Kindful is a donor CRM. SmartChange is a fundraising platform. These are different jobs — and understanding which one you actually need makes the whole decision simpler.
Most organizations evaluating Kindful vs. SmartChange are actually asking the wrong question. Here's the right one.
The most effective setup for many organizations: SmartChange handles fundraising. Kindful handles relationship management. They connect via API. You get the best of both without paying for features you don't use from either.
SmartChange is an all-in-one fundraising platform for nonprofits, PTAs, educational organizations, nonpartisan campaigns, NIL collectives, NIL athletes, and crisis fundraising. Same-day self-serve launch, no monthly fees on Standard, Growth, or Pro, donor fee coverage (90%+ adoption), Spare Change round-ups, peer-to-peer fundraising, and a dedicated NIL Collective campaign type. CRM-Lite is included for basic donor tracking. Full public API connects to any external CRM.
Standard: 3.75% + 25¢ per transaction. No monthly fees on Standard, Growth, or Pro. Operated by Level Wins, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Kindful is a donor management CRM for nonprofits that combines a donor database, fundraising tools, reporting, and integrations with email, accounting, and volunteer platforms. It was acquired by Bloomerang in 2021 and is being integrated into the Bloomerang platform over time. Kindful charges a monthly subscription fee based on database size, starting around $100/month.
Kindful's donation processing works through integrations with Stripe and other processors — it is not primarily a transaction processing platform. Its strength is in donor relationship management, not checkout optimization.
| Feature | SmartChange | Kindful |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Purpose | Fundraising platform — getting donations in | Donor CRM — managing relationships over time |
| Monthly Fees | None on Standard, Growth, or Pro | Yes — starts ~$100+/mo, scales with contacts |
| Launch Process | Self-serve, same day, no sales call | Demo required; setup and data import needed |
| Donor Fee Coverage | Yes — 90%+ adoption; 0–1% effective rate | Depends on connected processor |
| Tip Prompts | Never | Not applicable |
| Donor CRM Depth | CRM-Lite — profiles, giving history, segmentation | Full donor CRM — core product strength |
| Recurring Donations | Yes — same rate, no surcharge | Yes — via processor integration |
| Peer-to-Peer Fundraising | Yes — all plans | Yes |
| Embeddable Donation Forms | Yes — any website | Yes |
| Full Public API | Yes — all plans | Yes — strong integration ecosystem |
| Accounting Integrations | Via API | Native QuickBooks integration |
| Spare Change Round-Ups | Yes — exclusive | Not available |
| NIL Collective Campaign Type | Yes — dedicated type | Not supported |
| Crisis Launch Mode | Under 15 minutes | Not available |
Kindful's core product is donor relationship management: tracking interactions over time, segmenting your database, identifying lapsed donors, running detailed reports on fundraising performance. It happens to have donation processing capabilities, but that's not the center of gravity.
SmartChange's core product is getting donations in the door: fast launch, donor fee coverage, recurring giving, peer-to-peer campaigns, and embeddable forms that work anywhere. It happens to have CRM-Lite for basic tracking, but it's not a full CRM replacement.
For many organizations, using both makes more sense than choosing one. SmartChange handles fundraising. Kindful (or Bloomerang, its acquirer) handles long-term donor stewardship. They connect via API.
Kindful charges a monthly subscription based on database size — starting around $100/month, scaling up as your contact list grows. SmartChange has no monthly fees on Standard, Growth, or Pro. You pay only when donations come in, starting at 3.75% + 25¢ per transaction. When donors cover the fee (90%+ do), your effective rate drops to 0–1%.
If you're evaluating Kindful as a fundraising tool specifically — rather than for CRM depth — the monthly fee comparison is the first number to look at.
Kindful was acquired by Bloomerang in 2021. If you're evaluating Kindful, you should also evaluate Bloomerang — Bloomerang is the parent platform and Kindful's functionality is being integrated over time. New features and product investment are increasingly focused on the Bloomerang platform. For a direct comparison of SmartChange and Bloomerang, see our SmartChange vs. Bloomerang comparison →
SmartChange gets donations in the door. It plays well with everything else.
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