Event registration platforms for nonprofits help automate the registration process and manage patrons, making it easier for charities to reach a larger audience and improving guests’ experience at every step, from purchase to ticket disbursement to check-in and beyond.
The best event platforms for nonprofits and charities include event planning features like:
- Easy, low-cost payment processing so nonprofits can accept donations and sell tickets online or at the door.
- Marketing and event management tools that help nonprofits communicate their message, ultimately growing their community of donors and advocates, which help spread the cause
- Real-time reports help nonprofits gain deeper insights into their audience’s behavior and make informed marketing decisions
Event management platforms can be used by any nonprofit or charitable organization, such as churches, schools, charities, foundations, social advocacy groups, sports leagues, and many more.
Here, we’ll analyze five popular event ticketing platforms used by nonprofits, charities, and fundraisers for event planning—and share what sets Ticketstripe apart.
Ticketstripe
Loved by organizers for how intuitive this powerful event registration platform is, nonprofits worldwide trust Ticketstripe to streamline ticketing, save time and money, and raise more funds.
Pricing: Ticketstripe is always free for anyone to create events of any size, with no monthly fees or contracts. In addition, Ticketstripe has the lowest fees of any event registration platforms for nonprofits.
For paid tickets or donations, Ticketstripe extends nonprofits a reduced service fee of 1.50% + 50¢ per ticket + payment processing fee of either PayPal or Stripe (your choice). Our reduced fees are transparent from event page to checkout, unlike other platforms that claim to be free but then badger the customer at checkout to pay exorbitantly high platform fees. Ticketstripe understands that a positive purchase experience for your customers can lead to repeat purchases and donations.
Best for: Nonprofits and charities everywhere that want a hassle-free ticketing management system and transparent, low fees for the buyer. Ticketstripe is an all-in-one event registration platform for virtual events, hybrid events, and in-person events. Start accepting registrations, selling tickets, and accepting donations immediately.
It takes just minutes to set up your online ticket sales and donations with Ticketstripe:
- Add your event details
- Connect to Stripe or PayPal
- Create your ticket types and donation options
In addition, you can reach more people and sell more tickets with Ticketstripe’s essential free features to manage events.
- Immediate funding means you get paid after every sale, as Ticketstripe does not handle or hold up your payment.
- Customizable event pages are optimized for search engines and easily shareable.
- Unlimited ticket types accommodate all your unique event pricing needs, i.e., early bird, adult/child, group and table tickets, private and promotional, tiered sponsors, and many more.
- Pay What You Wish tickets allow the attendee to set their own amount for a ticket based on a minimum you set, including the option for free admission.
- Suggested and flexible donations let you personalize donation amounts, offer donations with admission, and let the donor enter a custom donation.
- Ticket Bundles give you the ability to bundle admission tickets for Sponsor or Table tickets. The buyer can then easily share individual tickets with attendees, helping the organizer collect contact info for potential future contributors. This feature is not available with any other ticketing platform.
- Peer-to-peer fundraising functionality helps you recruit donors as promoters to leverage the fundraising power of the community and track where new donations come from.
- The ability to enter offline cash, check, and external credit card payments—with no fees levied—creates a centralized customer database that offers a powerful way to market future events to all event participants. What’s more, Ticketstripe does not own this info—you do.
- Real-time insights and campaign pixel tracking let you know where the sales are coming from.
- An easy-to-use mobile app allows you and your team to scan and sell tickets at the door for contactless and fast check-in.
- Fair Market Value lets you input the tax-deductible amount for your tickets and donations, which can be displayed on the purchaser’s receipt.
- Easy-to-reach online or phone support from Ticketstripe’s service team offers assistance for setting up your event and answering any questions at no additional charge.
Cons: At this time, Ticketstripe’s nonprofit event management software does not offer “build-your-own seating charts” functionality.
“We hit our target with ticket sales! Your platform was a big reason why we succeeded. The mobile app made it easy to check in and track folks. We knew exactly how much money was collected... I’ll definitely recommend your site to others and will use it for events in the future.” — Joe Puzino
Let's Team Up
Eventbrite
Eventbrite is one of the widely known event registration platforms for nonprofits (even though they don’t actually cater to nonprofits at all) who can afford to wait until after the event to receive their funds. Along with event creation and ticketing tools, Eventbrite Boost allows you to market with email campaigns and social media ad tools.
