Compare Nonprofit Tools
Nonprofit Tools Compared: Fundraising, Donors, Events and Volunteers
Onward connects straight to the donate button you already use: every gift goes directly to you, Onward never touches the money or takes a cut, and the gift still counts on your page. Around it, Onward puts your events, volunteers, fundraisers and supporters on one public page your community can find.
Last updated November 1, 2026
What no other tool does: Onward is a social network, not just a tool. Every event, shift, gift and sponsorship lands in a community feed where neighbors, local businesses and professionals see it, follow you and join in. Each one becomes a ready-made post that shares to Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn with one tap. And it's a flywheel: when people see a neighbor give, a business sponsor or a family sign up to volunteer, they're more likely to do it too, and their gift, sponsorship or sign-up becomes the next thing someone else sees. The more people use Onward, the more your work gets seen and the more support comes in. Single-purpose tools take a payment or a sign-up and stop there; Onward turns it into visibility, connection and the next supporter.
Your page is a living impact report. Most nonprofits write one impact report a year, and it's out of date the day it's printed. Your Onward page updates itself: verified giving, volunteer hours, events, supporters and business sponsors, all counted as they happen and open for funders, board members and neighbors to see anytime. (A downloadable report for funders is coming.)
Free, and it stays free. Everything you see on Onward today is free, and it will stay free. If we add paid tools later, they'll be new, optional extras. Nothing you use now will ever move behind a paywall.
What Onward does that fundraising tools don't: year-round business engagement. Most tools stop at the transaction. Onward keeps local businesses giving all year:
- A sponsor wall that never comes down: businesses that give, sponsor or match are thanked on your page all year, by level, not just on one event's program.
- Businesses get their own page: their giving to you shows on their Onward page, ranked by verified giving, so they can point customers to it.
- Promotion that brings in the next sponsor: businesses that give show in Discover and the Hub, where other local businesses and neighbors see them.
- Social posts made for you: a ready-made thank-you post for every sponsor, and share images businesses post to their own customers.
- Easy ways to say yes: "Sponsor This Event" buttons, matching gifts, give-back nights and sponsorship levels with spots left.
That turns a one-time sponsorship into a relationship, and a business's own customers into your next supporters.
| The job | Onward does it | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| Fundraiser pages | Yes. goal, progress, donor roll, matches, supporters fundraising for you | GoFundMe, Givebutter, Zeffy |
| Donations | Straight to your own donate button, with no Onward cut. Gifts still count on your page, by spreadsheet or automatic feed | Works with Givebutter, Zeffy, GoFundMe, PayPal, Donorbox, Stripe, Every.org and others |
| Donor engagement | Partly. Partly: public recognition, supporter wall, giving levels, Hub updates to followers. No donor database or email campaigns yet | Givebutter, Zeffy, Bloomerang |
| Events | Yes. for free RSVPs, reminders, guest lists and sponsors. Paid tickets link to your own ticket sales page | Eventbrite, Givebutter, Zeffy |
| Volunteer management | Yes. for shifts, sign-ups, reminders and hours. No waivers or check-in | SignUpGenius, SignUp.com, VolunteerHub, Golden, Bloomerang Volunteer; Idealist for recruiting |
| Business sponsors and matching gifts | Yes. | Most fundraising tools don't: they record a sponsor's payment, not the relationship |
| Being found by your community | Yes. Discover, the Hub, and your page ranked by verified giving | Few tools do this |
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Onward Tools for Nonprofits
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Create your nonprofit's page free. Everything on Onward today is free, and it stays free.