All GiveSmart Reviews
1-25 of 203 Reviews
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Rob
11 - 50 employees
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
Reviewed April 2021
The good stuff...
Crystal
Verified reviewer
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2017
Gesture offers excellent professional software with outstanding customer service.
Gesture's software is user-friendly, fun to utilize and has a clean, professional look. I thoroughly appreciate Gesture's frequent software updates. They are continuously in search of even better ways to improve upon the customer experience, which they communicate through their Gesture Innovation Center emails. I believe that they value customer opinions and implement suggestions, accordingly. As an event planner, other companies often approach me, but none offer the experience Gesture has given my clients over the years. Our account manager, Allie Erickson is on top of our every need, patient, accessible, friendly and helpful. Our on-site manager is thoughtful, communicative, professional and kind. The Gesture team is trustworthy, diligent and fully dedicated to their customers. Every year, our attendees highly rate Gesture in our post-event survey. We have remained loyal to Gesture for many years and will continue for many more to come.
CONSI would like to remain logged onto the system longer, but I understand that the system logs me off for security purposes. I really don't have any complaints.
Jessica
Non-Profit Organization Management, 11-50 employees
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed August 2019
The best product I have found in the online event fundraising market
I've worked with GiveSmart for many years -- from the time they were Auctions By Cellular, Gesture and now GiveSmart. I have also worked with competitors and GiveSmart is the best product on the market due to their easy-to-use platform, staff support throughout the event planning process, and their onsite staff teams.
PROSGiveSmart has excellent staff support and they are always quick to respond to questions, timely with email responses, and most importantly their onsite staff is excellent.
CONSNot a great platform for live auctions - still not good enough to substitute for an "old fashioned" paddle raise. Lack of customization (font size, spacing around images, content) opportunities for the auction displays.
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
I have used the alternatives and both have poor customer service and confusing platforms in comparison to GiveSmart.
Jeremy
Mental Health Care, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
3
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
3
Reviewed March 2021
Great platform for events
Givesmart helps us to make attractive fundraising event pages that also allow for smooth communication with our donors.
PROSThe event landing page is very customizable and looks very high quality. On the back end it is easy to get the information you need plugged in for fundraising events. You can have an event page up and running in only a few hours time.
CONSSome of the back end features such as table assignments and ticket purchasing do not always function together smoothly. If a person purchases tickets or donates offline it is not always easy to get that plugged in nicely on the event site.
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
Because of the functionality and the willingness of the Givesmart team to listen to our needs and implement them
Reasons for switching to GiveSmart
Functionality- Givesmart is easier and more user-friendly on the back end.
Bri
Non-Profit Organization Management, 2-10 employees
Used less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed August 2019
Improving their platform more and more each year!
GiveSmart makes it easy to enjoy an event/fundraiser by taking care of all customer needs and questions.
PROSThe event page was a very clear and concise hub to drive people towards our silent auction. I loved the customization that allowed you to match the design of the link to your event, in addition to the generic donate button.
CONSThe fact that the back end of the items tab didn't show a photo preview icon on each line. Also, that there isn't a comprehensive final report you can direct download all at once. Instead, you must click into each category of results you want to see one by one and download.
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
We liked parts of Gesture and GiveSmart, and now that they're combined, it was very impressive to work with them this past year. They also improved their customer service in comparison to previous years.
Matt
Non-Profit Organization Management, 51-200 employees
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed October 2020
GiveSmart is great
Fantastic. Highly recommended.
PROSFantastic customer service. Like, seriously, the best. Better than any other vendor we use. The product is loaded with features, most of which we take advantage of -- auction items, auction packages, raffle tickets, event tickets, paddle raises, donations, users, registrants, etc. It's very intuitive to use; not difficult to set up a new event; very thorough and reporting capabilities; easy to process credit cards and receive payments...
CONSThe visual design is a bit bland. Could be more pretty.
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
They offered the best product and solution for the price.
Heather
Non-Profit Organization Management, 2-10 employees
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed November 2019
Great customer support
I loved the platform and the interface. The customer service it fantastic - especially that they have people come out and help with your events that truly care about the nonprofit sector. They really went above and beyond to help us close the auction and get the data inputted correctly!
