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Nonprofits · head to head

Get Connected vs Give Lively

Get Connected logo

Get Connected

Nonprofits

Volunteer management and community engagement

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Give Lively logo

Give Lively

Nonprofits

Fundraising software given free to nonprofits, funded by its founders rather than by fees

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Give Lively has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Get Connected no commercial pricing model published; platform appears to operate as a non-profit educational organization; Give Lively eligibility is limited to US 501(c)(3) organisations, so charities registered in the UK, Canada, Australia or the EU cannot use it at all regardless of fit.
  • They diverge on capability: Get Connected covers Volunteer database, Give Lively covers Branded donation pages.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Get Connected and Give Lively actually diverge.

Attributes where Get Connected and Give Lively differ
AttributeGet ConnectedGive Lively
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionFree to nonprofits, card processing charged by the processor
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, IOS, AndroidWeb
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Nonprofits).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Get Connected

  • Volunteer database
  • Scheduling
  • Communication tools
  • Impact tracking
  • Reporting
  • Google Calendar
  • Email
  • Zapier

Only in Give Lively

  • Branded donation pages
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising
  • Text-to-donate
  • Event ticketing
  • Donor database
  • DAFpay
  • Multiple processors

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Get Connected

  • Business operationsnot Give Lively
  • Productivitynot Give Lively
  • Automationnot Give Lively

Give Lively

  • A US nonprofit currently paying a percentage platform fee on every gift and wanting that money back in programme budgetnot Get Connected
  • Running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painfulnot Get Connected
  • A small organisation with no software budget that still needs branded, mobile-ready donation pagesnot Get Connected
  • Adding donor advised fund giving at checkout without paying for a separate DAF integrationnot Get Connected

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Get Connected

  • No commercial pricing model published; platform appears to operate as a non-profit educational organization

Give Lively

  • Eligibility is limited to US 501(c)(3) organisations, so charities registered in the UK, Canada, Australia or the EU cannot use it at all regardless of fit.
  • The platform is funded by its founders' personal philanthropy rather than by revenue, so there is no contractual commitment to a roadmap or a service level and no paying customer base to keep it alive if that funding stops.
  • Support is email based with no paid escalation tier, so an organisation mid-campaign with a broken form has no way to buy faster attention.
  • The donor database is adequate for gift tracking but thin compared with a real CRM, so most organisations still pay for Bloomerang, DonorPerfect or Salesforce alongside it and maintain a sync.
  • Optional donor tips appear at checkout to fund the platform, which some boards object to because it puts a second ask in front of a donor who has already decided what to give.

Pricing, plan by plan

Get Connected

On request
  • Essential$80/month
    • Volunteer database
    • Scheduling
  • Advanced$160/month
    • Custom reports
    • Mobile app
    • Advanced features

Give Lively

Free
  • Give LivelyFree
    • All fundraising products included
    • No platform fee on donations
    • No setup or subscription charge

Which should you pick?

Choose Get Connected if

  • You need volunteer database.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want scheduling.
Get Connected review

Choose Give Lively if

  • You need branded donation pages.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want peer-to-peer fundraising.
Give Lively review

Questions people ask

Is Get Connected or Give Lively better?
Neither clearly leads. Get Connected starts at On request and Give Lively at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Get Connected or Give Lively?
Give Lively has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Get Connected and Free for Give Lively.
Does Get Connected or Give Lively run on more platforms?
Get Connected runs on Web, IOS, Android. Give Lively runs on Web.
Can I use Give Lively for free?
Yes. Give Lively has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Get Connected starts at On request.
What is Get Connected best used for?
Get Connected is most often used for business operations, productivity, automation. Of those, business operations and productivity are not what Give Lively is typically brought in for.
What can Get Connected do that Give Lively cannot?
Get Connected covers Volunteer database, Scheduling, Communication tools, Impact tracking. Give Lively covers Branded donation pages, Peer-to-peer fundraising, Text-to-donate, Event ticketing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Get Connected: Is Get Connected a paid service?

Get Connected appears to operate as a non-profit organization focused on educational workshops and community initiatives. No commercial pricing structure is published on their website.

Source
Give Lively: Is it genuinely free, or free with a percentage taken?

Genuinely free. Give Lively takes no cut of donations and charges no subscription. You pay only the card processing fee, which goes to Stripe, Shift4 or PayPal, starting around 1.99% plus $0.25.

Give Lively: How does the company make money?

It does not, in the ordinary sense. Operating costs are covered by its founders as a philanthropic commitment, plus voluntary tips donors can add at checkout.

Give Lively: Can a UK or Canadian charity use it?

No. Give Lively requires US 501(c)(3) status.

Give Lively: Does it replace a donor CRM?

Not for most organisations. It stores donors and gift history, but fundraisers running major gift or grant pipelines usually keep a dedicated CRM and sync to it.

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