Pricing: Eventbrite’s standard ticket fee structure is 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket + a payment processing fee of 2.9% per order—with no discount for nonprofits. Eventbrite also permits your organization to absorb its service fees, but the purchaser has no choice but to pay the payment processing fee. In addition, Eventbrite’s free, no-subscription plan only allows you to sell 25 online tickets to a single event and its “flexible” plan costs $9.99 per event for up to 100 tickets each. The Professional Plan starts at $29 a month for frequent events of up to 100 tickets each, $79 per month for up to 250 tickets per event, and $159 per month for unlimited ticket sales. What’s more, you won’t get customized one-on-one platform support from Eventbrite unless you pay for a Premium plan—for which the company does not publish its cost.
Best for: Nonprofits that believe the large variety of general options and integrated marketing tools plus Eventbrite’s name recognition outweigh the higher costs.
Cons: Most functionality is generic to benefit general event organizers, while missing the mark on tools tailored for nonprofits. Additionally, Eventbrite is one of the most expensive nonprofit event management platforms, and it retains the contact info of ticket purchasers in order to market other events to them.
Ticketleap
Ticketleap offers all the standard event registration features a nonprofit organization needs along with a reserved seating chart builder, which lets you sell specific tickets in your venue with drag-and-drop seats, rows, and blocks.
Pricing: Ticketleap charges 2% + $1 per paid ticket + 3% credit card processing fee with a max of $20 per ticket. In addition, if you use its payment processor, you’ll get paid four to seven business days after your event ends by direct deposit or check. If you need funds sooner, you can apply for its FastPay option to collect revenue on a weekly basis leading up to your event.
Best for: Organizers who want to offer reserved seating at their events and who are savvy enough to build their own seating chart.
Cons: Ticketleap controls your funds and payouts are held until after the event unless you apply for a separate service, and its fees are higher than Ticketstripe’s.
Donorbox
A self-described “fundraising engine,” Donorbox launched its event registration platform for nonprofits in Q2 2022. It offers unlimited ticket types, the ability to determine tax deductibility by manually inputting fair-market value and tax rates, automatic receipt sending, and custom ticketing forms.
Pricing: On the free plan, Donorbox charges a platform fee of 2.95% + the processing fees of Stripe, PayPal, or ACH direct bank transfers.
Best for: Nonprofits who already use Donorbox to manage fundraising campaigns and are looking to integrate event ticket sales and determine ticket tax deductibility (which Ticketstripe can also do for event ticket sales).
Cons: Ticketing functionality is basic but will do the job for event ticket sales, provided you’re not looking for much more than to sell tickets and collect donations in a Donorbox account. Additionally, its platform fee for event ticketing is nearly twice that of Ticketstripe’s.
RSVPIFY
What sets Rsvpify apart from other event registration platforms for nonprofits? Its event website and RSVP security features. RSVPify offers the ability to require a password before a site visitor can view your event website or register and can limit respondents to only guests you have invited.
Pricing: In order to host events using RSVPify, you must sign up for one of its subscriptions, with the Professional Event service costing $39 a month. RSVPify’s standard ticket service fees are 1.95% + 90¢ per ticket + Stripe fees (its only payment processor option). It offers discounted fees of 1.7% + $.78 per ticket + Stripe fees to registered nonprofits.
Best for: Experienced and software-savvy nonprofit organizers looking to host private events with a wide range of customization options.
Cons: While its platform offers a lot of event customization options and themes, it quickly becomes overwhelming with a steep learning curve to using its platform. Though its nonprofit ticket fees are lower than most, the monthly service fee negates the savings—and Ticketstripe is always free to use with lower per-ticket fees.
We hope this information helps you choose the right event registration platform for your nonprofit’s needs. Ticketstripe is passionate about helping nonprofits step into their next chapter. Have a question? We’d love to connect with you!
