Softwr

Nonprofits · head to head

Give Lively vs Salesforce for Nonprofits

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
Salesforce for Nonprofits logo

Salesforce for Nonprofits

Nonprofits

Enterprise CRM for nonprofit organizations

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Salesforce for Nonprofits the Power of Us free grant covers only 10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or Sales/Service Cloud licences; every licence beyond that is paid
  • They diverge on capability: Give Lively covers Branded donation pages, Salesforce for Nonprofits covers Donor management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Give Lively and Salesforce for Nonprofits actually diverge.

Attributes where Give Lively and Salesforce for Nonprofits differ
AttributeGive LivelySalesforce for Nonprofits
Pricing modelFree to nonprofits, card processing charged by the processorsubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, IOS, Android
FoundedUnknown1999

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Give Lively

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

Only in Salesforce for Nonprofits

  • Donor management
  • Campaign tracking
  • Volunteer management
  • Program tracking
  • Advanced reporting
  • Stripe
  • Google Analytics
  • Slack

What people use each for

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

Give Lively

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

Salesforce for Nonprofits

  • Nonprofit constituent CRM covering fundraising, programs, outcomes and volunteersnot Give Lively
  • Consolidating donor, grant and program data on the Salesforce platformnot Give Lively

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Salesforce for Nonprofits

  • The Power of Us free grant covers only 10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or Sales/Service Cloud licences; every licence beyond that is paid
  • Nonprofit Cloud Enterprise is $60 per user per month billed annually and Nonprofit Cloud Unlimited is $100 per user per month billed annually
  • The free licences require passing Salesforce eligibility criteria for the Power of Us program
  • Most Salesforce products are sold on annual contracts
  • Some products must scale together when you add or upgrade, which requires going through an Account Executive

Pricing, plan by plan

Give Lively

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

Salesforce for Nonprofits

Free
  • Nonprofit CloudFree
    • Donor management
    • Campaign tracking
    • Volunteer management
  • Professional$150/month
    • Advanced reporting
    • API integrations
    • Customization

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Salesforce for Nonprofits if

  • You need donor management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want campaign tracking.
Salesforce for Nonprofits review

Questions people ask

Is Give Lively or Salesforce for Nonprofits better?
Neither clearly leads. Give Lively starts at Free and Salesforce for Nonprofits at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Give Lively or Salesforce for Nonprofits?
Give Lively starts at Free and Salesforce for Nonprofits at Free.
Does Give Lively or Salesforce for Nonprofits run on more platforms?
Give Lively runs on Web. Salesforce for Nonprofits runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use Give Lively for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Give Lively best used for?
Give Lively is most often used for a us nonprofit currently paying a percentage platform fee on every gift and wanting that money back in programme budget, running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painful, a small organisation with no software budget that still needs branded, mobile-ready donation pages, adding donor advised fund giving at checkout without paying for a separate daf integration. Of those, a us nonprofit currently paying a percentage platform fee on every gift and wanting that money back in programme budget and running a peer-to-peer campaign where thin margins make a per-donation platform cut painful are not what Salesforce for Nonprofits is typically brought in for.
What can Give Lively do that Salesforce for Nonprofits cannot?
Give Lively covers Branded donation pages, Peer-to-peer fundraising, Text-to-donate, Event ticketing. Salesforce for Nonprofits covers Donor management, Campaign tracking, Volunteer management, Program tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Give Lively

More on Salesforce for Nonprofits

Keep looking

Other head to heads