Fundraising Software Solution Began with a Long Check Out Line

How one charity auction was the start of something great for nonprofit fundraising software

Twenty years ago, the benefit gala was a little different than what we know now. Most guests paid by check or cash; credit cards were captured with knuckle-busters. The typical item pickup was run with handwritten receipts, and fundraising software was the stuff of dreams.

By the end of the night, tired guests who were ready to go home had to wait in long lines to pick up their items and check out.

It was while standing in one of these lines at a benefit auction that the founder of Greater Giving—originally known as Auctionpay—had an idea for a better, faster way to handle check-in and check-out that would leave guests happier.

Flipping Benefit Auctions Upside-Down

Thanks to his background in banking, one man realized that handling payment before the event started—during the registration process, when guests were already filling out their information and receiving their bidder numbers—could save everyone time and frustration at the end of the night.

Once a bidder’s credit card was swiped into the Event Software, it would be saved to their bidder number, so any items purchased during the event would simply be billed to the credit card already on file.

No more waiting in long checkout lines! Once guests reached item pickup at the end of the night, their receipts would already be printed and waiting along with their items—no payment needed.

And those credit cards? Event directors simply needed to click a button inside the fundraising software and the transactions would all be processed at once. No more storing cash or making a trip to the bank at the end of the night!

How Fundraising Became Fun Again

Fundraisers already face so many responsibilities when holding a fundraising event, that managing sales, payments, and event registration on top of it all should be as simple and fast as possible.

Fundraising should be fun, and in today’s world, nonprofits need solutions that can handle all of their needs at once.

So in 2002, Auctionpay was born. What started as a PC fundraising software package with built-in credit card processing has now become Greater Giving.  Through the years experience has developed Greater Giving into an innovative, leading-edge technology solution built to handle all of nonprofits’ fundraising needs. We still remain committed to the original vision of making fundraising faster, easier, and more fun for everyone.

Billions of Dollars Raised for Nonprofit Causes

Now, Greater Giving works exclusively with schools and nonprofit organizations across the country to simplify the complicated process of managing a charity event, quickly train new volunteers on simple check-in and check-out procedures, and ultimately raise even more money for their causes.

Since 2002, Greater Giving has helped over 10,000 nonprofit clients process $7 billion in donations. That’s twenty years of massive fundraising success, across more than 100,000 fundraising events!

And it’s not just the event directors, nonprofit staff, and volunteers who love using Greater Giving. Since 2002, 30 million users have participated in benefit auctions as bidders through Greater Giving.

In addition to event management and fundraising software, credit card processing, online ticket sales, and event websites, Greater Giving has 30 professional event staff members. These team members provide on-site tech support and expert guidance to nonprofits during their most important charity auctions and gala events. It’s everything nonprofits need, all on a single platform!

This Is Just the Beginning

As technology advances and nonprofit needs evolve, so do we—providing the most innovative fundraising solutions possible for managing fundraising events, accepting online donations, selling tickets, and processing credit card sales.

What started as a simple idea has remained just that: Greater Giving makes fundraising easier, faster, and more enjoyable with an all-in-one fundraising software package, available on a single platform.

Goodbye and farewell to the days of multiple logins, passwords, and websites, and hello to a single solution for all your staff and volunteers in one place!

A Critical Time for High-Tech

After the onset of a pandemic, when nonprofits and schools had to quickly pivot to purely virtual fundraising, Greater Giving’s online event solutions were instrumental in keeping charity galas alive with virtual and hybrid events.

For nonprofits already facing higher demand and greater stress than ever before, these high-tech events were hugely successful in raising critical funds and keeping donors engaged with the causes they care about.

Now Greater Giving is celebrating 20 years of making it easier for nonprofit organizations and schools to connect with their donors, streamline the event fundraising process, and raise more money. Subscribe to our blog for great resources, training, events, and blog articles covering important issues in the nonprofit industry, all completely free!