Fundraising platforms vs. white label fundraising software

Jesper Juul Jensen
CEO
12
Min to read

While popular third-party fundraising platforms offer convenience, they often fall short in areas that are critical for sustainable fundraising success.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits and disadvantages of fundraising platforms. Specifically we will show how these charities embracing white label software gain more contact permissions, longer term donor relations and even more donations.

The shortcomings of fundraising platforms

Fundraising platforms such as Facebook and other third-party services may be easy to use and offer broad reach. Still, they come with limitations that can hinder a charity's growth. 

Even though these platforms can bring in donations, they often operate more like transactional services. In the long term, this model prevents charities from forming meaningful connections with their donors, limiting future engagement and retention. It often falls short when compared to white-label solutions for a few key reasons:

  1. Lack of brand identity  –  Fundraising platforms typically present a generic or shared environment, where the platform's branding overshadows the charity's brand. This dilutes the charity's identity and makes it harder for donors to connect strongly with the cause. 
  2. Lower donor trust  –  Donors tend to trust donations made directly on charity-branded websites more than through third-party platforms. The absence of clear branding can lead to confusion or concern about where their money is going, potentially lowering donations.
  3. Limited data ownership  –  Fundraising platforms often keep control of valuable donor data, limiting the charity’s access to crucial information like email addresses and donation history. This makes it difficult for charities to build long-term relationships with their donors and engage them in future campaigns. 
  4. Less flexibility and customisation  –  Fundraising platforms typically have rigid templates and limited customisation options, preventing charities from tailoring the experience to their specific needs. 
  5. Missed contact permissions  – Branded campaigns not only bring in more donations but also help secure valuable donor contact permissions. Without proper branding, charities on third-party platforms tend to collect fewer contact permissions, missing opportunities for future engagement. 
  6. Long-term donor relationships  – Fundraising platforms prioritise one-time donations rather than fostering long-term relationships between the charity and the donor. By using white-label solutions, charities can create consistent touchpoints and interactions with their donors, allowing them to build lasting relationships. This leads to increased donor retention and lifetime value, both critical for sustainable fundraising.
  7. Third-party limitations – While platforms like Facebook or other large fundraising platforms may offer wide reach and convenience, they limit how charities can interact with donors and restrict access to crucial donor data. This can be compared to only selling on Amazon – while effective for transactions, the charity loses control over the customer relationship. White-label solutions allow charities to own every aspect of the donor journey, from the first contact to follow-up communications.
  8. Platform dependency risk: If the platform experiences operational or financial difficulties and shuts down (as seen with platforms like Facebook in the EU and Virgin Money Giving in the UK), charities reliant on that platform for a significant portion of their income could suffer immediate financial setbacks and loss of donor access.

In addition to these issues, one of the biggest drawbacks of third-party platforms is the high fees they charge, which can significantly reduce the amount of money reaching the charity. Let’s take a closer look at how these fees impact fundraising efforts.

Why white-label platforms offer clarity in fee structures for charities

Platforms often charge a fee for their service, while the few that don’t are usually subsidised by large corporations. As many charities learned when BT MyDonate closed in the UK or when Facebook shut down its fundraising tools in Europe, these platforms can be unstable, as they struggle to sustain themselves without a revenue stream.

So, ideally, you would want your platform to charge a fee. The issue with fees on third-party platforms is that they are transparent about the charges, which is good, but this leads to a situation where everyone involved — you, the donor, and the fundraiser — feels like they are paying the fee.

For instance, a platform might charge you 5% in fees, but you, the donor and the fundraiser will feel they pay this fee. The donors are - hopefully - aware of this fee when donating and feel 5% of her/his donations is lost in fees; the fundraiser is aware and feels 5% of the fundraised is lost, and you certainly are aware of the fee and acctually pays it.

With white-label platforms, the fee can be structured as a subscription, a pay-as-you-go percentage, or a combination of both. It becomes just another operational cost, like pencils or email clients, and there's no need to highlight it to your donors. With white-label platforms, you pay the fee, and only you feel the cost.

In contrast, with third-party platforms, it creates the perception that everyone is paying, even though it's really just the charity absorbing the cost. This creates unnecessary confusion and dissatisfaction when, in reality, only one party is paying the bill.

Network effects in P2P fundraising platforms are nonexistent

One reason many charities end up using a third-party platform is that they hope to gain exposure to new donors and fundraisers. However, as BetterNow learned the hard way - there are no significant network effects on fundraising platforms. 

There are several reasons for this:

Fundraising is driven by individual causes, not platform popularity

In P2P fundraising, donors are motivated by personal connections or individual causes rather than by the platform itself. The platform’s size or number of users doesn’t inherently add value to the donor’s decision to give.

