Givebear

Givebear combines donation kiosks and online giving with dues and event tickets for community organizations. It suits groups that want gifts tied to designated funds and gathered into shared donor histories. Its range of giving channels is a strength, but transaction fees and the kiosk’s upfront price deserve close attention.

Overview

Donors can give at a kiosk, through an online donation page or QR code, or by paying membership dues and event tickets. Gifts are recorded against the fund a donor selects, and gifts and recurring plans from these channels are brought into one donor history. That makes Givebear a sensible choice for organizations managing several kinds of giving that want a consolidated record, rather than a donation page alone.

Email receipts follow gifts, and the service provides year-end statements and exportable reports by fund and date range. Organizations can export donor records and reports as CSV and manage donor-record access with role-based permissions. Stripe processes card payments; Givebear says it receives tokenized payment references rather than storing raw card numbers.

Key features

Kiosks and online giving

The 21.5-inch kiosk accepts Apple Pay, Google Pay and contactless cards, with English, Arabic, Spanish and Turkish support. It accepts one-time gifts offline, a useful fallback where connectivity is unreliable, but recurring kiosk gifts require a live connection. Donation forms can also be embedded on sites built with WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, Shopify, GoDaddy, Weebly and Square Online.

Organizations can buy a wall-mount kiosk for $999 one-time or a floor stand for $1,099 one-time. Both have a 21.5-inch screen and no monthly kiosk fee; the floor stand adds a four-hour battery alongside wired power. The upfront hardware cost may be worthwhile for a fixed giving station, but groups wanting to avoid a large initial purchase can use the online options instead.

Accounting and reporting

Givebear can connect to QuickBooks Online and post payout journal entries split by fund, with fees and refunds broken out. This is particularly relevant to organizations that need fund-level accounting, while the exportable reports and CSV records give organizations a way to work with their data outside the platform.

Pricing

Givebear is freemium, with a 30-day trial and card payment methods. Every plan has a per-gift platform fee, with Stripe processing passed through at cost: 5.9% on Free, 2.9% on Plus and 1.9% on Growth. The paid tiers lower that fee but retain it, so the right plan depends not only on contact and messaging limits but also on giving volume.

Annual billing reduces the monthly price relative to month-to-month billing, but commits the organization to a full year’s charge. Kiosks are separate one-time purchases, not included as monthly kiosk subscriptions. The combination of a capped free plan and per-gift fee means Free is not automatically the cheapest choice for an organization processing many gifts.

Platforms

Givebear is available on Android, iOS and the web. Its site embeds broaden where online donation forms can appear, while the kiosk provides an in-person option. That mix is useful for organizations serving donors across devices and in person, though recurring kiosk gifts still depend on a live connection.

Who it's for

Givebear is aimed at mosques, churches, schools, nonprofits and other community organizations. It is strongest for groups that need to connect in-person and online giving with fund tracking, donor histories, receipts and reports. Organizations that primarily need membership-billing software may prefer to compare the Membership Billing Software category.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Kiosk, online, QR-code, dues and event-ticket giving feed into fund tracking and shared donor histories, giving organizations a more unified view of contributions.
• Pros: The kiosk supports several payment methods and four languages, and handles one-time gifts offline.
• Pros: QuickBooks Online journal entries can be split by fund, with fees and refunds broken out.
• Cons: Platform fees range from 1.9% to 5.9% per gift, in addition to Stripe processing passed through at cost.
• Cons: Kiosks cost $999 or $1,099 upfront, and recurring kiosk gifts cannot be taken offline.
• Cons: Free limits organizations to 50 donor contacts and 100 emails a month; texts begin on paid plans.

Alternatives

For organizations focused on dues and member administration rather than a combined giving setup, the ChamberedIn Premier plan includes 250 members for $499 per month; its Revenue Share plan has no upfront cost. memberplanet is another option for groups seeking a membership platform with a free plan and a paid Essentials tier at $50 per month, which includes a 2% platform fee and 1,000 campaigns. For clubs wanting unlimited members on a free entry plan, Mybers offers Starter with 500 emails a month; its Club plan is $39 per month and includes 5,000 emails.

Associatify may suit web-only groups seeking member registry and basic email automation on a free plan; its Starter tier is €89 per month. membermojo is a web-based membership option with a 100-member plan at £50 per year, with prices inclusive of VAT. MembershipWorks offers a free plan for 50 accounts and a monthly plan for up to 300 accounts at $35 per month. For organizations looking for a self-hosted membership plugin, Paid Memberships Pro has an open-source core plugin and Add Ons under GPLv2 that can run on as many sites as desired. Asovex is another web-based option, with a free plan for up to 10 members and a Basic plan at $9 per month billed $90 yearly for up to 100 members.

Verdict

Choose Givebear if your organization needs to bring kiosk and online giving, dues and event tickets into one fund-tracked donor record, with reporting and a QuickBooks Online connection. Its principal drawback is the cost structure: per-gift fees remain on every tier, and physical kiosks require a substantial one-time purchase. Organizations needing recurring kiosk gifts without connectivity should look elsewhere.