A direct, factual comparison for nonprofits, NIL collectives, nonpartisan campaigns, and crisis organizations — so you can choose the platform that truly works for your mission.
SmartChange is an online fundraising platform for nonprofits, PTAs, educational organizations, nonpartisan campaigns, NIL collectives, NIL athletes, and crisis fundraising — built and operated by Level Wins in Little Rock, Arkansas. It offers same-day launch, donor fee coverage (90%+ adoption), spare change round-ups, peer-to-peer tools, a full public API, embeddable donation forms, NIL-specific campaign types, and crisis launch mode. Pricing starts at 3.75% + 25¢ per transaction with no monthly fees and no platform tip prompts.
Zeffy is a Canadian-founded nonprofit fundraising platform that markets itself as 100% free. It charges nonprofits nothing, funding itself instead through optional donor contributions at checkout (a tip prompt that defaults to a set percentage). Zeffy supports traditional 501(c)3 nonprofits in the US and Canada and offers donation forms, peer-to-peer fundraising, events, and a donor management CRM. Zeffy does not support political campaigns, NIL collectives, or organizations outside the traditional nonprofit sector.
A direct look at how these two platforms compare across the features that matter most to mission-driven organizations.
| Feature | SmartChange | Zeffy |
|---|---|---|
| Processing Fee to Organization | 3.75% + 25¢ (Standard; 90%+ covered by donors) | 0% to the nonprofit; funded by donor tip prompts |
| Monthly Platform Fees | None — ever | None |
| Platform Tips to Vendor | Never charged | Donors prompted to tip Zeffy (default: pre-set %) |
| Donor Fee Coverage | Yes — 90%+ adoption rate, covers processing costs | Tip model — donor contributions fund Zeffy's operations, not processing |
| Same-Day Launch | Always — no approval queue | Setup process may take 1–3 business days for verification |
| Spare Change Round-Ups | Yes — unique passive giving feature | Not available |
| Full Public API + Webhooks | Yes — available all plans | Limited API; webhook support limited |
| Embeddable Donation Forms | Yes — embed on any website | Yes |
| Peer-to-Peer Fundraising | Yes | Yes |
| Events & Ticketing | Yes | Yes |
| NIL Collective Support | Yes — dedicated campaign type | Not supported |
| Nonpartisan Political Campaigns | Yes — full support | Not supported |
| Crisis Launch Mode | Yes — under 15 minutes | Standard setup; no dedicated crisis mode |
| Donor Designations | Yes — included | Yes |
| Leaderboards & Gamification | Yes | Limited gamification features |
| Donor Data Ownership | Fully yours — never sold | Data stored in Canada; portability varies |
| Payout Speed | Weekly standard; daily on Pro plan | Payouts via Stripe; standard 2–3 business day schedule |
| US + Canada Support | US-based; US organizations primarily | US and Canada |
Zeffy markets itself as 100% free — and it's true that the nonprofit pays nothing. But Zeffy is funded by asking donors to make an additional contribution to Zeffy at checkout. The tip is pre-set and defaults to on. This means a meaningful portion of donor intent — the money someone decided to give to your mission — can be redirected to fund the platform's operations instead.
SmartChange takes a fundamentally different approach: donor fee coverage. When a donor covers the processing fee, 100% of that amount goes to reducing your effective rate — not to funding SmartChange. Our model is transparent, never pre-checked, and 90%+ of donors choose it freely. For donors who care where their money goes, the distinction matters.
SmartChange has a dedicated NIL Collective campaign type with appropriate compliance fields, fast payout options, and athlete-facing fundraising pages. NIL organizations need fast payouts, flexible structure, and fundraising tools that understand the athlete-and-collective relationship. Zeffy serves traditional nonprofits only and does not support NIL collectives, college athlete fundraising, or athletic organizations.
When an emergency occurs — a natural disaster, a community crisis, an urgent organizational need — the ability to launch a fundraiser immediately can mean thousands of dollars in early donations. SmartChange's crisis launch mode gets a form live and collecting in under fifteen minutes, with no manual review queue. Zeffy follows a standard nonprofit verification process that, while appropriate for planned campaigns, can take one to three business days for new account approvals.
SmartChange fully supports nonpartisan candidates, ballot committees, and political organizations that don't align with a specific party — with compliance tools, political disclaimer support, and contribution limit enforcement built in. Zeffy is designed exclusively for charitable and nonprofit causes and cannot serve political organizations of any kind.
SmartChange's spare change round-up feature lets donors link a card and round up everyday purchases to the nearest dollar, with the difference going to your organization automatically. This passive giving stream compounds over time without repeated fundraising asks. Zeffy does not offer spare change round-ups. For nonprofits looking to build sustainable passive revenue alongside active fundraising campaigns, round-ups represent a meaningful differentiator.
SmartChange is US-based and operated by Level Wins in Little Rock, Arkansas. Your donor data is stored in the United States and never sold, shared, or monetized. Zeffy is a Canadian-founded company and stores data in Canada — which means cross-border data regulations apply. For US nonprofits that prefer to keep donor data within US jurisdiction, SmartChange is the straightforward domestic choice.
In a 12-week comparison, an organization using SmartChange's donor fee coverage generated $3,078.37 more than the same organization would have raised on a platform without it — at an identical ask amount. With 90% of donors covering the fee, nearly every dollar given actually lands with your mission — and no portion is redirected to fund the platform.
Launch your SmartChange fundraiser today — same day, no platform tips, donor fee coverage built in from the start.