CrowdRise Reviews Summary
CrowdRise has a rating of 3.3 stars from 101 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Reviewers satisfied with CrowdRise most frequently mention and customer service. CrowdRise ranks 3rd among Crowd Funding sites.
Hello,
I am leaving this review here in case there is a Christmas angel in this corporation which would help me. CrowdRise purchased gofundme which means any issue occurring with gofundme is essentially a CrowdRise problem. I am helping my friend raise money for her son's emergency dental surgery. He has congenital rickets which leaves him in extreme pain and they have finally found a surgeon who can operate on his teeth. I have been raising money since the fall and now right before we were about to cash out the campaign the platform is missing. The funds are unable to be retrieved and her son has surgery next week. This feels criminal. It feels like negligence and abuse. I have written to GoFundMe 10 times in 2 days and there is NO response. I have escalated in to the BBB and their legal team but it is time for the company who purchased GoFundMe to get involved and help get our fundraiser back online so this poor kid can have his surgery next week,
Sincerely
Kimberly Johnston
Tofino, BC
Fundraiser which was deleted by GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/Dental-Emergency-Care-for-Sunny
Attached is a screen shot from someone named "Mac" at the company who assures our funds are still there but they are not. The whole page is gone including how to retrieve the funds.
This is one of the most needlessly confusing products I have ever used. They make you set up teams within fundraisers within fundraisers within teams, like this were the plot of Inception. Add onto that the complete lack of user support I reached out multiple times and did not receive a single email reply and CrowdRise was an absolute nightmare. Stay away!
This is one of the biggest nightmare sites. It doesn't get worse than this site. It took 3 days and 5 emails to get the donation site working. I think customer support has one person working 9-5. Good luck. There is no way to change change or edit photos or texts. Even pull up your site is difficult. Yuk, why did I not read reviews first.
I'm trying to do a fundraiser for Stand Up For Cancer, and I tried to contact Crowdrise support about an issue regarding the fact that their software doesn't work with smartphones, and their response was that it does.
Unfreakingreal.
Even Stevie Wonder can see that Crowdrise doesn't work.
Stay far away from Crowdrise!
They funded my charity project in Venezuela last year.
Thank you so much for impacting the world.
They will take you through a myrad of bureaucracy but its neccessary to eliminate pretenders
They refused to keep my organization on their profile just because I didn't send the 990 document when they have already had check the IRS which is the legal and appropriate way to check any tax status on anyone
I don't know what all the fuss is about. Crowdrise takes a 6% fee and the payment processor takes 2.9%. If you opt to pay a little extra so the nonprofit doesn't pay the fees from your donation (I did), the fees plus donation Is totaled up at checkout. It's impossible to miss. More importantly, the site is extremely easy to use and e-mail support is quick. It's kind of silly to expect a platform to not have some kind of fee attached to sustain operations/stay running.
The customer service rep on here is just repeating the same babble on every comment about the fees - rhetoric meant to make it seem like an 'option' to pay these fees - however guess what? Their story is, either you pay them or the charity, so see you have options! /s. Do yourself a favor and send the charity a check, venmo, paypal, or zelle so that they are REALLY getting 100% of your donation.
I was shocked to see not only a 6% but also a 2.9% and a per transaction fee for all GivingTuesday donations.
Save your charity some money and give to them directly! This is WAY TOO HIGH!
Crowdrise has replaced decency (and common sense) with cutesy responses and an uber-friendly approach that is still b. S. What they are doing (and I can't understand the legality of this) is NOT telling you the exact fee you will be charged when you submit a donation. Instead, they feed on your general good intentions by asking if you'd like 100% of your donation to go where you want but then DON'T tell you what your actual bill will be. Slimy! When you ask about the fees, they give a pat answer about all platforms having fees and this great option they're giving you to have 100% go where you want, etc. But notice, they still don't explain WHY they didn't tell what the fee would be upfront, WHY the fees are so high and exactly WHERE each amount of your fee went. They just don't do that. Hmmm. Wonder why. They are very for profit. That's all fine if they're upfront about it, but they're not. Ultimately I'm sure they do good by helping get money out where it's needed (which is why I didn't give them a 1 star), but their tactics are see-through slimy, their fees purely for profit, and I'm really surprised so many people are just so okay with that tactic. REVEAL YOUR FEES AHEAD OF TIME, CROWDRISE! Simple.
