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Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 51 seconds

Review: Classy

classyAll-in-one fundraising, boasts Classy; a fundraising platform for nonprofits across the country. Whether a nonprofit is looking for a unique website to set their organization apart from their competitors or a responsive mobile site for their donors; Classy incorporates all of a charity’s needs and wants in one compact software.


In Use:
According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics there are roughly 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States alone. Therefore, charities have to do their best to grab donors’ attention. With Classy, nonprofits can design a responsive web site while accepting website donations and launching campaigns. Other perks include email marketing, event management and contribution tracking. Because many nonprofits are start-ups with little to no money, Classy gives them the option to personalize a web site with little to know knowledge of computer programming while integrating crucial social media guidance. Charities are also able to gain valuable statistics that helps them improve their giving experience using CRMs such as Salesforce.

Technology Used:
According to Tiffany, a Sales Representative from Classy, a potential nonprofit only needs access to a computer and internet access.

Ease of Use
Like with any software, Classy takes some time to get use to. While personalizing websites may come naturally; understand the statistical reports and sending out emails can be a bit confusing at the start. Knowing this, Classy provides customer service representatives to help users navigate the software.

Recap:
Classy is a fundraising platform that encompasses email marketing, customizable reports, fundraising campaigns, and website design all in one. The platform features many aspects of running a successful marketing campaign. Furthermore, donors are able to donate through Classy’s website while nonprofits are able to utilize event ticketing and social media campaigns.

Advantages:  

  • Clean and modern user-face that is customizable and accessible. 
  • Responsive websites so donors can access nonprofits’ webpages from a tablet, phone, or computer and get the same experience.
  • Up-to-date reports helps charities understand how they’re doing and what steps they need to take to improve.
  • Friendly customer service that’s available by chat, email, and phone.
  • All-in-one fundraising tool that lets nonprofits use one software for all their fundraising needs.

Disadvantages:

  • Cost of Classy could detour nonprofits from utilizing their services.
  • Users were disappointed at the lack of website templates available
  • Reports were not as user-friendly as the rest of the website and took some time for nonprofits to figure out
  • A nonprofit has to opt for the premium account to access domain masking.

My Opinion:
I think Classy is a great option for smaller nonprofits who don’t have a web designer or a marketing team to help them manage their organization. It offers them advice, help, and tools to get started. Whether it’s an email template, or a website; nonprofits can use Classy to get their website off the ground and start reaching out to potential donors. 

The only set back that I see is the cost of Classy. Many smaller nonprofits can’t afford a price tag of $500-$1500 a month no matter how useful the platform is. However, if a nonprofit is able to spend the money, I think that they’ll appreciate the friendly customer service, the easy-to-use platform and the responsive website. If Classy can figure out how to make their reports more user-friendly, lower their monthly prices, and create more website templates- they can grab the attention of a lot more nonprofits.  


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Danielle Loughnane

Danielle Loughnane earned her B.F.A. in Creative Writing from Emerson College and has currently been working in the data science field since 2015. She is the author of a comic book entitled, “The Superhighs” and wrote a blog from 2011-2015 about working in the restaurant industry called, "Sir I Think You've Had Too Much.” In her spare time she likes reading graphic novels and snuggling with her dogs.

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