Top event ticketing software tools
Every nonprofit needs appropriate funding to work toward fulfilling its mission. If your nonprofit wants to fundraise through hosting events, you’ll need ticketing software to help you manage registration and donations efficiently.
Choosing the right ticketing software can help you execute events without any hiccups — and possibly provide a few more bells and whistles through other features as well.
The importance of fundraising events
Hosting events is a great way to raise awareness for your cause and attract potential donors. For example, if you run an animal shelter, then hosting an adoption event can showcase pets or bring in people who’d like to donate money, pet toys, or food.
Of course, to plan your event well, you’ll need a good idea of how many people will attend. You can get a more accurate estimate by having attendees RSVP through ticketing software.
Ticketing software for nonprofit events
Having an up-to-date list of attendees can make the event-planning process go a little more smoothly. Ticketing software will automatically register participant information for you and record it in a corresponding spreadsheet or database.
If you’re running different marketing campaigns around the event, it also helps to have a tool that comes with data reports and analytics. That way, you can check how your campaigns are affecting attendance.
If you’re hosting a fundraising event, such as a marathon or silent auction, ticketing software will keep track of the number of attendees and their information for you. Having this information readily available will help inform logistical decisions, like sorting out how many water bottles you should buy for runners or how many tables you’ll need for displaying auction items.
5 great nonprofit ticketing software tools
To choose the best nonprofit ticketing software for your event, look into what special features each one has to offer and see which would work best for your needs. Here are a few to consider.
1. Jotform
Jotform is a great pick for any nonprofit fundraising event, whether you’re putting on a sports tournament or beach cleanup. Not only can you choose a form from Jotform’s extensive template gallery to get started, but you can also add your favorite payment processor to easily take payments or donations at the same time.
As participants sign up and purchase tickets for your event, you can use Jotform Tables to manage your participant data or plan out the schedule.
Jotform’s products have a wide range of use cases, so you’ll find it can help you with plenty of other operational needs, such as creating volunteer registration forms or regular donation forms.
Nonprofit organizations also have the opportunity to develop their own custom donation app by using Jotform Donation Apps, which lets you build a sophisticated app with absolutely no coding skills. You can sell tickets in an online store and take donations directly from the app with the Donation Box element.
You can also generate a handy QR code that links directly to your form or app. Anyone can scan the code with their phone camera to open your ticketing or donation page.
Nonprofit organizations get a special 50 percent discount on Jotform paid plans, starting at $17 per month.
2. Eventbrite
It’s easy to set up ticketing for any kind of event with Eventbrite. Simply create your event page, add details, and set any ticket prices. Once the event rolls around, you can just scan attendees’ digital tickets with a smartphone camera, making sure your entrance process is smooth and efficient.
If you’re hosting a virtual event like a webinar, you can easily add in a livestream or integrate Zoom.
Eventbrite also provides resources on how to market and promote your event, and you can embed Eventbrite’s checkout process into your website.
Eventbrite’s Flex plan is free to use for up to 25 tickets. After that, pricing goes up per event, depending on how many tickets you want to offer. You can also subscribe to a Pro plan to get an unlimited number of events per month, starting at $29 per month for up to 100 tickets.
2. Eventzilla
Eventzilla could be right for you if you want a robust ticketing software. With Eventzilla, you don’t just have the ability to make event pages, you also have access to data reports and automated marketing tools.
Eventzilla also supports a variety of both live and virtual events, so whether you’re holding a conference or a fundraiser, this platform’s features will cover your needs. Eventzilla’s platform features a mobile app where event attendees can connect, giving them prime networking opportunities.
Eventzilla’s pricing plans start at $1.50 per registration. You can also choose to have your attendees pay for the ticketing fees, increasing the amount of the donation that goes directly to your nonprofit.
4. Ticketbud
Ticketbud is great for nonprofits that are setting up live events for the first time. Its user-friendly interface and promotion tools, which include integrations with Facebook, Salesforce, and Zapier, will help you make the most of your event. This platform also provides link tracking and a Google Analytics integration, so you can see how your event ads are performing, for example.
Additional features include multiple payment processor integrations, device rentals for at-the-door sales, and a mobile app.
Pricing for Ticketbud starts at a 2 percent ticketing fee, plus a $0.99 per ticket service charge, and a 2.9 percent payment processor fee. You can choose how often your organization will receive payouts, and they also offer a special discount for nonprofits.
5. Ticket Tailor
For another user-friendly option, you can turn to Ticket Tailor. Ticket Tailor is best suited for live events and has a wide range of features that will optimize your event planning.
Ticket Tailor includes seating chart design tools, integrations with Zapier and Mailchimp, password-protected tickets, and a donation feature meant specifically for charities. You’re also able to use a ticket-scanning app to expedite the check-in process.
On top of that, Ticket Tailor doesn’t charge your nonprofit at all if your event is free to attend. Ticket Tailor is also a Certified B Corporation, and donates 1 percent of each ticket sold to climate-related causes.
Pricing depends on whether you’d like to pay in advance or pay as you go. The pre-pay option starts at $0.28 per ticket, while paying as you go will cost $0.75 per ticket. Charities, B Corps, and PTAs can get 20 percent off.
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