Hey Erik,
Thanks so much for your feedback.
Fees on CrowdRise are made up of a platform fee, plus a standard credit card processing fee. These help us keep our lights on, offer customer support, and provide charities with excellent services. The suggestion to show the breakdown of how the overall fees break down is a great one and we'll pass that along to our team.
Because we give donors the option to choose, every checkout page shows the Donation Amount and Fees itemized. The donor may choose to Edit the Fees line if they wish, so they can opt out of covering them for the charity. It's totally up to you if you'd like to pay or opt out and we're happy to help if there were any oversights which caused you to pay more than your intended donation amount.
Either way, your donation is a huge help to the cause you support, and providing the platform to share your enthusiasm for giving with your social network helps them even more.
Quintas
CrowdRise Customer Service
They charged me $45 to make a $500 donation to a Children's Hospital. Absolutely disgusting. They should be investigated and have their tax standing pulled. Absolutely disgusting.
Hey Murray,
Thanks for your comment and we can shed some light on this.
We offer fundraisers, charities, and events on CrowdRise a pricing structure that allows their donors to cover their processing fees so 100% of the donation goes to their cause. The $45 you're inquiring about represents the fees to get 100% of your donation to your cause. If you didn’t cover the fees, your charity would see 6% (CrowdRise fees) + 2.9% + $0.30 (credit card fees) less go to their cause.
All charitable platforms charge fees to fundraise on their site, plus standard credit card fees. CrowdRise is the only platform that has built functionality so the donors can cover those fees. Right now at least 93% of donors choose to cover the fees, which is pretty amazing. And, that means, on average, over 98% of funds raised go directly to the cause. That's less than credit card fees. So, while this may have been slightly confusing, please know that this pricing structure has been awesome for charities.
We offer donors the option to OPT OUT of fees during checkout. If you'd like to give it another try, opting to not cover the fees, you can email QUINTAS@CROWDRISE.COM with your transaction info so we can refund your original donation and you can place a new one making sure to edit the "fees" line to $0 before completing the transaction.
We really want to help and hope this explained everything. If you have any more questions, please let us know and we’ll be ready to dig in.
CrowdRise Customer Service
I'm very unsure about how this works. I saw a story in our local paper about a new non-profit group trying to raise funds. Under this group's logo there are several other groups and individuals (several were from the same family!) I could not get a straight answer as to who was raising money for what, so I gave up. Is it accurate to say any individual (with or without the 501 c3 tax exempt status) could post a request and start asking for money? After these groups raise their individual sums of money, are they required to give it to the main group listed somewhere near the top? The fees being charged would seem to mean the family members would do better sticking together for one cause, right? I hope this makes sense enough to help me get some answers- but mostly, I hope it makes each and every donor read the fine print before giving to the charity of their choice. I worked for a non-profit agency and we did our own private fund-raising. The crowdwise type models would not have worked for us.
Hey Agatha,
Thanks for the question.
I believe what you're referring to is our Team functionality.
All of those individuals were people raising money together for the same cause. On CrowdRise a person or charity can start a campaign with a single goal, and a single beneficiary. Then they can invite their friends and family to join them in working to achieve that goal. Each person who joins gets their own unique page and URL to share, but all of the funds add up toward the team's goal.
The funds from all of these teams are sent directly from the payment processor to the charity. No individual ever has to touch a single penny. So great.
On CrowdRise, folks can only start campaigns to benefit 501c3 charities registered with the IRS or Canadian government. In January we merged with GoFundMe, so now they handle all fundraising for individuals, or Personal Causes, as we like to call them.
If you have any additional questions you can always check out our FAQ or email us at Quintas@CrowdRise.com and we'll solve everything.
Thanks again.
CrowdRise Customer Service
When I found out they charged almost 9% to give to the charity of my choice, I decided to send a check. I can understand a $2 to $5 processing fee, but this is disgusting especially since they are supposed to serve non-profits.
You can donate to most non profits through PayPal for a lot less money.
My organisation used this service and have yet to receive check. Its been two months, they route you through several different companies, such as Network for Good that sound great but don't deliver. I am now on hold waiting for 10+ minutes trying to speak with someone.
Hey Tony,
Thanks so much for your feedback.
Network for Good, the payment processor for the charity, sends checks to the beneficiary on the 15th of each month for any funds raised in the previous month. The checks are sent to the address on file with the IRS.