Unlike social media or marketplaces where the network effect (more users attracting even more users) creates value, fundraising decisions are more personal and not influenced by how many others use the same platform.

Limited interaction between users

Network effects rely on interactions between users to create added value. However, in charity P2P fundraising, there is little to no interaction between donors who use the same platform.

Each fundraiser typically promotes their campaign within their personal network, and donors give based on their connection to that specific fundraiser, not because other donors are using the same platform. The platform’s network size doesn’t contribute to improving or enhancing the donor's experience.

Platform choice is not a competitive advantage

For most donors and fundraisers, the platform is a tool, not a destination. The charity or the cause is the key focus, and the platform itself is largely irrelevant to the success of a campaign. Since there’s no platform loyalty or widespread user-to-user interaction, there’s no meaningful network effect.

Fundraisers aren’t drawn to a platform because “everyone else is using it.” Instead, they choose a platform based on what the charity recommends. The user/fundraiser journey starts with the charity, not with the platform.

Platforms don’t aggregate donations across campaigns

Unlike traditional platforms where users benefit from a large user base (e.g., more sellers and buyers in a marketplace), P2P fundraising platforms don’t aggregate or pool donations across campaigns. Each fundraiser operates independently, and one fundraiser’s success doesn’t translate into success for others on the platform. Therefore, the value doesn’t increase as more fundraisers or donors use the platform.

Donors are often one-time users

P2P donors are often one-time givers, driven by a specific event or relationship. They’re not habitual users of the platform, so even if the platform has a large user base, this doesn’t create lasting or recurring value. Network effects rely on repeat usage and interaction, which is rare in P2P fundraising.

Therefore, there simply is no good reason to have a fundraising platform with multiple charities. It is applying a solution (a platform) found in other marketplaces where it works (like hotels, auctions, used items) to a problem it doesn’t solve. Fundraising platforms make no sense.

Illustraition showing no network effects for p2p fundraising platforms

What are white-label solutions?

White-label solutions allow charities to brand and customise an existing fundraising platform as their own. Unlike generic third-party platforms that host multiple organisations, a white-label solution enables charities to offer a seamless, branded experience to their donors. It integrates fully with their website, providing a consistent and professional appearance across all touchpoints, which ultimately strengthens trust and loyalty.

The rise of white-label solutions

White-label solutions began gaining popularity in the early to mid-2010s across various industries, including fundraising, as organisations increasingly sought more control over their branding and customer experience. In the context of fundraising, white-label solutions became more prominent as digital fundraising grew and charities realised the limitations of using standard third-party platforms.

Key milestones that contributed to the rise of white-label fundraising solutions include:

  1. Increased demand for customisation (2010s):
    As online giving became more common, charities wanted platforms that allowed them to offer a seamless, branded experience to their donors, which traditional platforms struggled to provide. This drove the demand for white-label solutions that gave charities full control over their donor interactions.
  2. Growth of peer-to-peer fundraising (2010s):
    The rise of P2P fundraising brought new opportunities for charities to engage their supporters. White-label solutions became popular as they allowed organisations to customise their P2P campaigns in a way that better reflected their unique mission and values.
  3. Shift towards data ownership (Mid-2010s):
    Around the mid-2010s, as data privacy and security became a growing concern, organisations began to prioritise owning and controlling their donor data. White-label solutions offered this capability, unlike third-party platforms that often retained partial access to donor information.
  4. The decline of platform fees and hidden costs:
    As charities faced mounting pressure to ensure more funds went directly to their causes, they sought alternatives to third-party platforms with high fees and commissions. White-label solutions gained popularity because they often had lower long-term costs, with fewer hidden charges.
  5. Evolving donor expectations:
    With the proliferation of e-commerce and personalised online experiences, donors began expecting the same level of customisation and professionalism from charity platforms. White-label solutions allowed charities to meet these expectations, contributing to their rising adoption.

By the late 2010s and into the 2020s, white-label solutions became the go-to choice for many charities that wanted to stand out from the competition, offering an improved donor experience while maintaining greater control over their operations.

Why is using a white-label solution important for charities?

Using a white-label solution allows charities to fully customise the fundraising experience, keeping their branding front and centre. This helps build trust with donors, as they feel they are giving directly to the charity rather than through a third-party platform.

Moreover, with white-label solutions, charities fully own their donor data. This is essential for nurturing long-term relationships and re-engaging donors in future campaigns. Without access to this data, charities are missing out on valuable opportunities to build donor loyalty and secure ongoing support.

