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Fundly is an online crowdfunding service targeted at merchant accounts for nonprofit organizations. Similar in structure to Kickstarter or Indiegogo, Fundly offers nonprofits the ability to create an online profile and solicit donations directly from a community of donors. Since 2010, the company has helped over 50,000 campaigns raise over $325 million through its services. Fundly was acquired in 2015 by a data management company called NonProfitEasy.
Fundly utilizes Stripe and WePay as its payment processors, meaning that users will have to sign up for a merchant account through one of these two companies in order to use Fundly. Through these services, Fundly will process donations using all major debit or credit cards. These payments are taken from a landing page or a Facebook donation campaign that the company provides when a fundraising campaign is created.
Fundly’s primary service is its online fundraising platform. It enables individuals and organizations to create customized fundraising campaigns with ease. The platform provides tools to share compelling stories, upload photos and videos, and promote campaigns across various social media platforms, thereby helping users connect with potential donors and supporters.
In addition to traditional fundraising, Fundly offers crowdfunding services. These services allow users to raise funds from a large number of people, usually via the internet. It’s an effective way to garner support for causes, projects, or businesses. With Fundly’s platform, users can reach a wide audience and secure funding from diverse sources.
Fundly provides a robust donor management system. This service enables organizations to track and manage their interactions with donors effectively. The system allows users to record donor information, track donations, and analyze donor data, which can lead to more effective fundraising strategies.
For organizations that require more comprehensive fundraising solutions, Fundly offers Fundly Pro. This service offers additional features such as peer-to-peer fundraising capabilities, event registration and ticketing, and customizable donation pages. Fundly Pro is designed to meet the needs of larger organizations or more complex fundraising campaigns.
Understanding the need for mobility and convenience in fundraising, Fundly provides a mobile app. This app allows users to manage their fundraising campaigns from anywhere, providing real-time updates and facilitating donor engagement on the go.
Fundly was founded in 2009 and maintains its headquarters at 657 Bryant St. San Francisco, CA 94107. Dennis Hu is still listed as the CEO of Fundly, but we are unable to confirm who currently holds this position following the company’s acquisition by NonProfitEasy.
Key Points |
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Total Online Complaints | <10 |
Live Customer Support | Yes |
Most Common Complaint | N/A |
Recent Lawsuits | No |
We have located fewer than 10 negative Fundly reviews on the usual consumer protection forums, and none of them suggest that the service scams or rips off its users. In fact, reviews of Fundly are generally positive, as nonprofit organizations praise its robust functionality and ease of use. The consensus among reviewers appears to be that Fundly is a useful tool for nonprofits of all sizes, and there is very little risk associated with using it as a primary or secondary fundraising platform. The few complaints we have located mention unauthorized charges, poor customer service, and data reporting issues, but there is not an emerging trend among complainants. If you have your own Fundly review to make, please do so in the comments below.
We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Fundly. Dissatisfied clients who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.
Fundly offers customer support through a knowledge base, email, and phone number.
Reviewers do not cite issues with any of these channels, so they appear to offer service comparable to top payment processors for customer support.
Online Ratings Summary |
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BBB Reports | 5 |
Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.
Fundly currently has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has not received BBB accreditation. The company has received 4 complaints in the past 36 months. Only 2 of these 4 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. The remaining 2 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response.
In addition to the 4 complaints filed against Fundly with the BBB, they have received 1 informal review. The review detailed poor customer service and issues with the technology:
FUNDLY CUSTOMER SERVICE = HORRIBLE…To anyone considering a crowdfunding platform, I strongly recommend you avoid Fundly…My girlfriend and I started a campaign to raise money for Venezuelan refugees and at-risk Colombians during the COVID-19 pandemic…After numerous kind and professional attempts to have my concerns addressed about errors on their platform (page misalignment, our campaign’s video not playing properly, us not being able to respond to comments by those who’ve donated and campaign updates not successfully syncing to our Facebook pages), nothing was changed for the better by the “Fundly Support Center”…The response times to my emails were super slow, at best, without any progress being made by their team with their responses…I was dealing with a woman named, Adriane, whom I asked to speak with her superior, and she denied me the opportunity, so I told her I’d post this review on Google and the Better Business Bureau for all to see…
Clients in this situation would do well to pick a provider with a track record of excellent customer service.
Due to Fundly’s low complaint total complaint volume but its lack of a response to some of the complaints filed against it, we have adjusted the BBB’s rating from an “F” to a “C” overall. However, business owners should regard the BBB’s information with skepticism in general.
Key Points |
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Cancellation Penalties | No |
Monthly & Annual Fees | No |
Processing Rates | Variable |
Equipment Leasing | No |
Fundly’s pricing structure combines a flat platform fee with a per-transaction fee charged by either WePay or Stripe. Fundly’s platform fee is 4.9% per transaction, while WePay’s per-transaction fee is a flat 3% and Stripe’s per-transaction fee is 2.9% plus $0.30. This means that a user’s effective rate for using Fundly will be either 7.9% or 7.8% plus $0.30.
