make transaction economics important to the final choice.

Overview

Founded in 2015 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Event.Gives is built around fundraising rather than general-purpose event planning. It supports live and silent auctions, online auctions, virtual events, hybrid events, golf tournaments, embedded donation forms, and peer-to-peer fundraising. The company reports more than 3,000 events each year and $150 million donated through the service, indicating a product aimed at recurring nonprofit operations as well as one-off campaigns.

Ticket sales, attendee management, donor engagement, and donation capture share the same platform. That consolidation can avoid stitching together registration, bidding, and checkout products, although organizations should compare the resulting fees with the cost of separate specialist tools.

Key features

Mobile bidding supports guests using phones during live, silent, or online auctions, while raffles and text-to-donate add alternative ways to raise money. Recurring donations help sustain giving beyond an event. Live streaming supports remote participation, and real-time reporting gives organizers current event figures. Instant payout and mobile checkout are useful when staff need to close transactions promptly; checkout accepts Apple Pay, Google Pay, and credit cards.

The AI Item DISCription Generator creates auction copy aligned with DISC personality profiles. It is a targeted aid for presenting items, not a replacement for broader content or campaign planning. Integrations with Double the Donation, Raiser's Edge NXT, Stripe, Zoom, and Twilio extend matching, donor records, payments, video, and messaging workflows.

Ticket and donation proceeds transfer through the organization's Stripe account. Event.Gives says it does not store or collect card details, with payment information supplied directly to processors such as Stripe. It also states SOC II Type 2, PCI DSS Level 1, and WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, useful assurances for organizations handling donor payments and accessibility requirements.

Support runs seven days a week: Monday through Friday from 10a-5p, plus a live desk Saturday and Sunday from 10a-5p. That weekend coverage is particularly relevant when events occur outside office hours.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing and includes Event Success Coaching, user-friendly registration, speedy check-in, mobile bidding, ticketing, and donations. It is the sensible starting point for smaller events that need core workflows, but it does not include the expanded analytics, mobile app, or peer-to-peer and streaming allowances in higher tiers.

Basic costs $99 a month, billed monthly. It adds all analytics features, up to 250,000 tracked visits, normal support, a mobile app, thank-you letters, Double The Donation, flexible fees, split payments, and a fundraising thermometer. This suits organizations running regular campaigns with meaningful web traffic and a need for reporting and payment allocation.

Professional costs $2,495 a year, billed annually. It includes all essential features, five live-streaming events, one peer-to-peer event, bulk attendee upload, table and seat management, check payout, peer/team/family management pages, custom milestones and badges, peer-to-peer leaderboards, and a peer-to-peer thermometer. Choose it when seating, uploads, or structured peer campaigns justify an annual commitment.

Enterprise costs $3,495 a year, billed annually. It includes all Professional features plus discounted support, an email marketing campaign, white-label design, and a lower processing fee. Those additions target organizations with larger or more branded programs; smaller teams may not recover the higher subscription from the extra controls alone.

The pricing calculator states a 3.5% credit-card transaction fee plus $0.30 per transaction and a 4.5% platform fee. Attendees can optionally cover fees, which may reduce the organization's net cost but can affect donor experience. Subscription prices therefore describe only part of the budget.

Platforms

Event.Gives runs on the web. Mobile bidding and checkout are delivered to participants through that web-based experience, with Apple Pay and Google Pay support.

Who it's for

It is a strong fit for nonprofits that want auctions, ticketing, donations, and peer-to-peer activity under one roof, especially when events span in-person and remote audiences. Organizations needing seats, streaming, bulk uploads, or branded campaigns should examine Professional and Enterprise. It is less suitable for a group seeking only a small, low-volume auction where percentage fees outweigh the benefit of an integrated fundraising suite.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Broad event coverage: Live, silent, online, virtual, hybrid, golf, and peer-to-peer formats cover varied fundraising programs.
• Complete transaction flow: Ticketing, mobile bidding, donations, checkout, reporting, and payouts reduce tool sprawl.
• Payment and accessibility assurances: Stripe-based processing, PCI DSS Level 1, SOC II Type 2, and WCAG 2.1 AA claims address common organizational requirements.
• Weekend support: A live Saturday-Sunday desk helps during event-critical hours.

Cons

• Layered fees: The 3.5% plus $0.30 card charge and 4.5% platform fee can materially affect fundraising totals.
• Higher-tier commitment: Professional and Enterprise require annual billing, which may not suit occasional events.
• Web-only platform: Organizations requiring a native mobile organizer platform may need to assess that limitation carefully.

Alternatives

Auctria is worth choosing when a free plan with a $10,000 annual income cap, 250 bidders per event, three team members, unlimited events, and a 1% credit-card fee fits a smaller operation.

BiddingOwl suits organizations seeking a free service for traditional silent or live auctions and related setup services.

GiveSmart is an option for organizations preferring paid subscriptions or pay-as-you-go plans with unlimited events and campaigns.

32auctions fits a basic, self-managed online auction capped at 20 items, with third-party ads and email support on its free plan.

BetterWorld is an alternative when a 0% platform-fee free plan or a flexible plan with platform fees is more important than Event.Gives' event-suite breadth.

GalaBid offers a free-with-tipping plan with more than 100 features, while its paid Pro option removes tip prompts.

PaddleUp is a paid alternative whose free Paddle-Up plan has no monthly platform subscription.

RallyUp fits organizations wanting no platform fee on its free plan, donor tipping, and core fundraising components; its Flex plan uses variable platform fees.

For broader comparisons, see Charity Auction Software and Nonprofit Payment Processing Software.

Verdict

Choose Event.Gives if your organization needs ticketing, auctions, donations, and peer-to-peer or streamed events in one web platform, with mobile bidding and payment workflows included. Its main advantage is breadth and operational coverage; its main reason to look elsewhere is the combined platform and transaction fees, especially for high-volume or low-margin fundraising.