While using a traditional fundraising platform may seem convenient at first, it often turns out to be the worst choice for charities in the long run. Many of these platforms offer easy setup and quick access to tools, which initially appeal to charities looking for an efficient solution. However, beneath this surface-level convenience lie significant drawbacks.

Charities often find themselves constrained by limited branding options and a lack of control over donor data and relationships. As campaigns grow, the inflexibility of these platforms becomes more apparent, restricting customisation and scalability. 

Furthermore, the inability to fully personalise the donor experience can weaken the emotional connection between donors and the charity, ultimately reducing engagement and long-term support. In the end, charities realise that what started as a convenient option becomes a costly and limiting choice, compromising their potential to build lasting, meaningful donor relationships and raise more funds for their cause.

Unlocking more donations and donor engagement with white-label solutions

Switching to white-label platforms gives charities a significant edge in building trust, engaging donors, and raising more money. When donors visit a charity-branded donation page, they are interacting directly with the charity’s identity—its logo, messaging, and overall design. This familiarity and sense of connection lead to better results. Our research shows that fundraising pages branded with the charity receive 12% more donations compared to generic third-party platforms​. The trust built through branding is crucial, as it reassures donors that their money is going directly to the charity and cause they care about.

In addition to boosting donations, white-label platforms have another powerful advantage: they help charities collect more donor contact information. On charity-branded sites, donors are 71% more likely to provide their contact details than on generic platforms​. This means that charities can easily stay in touch with donors, send updates, and re-engage them for future campaigns, greatly increasing the likelihood of repeat donations.

How white-label solutions solve generic platform limitations

As outlined at the start of this blog, generic fundraising platforms come with several limitations that can hinder a charity’s growth and ability to build meaningful, long-term relationships with donors. Below is how white-label platforms can effectively resolve these challenges.

White-label solutions offer a powerful alternative to the limitations of generic fundraising platforms, addressing key challenges that charities face.

First, branding is a major advantage. White-label platforms allow charities to fully customise the platform with their own logos, colors, and messaging. This helps create a stronger connection between donors and the charity, ensuring a more personal and recognisable giving experience.

Second, white-label platforms boost donor trust by providing a branded, secure environment where donations happen directly through the charity’s website. This transparency reassures donors and encourages them to give more confidently.

Another key benefit is data ownership. White-label platforms give charities full access to donor data, allowing them to personalise outreach, track donation history, and engage supporters more effectively for future campaigns.

In terms of customisation, white-label platforms offer far more flexibility than generic options. Charities can design every aspect of the donor experience, from custom donation flows to unique messaging, creating a more engaging and tailored journey.

White-label solutions also help secure contact permissions during the donation process, ensuring charities can build a strong database for future communication and improve long-term donor retention.

Fostering long-term relationships is a core strength of white-label platforms. Through continuous engagement, personalised follow-ups, and regular updates on donation impact, these platforms help maximise donor retention and increase the lifetime value of each supporter.

Moreover, white-label solutions eliminate the limitations of third-party platforms by giving charities full control over the entire donor journey—from first contact to follow-up communications—enabling more personalised and deeper engagement.

Lastly, white-label platforms reduce platform dependency risks. Charities maintain their own independent fundraising infrastructure, ensuring continuity even if third-party platforms face issues or shutdowns. This gives charities greater stability and security in their fundraising efforts.

Is It time to make the shift?

For charities still relying on third-party fundraising platforms, the move to a white-label solution may seem daunting. However, the benefits—brand consistency, data ownership, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness—outweigh the initial investment. In a competitive landscape, where donor trust and engagement are paramount, white-label solutions offer the smarter choice for forward-thinking charities.

Charities can not only enhance their fundraising efforts but also strengthen relationships with their supporters, ensuring long-term success and sustainability. For those ready to step into the future of fundraising, a white-label platform could be the key to unlocking new opportunities and maximising impact.

BetterNow itself is a prime example of this shift. Originally a fundraising platform, BetterNow transitioned to offering white-label solutions after realising that a one-size-fits-all approach didn’t work and that there weren’t any network effects associated with P2P fundraising platforms. By making this move, we allowed charities to fully customise their fundraising tools, helping them create more impactful and personalised donor experiences. This transition highlights the growing recognition that white-label solutions empower organisations to raise more funds while keeping control of their identity and donor relationships.

Conclusion

While generic fundraising platforms may be easy to use, their limitations—including lack of branding, control over donor data, no network effects and the inability to build long-term relationships—can hinder a charity’s growth and sustainability. White-label solutions, by contrast, empower charities with full control over branding, donor engagement, and data ownership, fostering deeper connections with donors and enabling long-term, sustainable growth. 

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