In Use:

When asked why Givebox, CEO and Co-founder Joshua Rowley explained; “We really want to help small nonprofits and give them an end-to-end functionality in terms of events, sweepstakes, banking, etc.” He also stressed that Givebox is strictly for charities and nonprofits.

With Givebox, a nonprofit can take advantage of mobile campaigns, payment processing, website integration, fundraising, and more. A charity can use all of the tools that the software has to offer or they can pick and choose which ones work best for them. Besides a low processing payment fee the software is free. Because of their low prices, Rowley along with Givebox’s other co-founders; CTO Aaron Miller and Don Yang are confident that once the word gets out more and more small to medium nonprofits will ditch their expensive technology and sign up with Givebox. Referring to all US nonprofits, Rowley states, “Because we are tied into the IRS, we have given them all a free account.” Any nonprofit organization can receive a free account with Givebox allowing them (according to Rowley) to obtain “technologies that rival any platform out there.”

Givebox has no contracts or onboarding fees associated with the software. The only fee that nonprofits will pay are processing fees. Givebox charges a fee of 2.9% for credit card donations, 2% for debit card transactions, and around 1% per transaction. Because some of their competitors charge more than 7% per transaction, Rowley hopes that with Givebox, nonprofits can stop losing money on processing fees and instead spend it helping their constituents.

Technology Used:

Any nonprofit can use this platform whether they are technology savvy or beginners; have a MAC or own a PC. Everything is stored on the cloud and clients can access it on any device. Nonprofits with a website can attach it to the software or Givebox will provide each charity a landing page if needed.

Ease of Use:

Givebox was designed to make it easy for nonprofits to use. When Rowley began speaking to nonprofits he quickly realized that many of the smaller nonprofits didn’t have access to technology and if they did, they didn’t really know how to use it. The co-founders decided that it was important that a select few nonprofits tested out their technology before they implemented it into their software. This ensured that all charities would be able to use it without much guidance. Customer service and tutorials are available as back up if needed.

Recap: 

Still unsure of what exactly Givebox does? “We’re Paypal for nonprofits,” says Rowley. Later in the interview he states that Givebox is also similar to Square but without the square. Givebox combines all of the technology that nonprofits need to process payments and run their business without the expensive fees, subscriptions, and contracts. Whether it’s website integration or data analytics- Givebox has it. The only fee associated with Givebox is the fees associated with payment processing.

Advantages:

·         While aimed at small to medium nonprofits- any nonprofit can create an account with Givebox

·         Besides payment processing- the software is free

·         Processing payments are significantly lower using Givebox than their competitors who charge upwards of 7% per transaction.

·         Nonprofits can use one application or all of the applications that the software has to offer

Disadvantages:

·         With so many applications such as payment processing, cloud storage, and developer API, it could be a struggle for Givebox to guarantee that they are all best in class.

My Opinion:

In the first five minutes of speaking to Rowley it was evident that Givebox was dedicated to bring technology to nonprofits at an affordable cost. With so many applications- nonprofits wouldn’t have to pay subscription fees for other services because everything they need could be found within Givebox’s software.  I appreciate the fact that the processing and transaction fees are so low and that there are no contracts or subscription fees.  My only hesitation is that there are so many applications that make up the software. With so many applications it’s hard to ensure that they are all best in class. But because the software is free, nonprofits don’t have anything to lose.