PROSI really liked the salespeople and the way thy helped you with anything you needed. This is the best customer support I've seen from all mobile bidding sites.
CONSMy only negative is the price for small nonprofits. If it were more affordable, I would use them again and again!
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
Price was lower and liked the sales people at Gesture.
BettyJo
Hospital & Health Care, 11-50 employees
Used less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2020
GiveSmart helped us to Pivot!
Our overall experience with GiveSmart was amazing. It was what helped us raise money right when the pandemic lockdown had started. We chose GiveSmart because of the good reviews and one other person we knew having used this product giving a good review. We had to make a decision quickly and chose GiveSmart and it was the best decision! I have referred several nonprofit organizations to this product.
PROSGiveSmart is user friendly. We had approximately a month before our annual auction and we were able to pivot from a live event to a virtual event DIY style.
CONSThere were a couple of features that we would have liked to see; a customizable graphic that counts our "paddle raise" (which in our organization is a reverse auction), and being able to highlight our larger sponsors (give them more visibility for their sponsorship)
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
Clickbid did not have all the options (bells and whistles) GiveSmart had.
Charlotte
Veterinary, 51-200 employees
Used monthly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2020
Creat Experience
It was a much better program than our previous auction software. And the customer service is top notch! They even went above and beyond this summer with a webinar series that helped us share best practices across the country.
PROSIt is very easy to use, both on the admin side and for the users. It was very easy to customize on the back-end.
CONSThere are some glitches in entering donation items and I had some photos disappear after loading them, but they were minimal.
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
GiveSmart was much more visually appealing and had many more customization options. It also had more options.
Reasons for switching to GiveSmart
Greater Giving was not as visually appealing and was not as user friendly as GiveSmart.
Annette
Higher Education, 501-1,000 employees
Used less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed August 2019
GiveSmart Review
It has been a great relationship for us. We had onsite support for our first event and she was fantastic (and kept me sane). They are usually timely with responses. The only difficult time was when we were sent the wrong cc swipers for an event. Luckily we were able to get it rectified prior to the event date but I kept getting pushback as it was something we were doing incorrectly instead of having the wrong equipment that GiveSmart gave to us directly.
PROS+It incorporated everything we needed from ticket sales, to auction items to general donations
CONS-The display banner that showcases the donor names isn't customizable. You can change the color of the font or other display features.
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
GiveSmart had a flat pricing model as well as onsite support if needed. Also the cc option feed was easier through a University-setting.
Brittany
Non-Profit Organization Management, 11-50 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed October 2020
Great Platform for Event Registration and Silent Auction
very positive. I especially like that they highlight other clients events and work so you can see possibilities on other / different types event you can utilize platform for. Always thinking about how non profits can utilize the system for their advantage . Always developing the system to be better
PROSVery customizable Easy to set up Customer support very accessible
CONSnot able to integrate with the CRM we use
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
liked that there were not extra transaction fees Sales staff very knowledgeable
Nathalie
Non-Profit Organization Management, 51-200 employees
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed November 2020
JBWS GiveSmart Review
Our experience with GiveSmart has been extremely positive and I would (and do) recommend them to others. I would like to see more proactive information from GiveSmart for event planning in our new virtual world - the competition is in my email daily with free webinars and informative tips.
PROSIndefinite access to past campaigns Reports and analysis Attractive event website Ease of use by participants (in most cases) Ease of uploading items (in most cases except for raffle items) Excellent support
CONS- Inability to stratify sponsors - We have 5 tiers of sponsors but are limited to only standard & premium categories. Would be optimal to highlight them at their exact levels, especially title and top tier sponsors. - Inability to bulk upload raffle items. - Inability to bulk upload images. - Inability to reorder campaigns on the Campaign page. All our 2021 events appear first - I'd like to view active/current campaigns first. - Inability to copy an individual item from one campaign to another. - No log of sent text/e-mail blast messages. - Item title character limit is too short. - The term "User" for event participants/donors is confusing - they should be titled as participants/donors in their own category. It's confusing when every GiveSmart staffer who provided help is included in the list of event participants and donors. - If you are on the dashboard page of a specific campaign and want to get back to the main Campaign page, you have to click on your name in the top right corner. When you click on this, it gives you the options of Profile, GiveSmart Events, JBWS, Logout. "GiveSmart Events" is the intuitive choice but you have to click on the name of your organization (which for us is JBWS) to get back to the Campaign page. - Please add an option for guests to choose to be invoiced for donations. We have many donors give through foundations that need an invoice for the donation to be processed. We need to let them give through GS without our manual intervention.
