Zeffy

Zeffy is a nonprofit-only fundraising and donor-management platform that combines online giving, events, campaigns, donor records, and in-person payments. It suits eligible organizations that want a broad toolkit without platform or payment charges. The trade-off is a restricted geographic and organizational scope, plus reliance on optional donor tips to fund the service.

Overview

Zeffy brings donation forms, recurring gifts, event fundraising, peer-to-peer campaigns, memberships, auctions, raffles, eCommerce, donor management, and in-person collection into one system. That breadth makes it more suitable for an organization running several fundraising formats than for a group seeking only a simple donation button.

Zeffy says more than 100,000 nonprofits use the platform and have raised over $2 billion through it. Access is reserved for nonprofits and registered charities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Germany, with an organization bank account. Individuals cannot use it for personal fundraising.

Key features

Fundraising and donor records

Donation forms support one-time and recurring contributions, while peer-to-peer campaigns, memberships, auctions, raffles, and eCommerce cover varied appeals. Donor CRM and management are included, as are email and newsletter tools and standard campaign reporting. This combination helps a nonprofit keep fundraising activity and supporter information together, although the reporting level is described as standard rather than advanced.

Events and in-person payments

Event ticketing handles multiple ticket types, capacity limits, custom attendee questions, QR-code check-in, free registration, and pay-what-you-can tickets. Those controls fit events with mixed admission options or attendance limits. Tap to Pay in the mobile app accepts cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay on iPhone and Android phones without a physical reader, useful for check-in desks, stalls, and other face-to-face appeals.

Connections, security, and support

Zeffy connects with more than 1,000 tools through native integrations, Zapier, viaSocket, QuickBooks, a public API, and webhooks. Stripe manages payments; Zeffy says Stripe is PCI Service Provider Level 1 certified and that Zeffy does not store or process card details. Data is encrypted with SSL or TLS and donor information is stored on Amazon RDS servers in Canada. Zeffy states that its privacy practices comply with GDPR, UK GDPR, PIPEDA, Quebec privacy law, CCPA/CPRA, and certain U.S. state laws. Support includes a weekly live demo, a prerecorded demo, and a searchable knowledge base.

Pricing

Free

free. The plan includes donation forms and recurring gifts, event ticketing and fundraising, peer-to-peer campaigns, donor CRM and management, email and newsletter tools, and Tap to Pay in-person payments. Zeffy describes the free plan as billed always, with all features and no platform, transaction, or credit-card fees. Optional donor tips fund the service instead. For an eligible nonprofit, this removes the percentage charges that can materially affect frequent or high-volume campaigns. It is not an option for individuals or organizations outside the supported countries, and organizations should be comfortable presenting optional tips to donors.

Platforms

Zeffy is available on Android, iOS, and the web. The mobile availability matters most for Tap to Pay and on-site fundraising; the web platform covers broader campaign, donor, and event administration.

Who it's for

Zeffy is a strong fit for registered charities and nonprofits in its six supported countries that need several fundraising methods, event ticketing, donor management, and in-person payments under one free plan. It is a poor fit for personal fundraisers, unsupported regions, or teams that require a more advanced reporting specification than standard campaign reporting.

Pros and cons

• Pro: No platform, transaction, or credit-card fees keep the published cost at 0.00 USD, with optional donor tips supporting the service.
• Pro: Donation, event, peer-to-peer, membership, auction, raffle, eCommerce, CRM, and Tap to Pay tools reduce the need to combine separate fundraising products.
• Pro: QR check-in, capacity controls, custom attendee questions, free registration, and pay-what-you-can tickets handle varied event requirements.
• Pro: Integrations, API, and webhooks provide routes into existing workflows, including QuickBooks.
• Con: Eligibility excludes individuals and organizations outside the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Germany.
• Con: Standard campaign reporting may not satisfy organizations seeking more sophisticated analytics.
• Con: The no-fee model depends on optional donor tips, so funding is tied to donor participation rather than a conventional subscription.

Alternatives

Donorbox is worth considering when a freemium model with five team members and established platform fees of 2.95%–3.95%, plus payment processing fees, is acceptable.

Funraise suits organizations raising under $1 million annually that want a free monthly plan, or teams willing to discuss custom premium pricing.

Givebutter is an option for groups wanting a free-forever plan, free trial, and tools spanning forms, pages, events, auctions, and donor CRM.

GiveSmart is the alternative for organizations prepared to use paid pricing with either an annual subscription or pay-as-you-go model.

Tithely Giving fits groups that prefer no monthly fee with transaction charges, or a $72.00 USD-per-month Giving plus Church Management plan.

Grassrootz is another freemium choice focused on unlimited peer-to-peer campaigns, donation pages, matching, recurring giving, and automated fundraiser emails.

Keela is suited to organizations wanting a web-based contact-management product with paid annual tiers such as $243 a month for 1,001–2,500 contacts.

Raisely is a fit for teams seeking unlimited fundraising websites and campaigns with no monthly or setup fees and optional donor tips.

Verdict

Choose Zeffy if you are an eligible nonprofit that wants a wide fundraising and donor-management toolkit with no platform, transaction, or card fees. Look elsewhere if you fundraise personally, operate outside its supported countries, or need reporting and organizational flexibility beyond its standard, nonprofit-focused offering.