Donation Platform Assessment

BADCamp · tiny nonprofit · Drupal site · free-only budget · one event/year · needs donation page, event/ticketing & outreach. Updated June 29, 2026.

Scale: Excellent Good Fair Limited

What we discussed & decided

The need: a tiny, free-only nonprofit on a Drupal site wants a donation page, plus support for its annual event and a monthly webinar.
Shortlist: Zeffy, Givebutter, and Donorbox — the leading low-/no-cost platforms.
Cost: Zeffy is truly $0 (covers card fees too); Givebutter is free with donor-covered fees; Donorbox charges 1.75%.
Stability: all three are financially solid — none is a real failure risk — so we rated them equal.
Exit safety: all export to CSV in a few clicks, so we can leave anytime if a vendor folds. Lock-in isn't a concern.
Sessionize stays: it runs our event schedule; we keep embedding its calendar in Drupal, untouched by any of these.
Webinar = email only: we'll promote by email and send a Zoom link (no SMS, no platform registration), which erased Givebutter's main edges.
Volunteers: donation platforms are weak here — we'll run them in a dedicated free tool instead.
Decision — donations/event/email: Zeffy (unlimited free email + native recurring events), with Givebutter as the fallback.
Decision — volunteers: SignUpGenius (free) for shift sign-ups and day-of; POINT (free) if we later want a volunteer app; Civic Champs only if we'll pay.
Next: a phased getting-started plan (donation page → webinar email list → annual event → volunteers), plus quarterly CSV backups.

1Business assessment

The "can we trust this vendor and our money" view — cost, stability, and our ability to walk away.

Criterion	Zeffy	Givebutter	Donorbox
Cost to youLower fees = more dots	Truly $0 — even covers card processing	Free; donors cover processing fee	1.75% platform fee + processing
Stability / longevityAll on solid financial footing	$1B+ processed, 200% YoY, self-funded since 2021	Profitable + $50M Bessemer backing	Bootstrapped & profitable since 2014
Data export / exitOur safety net if one folds	CSV of contacts & payments; recurring plans don't transfer	CSV of contacts, transactions, recurring; emailed link (72h)	Instant CSV — donors, donations & recurring, custom columns

2Feature assessment

Scored for our setup: a donation page, the annual event (tickets + sponsors), and a monthly webinar we want to market. Sessionize keeps running our schedule — we just embed its calendar, and none of these platforms touch that.

Feature	Zeffy	Givebutter	Donorbox
Donation page	Embed strips your branding	Polished, flexible pages	Strong, well-established forms
Annual event: tickets & sponsors	Free tickets, registration, sponsor asks	Event pages, check-in, sponsorships	Ticketing works, less event-centric
Volunteer coordinationYear-round + day-of event	Workaround only ($0 "tickets" as roles); pair with a volunteer tool	Native shift sign-ups + POINT app integration for check-in	No real volunteer features
Monthly webinar registrationRecurring, usually free	Native recurring events (weekly/monthly) + free tickets	Free registration; recurring set up per-event	Not built for recurring free registration
Email marketingPromote the webinar each month	Unlimited emails & contacts, free forever	Unlimited blasts, automations, Canva editor	Capable, but a paid add-on
Automated reminders	Two scheduled pre-event reminders	Event reminders + receipts	Receipts & basic reminders
SMS / text outreach	Limited	Texting + text-to-give built in	Text-to-give (US/CA)
Recurring donations	Supported, free	Supported	Supported, with anniversary emails
Webinar tool (Zoom) linkNo native Zoom on any — via Zapier	Zapier only	Zapier; broad app library	Zapier + open API
Integrations (general)	Closed; Zapier only	Mailchimp, HubSpot, Salesforce…	Robust API + native integrations
Drupal embedCoexists with Sessionize	iframe / hosted link drops in	iframe / hosted link drops in	iframe / hosted link drops in

Best fit for us

Zeffy

$0, and the only one with native recurring events + unlimited free email — exactly what the monthly webinar needs. Weak spots (integrations, SMS, branded embed) are minor for our setup.

Strong runner-up

Givebutter

Edges ahead on SMS, integrations and polish. Pick it if texting supporters or connecting Zoom/Mailchimp matters more than keeping 100% of donations.

Trails for our needs

Donorbox

Solid forms, but weakest on free recurring webinar registration and its email marketing is a paid add-on — the wrong shape for a webinar-heavy, free-only org.

Decision: Zeffy + a free volunteer tool

We're promoting the webinar by email only (no SMS, just a Zoom link), which erases Givebutter's main edges and points to Zeffy: $0, unlimited free email, native recurring events, embeds in Drupal next to Sessionize. Volunteers don't belong in a donation platform — run them in SignUpGenius (free): unlimited shift sign-ups, reminders, check in off the list. Upgrade path is POINT (free) if you want a volunteer app; Civic Champs has the best check-in but isn't free. Sync contacts via CSV when useful.