If the address is out of date the check may not make it to the intended recipient. In that case, the charity would need to update their address and then request a check reissue from Network for Good at no cost.
Super sorry for any delay.
Quintas
CrowdRise Customer Service Person
Our grassroots nonprofit has been a big fan and a regular user of CrowdRise for 6 years. We participate in their annual fundraising challenges, plus we set up fundraisers throughout the year for specific needs, and our online donations go though CrowdRise.
The best thing about CrowdRise is the hands-on help. Ask a question, and they're on it. Have a problem with set-up? They'll walk you through it. Feedback is immediate and enthusiastic. They want you to meet your goal, and they have lots of great tips for making that happen.
Some reviewers complain about the fees. If you really want big expenses for raising money, try hiring a good development director! We can't do that, and neither can a lot of small, "impactful" nonprofits. CrowdRise is a bargain.
We'll stay with this fantastic group of can-do people. Fundraising can be a drag, especially if you don't have a clue about how to get started or how to follow through. It's a lot of work for your organization, and you do have to invest time and energy - but CrowdRise makes it fun as well as successful.
It's comforting to know decent Humans still exist somewhere over the rainbow, not just with Care Bears in the sky.
CrowdRise makes giving back even more fulfilling and fun! I Imagine CrowdRise overall is pretty legit and I Bet My Life will never Quit platforming for amazing charities!
Is any companies' customer service team better or more efficient than Crowdrise's? Seems hard to believe. Response time is unbelievable, they always respond quickly, efficiently and with help for whatever your problem may be and never seem annoyed by the simplicity or complicated nature of your request. I've worked with a couple of the different fundraising platforms and always like working with this one the best!
I was about to donate through them to a CNN Hero 2016 until I saw their fee was 8 1/2 % of the total. They should be ashamed. I'll donate directly instead.
This company is all about giving back which is what is most important
I originally wrote a very poor review of crowdrise after I made a donation to Dogs on Deployment through their site. (Sorry about that, guys.) After discussing the situation with their staff, I was very pleased to find they did have a method of providing credit card donations to charities with minimal card fees involved. Perhaps there is a better way to communicate this on their site, but I found it took some explaining on their part and some additional understanding on my part to find the answers. So it may not be as simple as a highlighted statement on a web page. Be that as it may, crowdrise does have a process that sounds honorable and reasonable. You just have to get the background to understand it. Thanks to Max for the insight.
Hey Mike,
Thanks for reaching out with your feedback. We just came across the email you just sent us about 90 minutes ago and replied. We gave you a full comprehensive explanation of our fee structure. And the main theme of the email was that the Charity that you donated to will not pay more than 3% in processing fees for the duration of their campaign (and that includes Credit Card Fees). Pretty awesome and it sounds like that's exactly what you were hoping for.
If you have any other questions or feedback, please feel free to reply to the email we just sent you, or write Quintas@CrowdRise.com. We're standing by to give you the best customer service in the world.
Quintas
CrowdRise Customer Service Person
From the business
CrowdRise is about giving back, raising lots of money for great causes, and having the most fun in the world while doing it.
CrowdRise is the world’s largest community raising money for great causes. CrowdRise was named one of the “best online fundraising websites” by Mashable and Forbes. The CrowdRise community was named a “Top 25 Best Global Philanthropist” by Barron’s. We beat Oprah. The NYC Marathon, Boston Marathon, Ironman, Red Cross, UNICEF, as well as celebrities like Sean Penn, Seth Rogan, Ian Somerhalder, Sophia Bush, Paul Rudd, Olivia Wilde and Will Ferrell all CrowdRise. We used to try to keep CrowdRise a secret but we're making a slight change and encouraging you to tell two friends and one person who you don't like all that much about the site.
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Hey Patrick,
Thanks for your feedback.
Our data shows that a large number of our users are mobile-based, so we can guarantee that our mobile platform is functional. Like any regular computer, mobile browsers occasionally need to be updated or have their cache cleared to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
I was able to locate your correspondence with our support team and it looks like there wasn't enough information provided to successfully troubleshoot the issue. If you'd like to continue working on that thread, we would be happy to help reach a resolution so your mobile browsing experience is the best it can possibly be.
We're standing by to help.
Quintas
CrowdRise Customer Support