The company also sets different pricing for international fundraising campaigns. Rates for UK-based campaigns are charged a rate of 2.40% plus £0.20. Australian-based campaigns have 2 different rates: Domestic donations made to Australia-based campaigns are charged 1.75% plus $0.30, while international contributions to those campaigns are charged Stripe’s standard 2.90% plus $0.30. The same standard Stripe rate applies to both US and Canadian-based campaigns.
These rates are far above the per-transaction fees of other payment processors and donor management systems, but it’s important to consider that Fundly charges no other fees. In other words, there are no monthly minimum fees, PCI compliance fees, early termination fees, or long-term equipment leases to contend with. For nonprofits of all sizes, this flat, predictable percentage of each transaction may be appealing. Though its rates seem far from competitive with low-cost merchant account providers at first glance, Fundly’s unique pricing structure may provide its own value for certain organizations.
There are currently no public complaints filed regarding Fundly’s contract terms, indicating that most users are satisfied with the company’s pricing. After weighing the service’s exceptionally high transaction fees against its low-commitment model, we have arrived at a grade of “B” for this category.
Key Points |
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Uses Independent Resellers | No |
Telemarketing | No |
Misleading Marketing | No |
Discloses All Important Terms | Yes |
Fundly appears to market itself primarily through online advertising and through referrals amongst its users. The company’s payment processing service is built into its online profiles, which eliminates the need for Fundly to employ independent sales agents. As a result, there are no Fundly reviews that describe unethical conduct by Fundly’s sales team.
As an additional point in the company’s favor, it does not appear to list any deceptive rate quotes on its website. We have therefore assigned it an “A” rating at this time. If you suspect that Fundly has misrepresented your pricing, however, you can always obtain a third-party statement audit to eliminate hidden fees.
Fundly rates as a low-risk, user-friendly credit card processing and fundraising tool for nonprofits according to all third-party sources. The service’s per-transaction costs are higher than those promoted by its competitors, but they come without additional monthly fees or long-term contracts. As a result, Fundly is a solid option for nonprofit organizations that would like to give online or social fundraising a try without committing any upfront resources to the initiative.
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Maria
I had a horrible experience. After publishing the page, received complaints that people were trying to send funds and didn’t go through. I tried contacting them and received no response.
We lost a lot of opportunities to get funded.
Still, I have a balance now and they are saying that I will lose it.
I opened an account with Go Fund Me.
Dominique Betancourt
We recently used Fundly for a school fundraiser and DO NOT recommend this platform at all. First, they tout a FB integration that does not work properly. Second I’ve never experienced so much fraud of people testing $1 transactions. Finally, Stripe is a horrendous provider and shut down our ability to accept donations because of these fraud transactions. I’ve used GoFundMe and never experienced anything like this. Do not waste your time.
John
Fundly has continually removed fundraisers setup for #KyleRittenhouse claiming that they violate their terms of service, but yet have no issue with fundraisers established for his attackers.
I will NEVER donate to ANY fundraiser on fundly as long as they cherry-pick fundraisers that only support a left-wing extremist political agenda.
Bye Fundly. You obviously need some politically agnostic competition.
Dianne Leabo
yesterday I donated to an account for Kyle Rittenhouse. The page disappeared after a few hrs and at that time, it was over $52.000. I would like to know if this was a scam. I want to know the money went to what is was raised for.
Shirley Charpentier
My sister donated to a fund and the amount she 1st contributed once taken out again the next month which was not authorized. She is on a fixed income so was kind enough to donate in the first place. She has tried to contact your company but has had to leave messages. No one has ever called her back. This has caused her s great deal of issues.
Roland Voss
About 12-18 months ago we gave a donation for a student at Glenvale school Officer of $35.00. This amount has been recurring ever since. The event was called Muddy Charms.
Would be glad if you could look into this. Up to now Ive contacted the bank and school to no avail.
ALICIA D KONDRAD
I donated to a fundly account last month…sounded like a good cause…now a month later i have an unauthorized charge on my account….will cancel my credit card an never donate to fundly again…as they say 1 bad apple….
Shaina Burton
I was having a pleasant experience with Fundly and having a successful fundraiser, BUT my donors are not receiving their shirts/other perks that they have paid for. This means Fundly is directly TAKING MY fundraiser money and not putting it toward making the products that they promised when I signed up to so my fundraiser with them. Extremely disappointed with their support line I get voicemail EVERY SINGLE TIME I call with NO call back. I got an email one time months ago saying they were “aware of the problem” but haven’t gotten any sort of follow up whatsoever.