Reason for choosing GiveSmart
Cost, attractiveness of the microsite, reporting features, access to campaigns, backend options.
Anne
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed November 2017
Gesture is the real deal for mobile fundraising; intuitive to use, with great customer support.
The software is intuitive to use and streamlines so many of the processes that eat up your time when you have to do them manually; we eliminated so many Excel spreadsheets, thanks to everything being easily captured, managed, and tracked right within the software - from auction packages to ticket sales to even the seating and meal requests. Beyond the software, Gesture's customer service was incredible; from the initial sales call all the way through to the event itself, every single Gesture representative we worked with was attentive, helpful, and genuinely interested in helping us have a successful event - which we did. In just the 48 hours since the event concluded, I've received multiple compliments from guests who expressed how "smooth" the night ran and how "seamless" their experience was, from check-in to bidding on auction packages to purchasing raffle tickets to checking out when they won auction packages. We will definitely be using Gesture again, for next year's event!
CONSSince our event is coordinated by a mix of paid staff and volunteers, it would be helpful to have an administrative access level in Gesture that is "view only" - currently, it's all (full admin rights) or nothing. It would also be helpful if raffle winners could be "drawn" right in the software, rather than needing to use a random number generator on a third party site.
Allison
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2018
Excellent customer service and product was perfect for our 250 person fundraiser!
Streamlined auction process before, during and after event. We went "paperless" and didn't have to fuss with paper bidding forms and associated headaches. We raised more than $10,000 more than we ever raised before using an online bidding system. We look forward to using again next year!
PROSVery easy to navigate the dashboard to build fundraising website and to upload pictures and descriptions of auction items. Bidders loved how easy it was to register for the silent auction, and we benefitted greatly from launching the website and opening the auction prior to the event. There were many easy tutorials for our volunteers to watch so that they could get comfortable with the online bidding system, and they were well equipped to handle questions from guests. We benefitted greatly from having an onsite specialist with us at the event. She was extremely professional, smart, highly capable and knowledgeable about the software, and she worked nimbly and confidently throughout the night to answer any questions and even offered suggestions that contributed significantly to the success of our auction - and on top of that, she was very enjoyable to be with! After the event, we were able to easily close our books and to process all payments (a significant improvement from many years of dealing with cash and checks and tracking down payments) and to run reports providing incredible data for us to review and learn from.
CONSI cannot think of anything to improve this software. It was perfect for our event - simple to use and very geared toward serving a volunteer-based event!
Shelley
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
3
EASE OF USE
3
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
3
Reviewed October 2020
Decent bidding software, horrible customer service
Up until this year I have been pleased with GiveSmart. We have been GiveSmart customers for several years, starting out with 501 and then converting platforms to GiveSmart. I have been extremely disappointed with GiveSmart's customer service during the pandemic. They will not budge on previously signed contracts- despite live events (still several months out) being canceled and the GiveSmart team not being allowed to travel. I even asked about just extending our contract so that we can continue to use GiveSmart at a future event (2022?) but even that is apparently not an option- our only option is to be held to a contract and lose our deposit on an event that can't happen. Sad to think they are willing to lose a customer rather than even attempting to work with us.
PROSBidding functionality is great with GiveSmart. The SetUp is easy- as long as you are ok with their preformatted template- the majority of the pages are all formatted and can not be customized, even something simple like trying to move one section up or rearrange various sections on a webpage is simply not possible.
CONSVery little customization. Not user friend for virtual events- great for bidding but does not allow streaming or actual event coverage. In order to host a virtual event a secondary software also has to be used to actually stream/ cover the event.
Cleve
Religious Institutions, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT