If you are the philanthropy chair and you inherited a Venmo handle and a spreadsheet, this is what to look for, then seven platforms chapters use, and the questions that come up every semester.
What to Look For in a Fraternity Philanthropy Platform
Whoever runs philanthropy is a student with a full course load, and the job changes hands every year. That rules out anything complicated and anything that only one person knows how to use.
A page with your letters on it
People give more when the page looks like the chapter and names the event. A personal payment handle does not, and parents and alumni hesitate before sending money to a name they do not recognize.
Taking donations at the event
A lot of money shows up at the event itself, at the table, the booth, or the door. If the only way to give is a link, you lose the person who meant to do it later. Being able to take a card on a phone, or leave a tap tag on the table, closes that gap.
One page for multiple events or causes
Most chapters run more than one thing: a philanthropy week, a national cause, sometimes a memorial fund. Those should be separate lines on one page rather than three pages nobody can find.
Knowing who gave
You need this for thank you notes, for your national reporting, and for next year. A record against each donor saves rebuilding it from payment app screenshots in April.
Texting members and supporters
Nobody reads email. A text gets opened. CoreCause includes SMS Outreach, so you can message supporters and link straight to the donation page.
Handing it off cleanly
This is the one chapters get wrong. If philanthropy runs through somebody’s personal account, it leaves with them when they graduate. The chapter should own the account and the history so the next chair signs in to everything already there.
Give your philanthropy a page with your letters on it.
Book a short demo and we will walk through funds, tracking, and taking donations at the event.
The 7 Best Philanthropy Fundraising Platforms for Fraternities and Sororities in 2026
CoreCause
CoreCause gives the chapter its own donation page, in your letters and colors with the event name on it. Supporters land on something that looks like your philanthropy, not a personal payment handle. A chapter can build it without going through nationals or waiting on anyone, and have it live before the week starts.
You can run more than one thing from the same page. Your philanthropy week, a year round cause, and a memorial fund can each be their own line, so a donor picks what they are giving to and it lands in the right place. Donations can be one off, monthly, or set up as a pledge collected over a semester, which is how most alumni giving actually works. Every gift is tracked against the person who gave it, so you know who gave, who gave last year, and which chapter members brought in the most.
SMS Outreach lets you text members and supporters when the event opens or the deadline is close, and link straight to the page. Donors are never prompted to add a tip on top of their gift. There is no platform tip, ever. When fee coverage is on, donors can cover the processing fee.
At the event itself you can take donations in person through CoreMobile tap to pay, which turns a phone into the card reader, or put an NFC tap to donate tag on the table so people give themselves. Because the chapter owns the account, next year’s chair inherits the page and the whole donation history instead of starting over.
Givebutter
Givebutter is a fundraising platform used by nonprofits and groups, covering donation pages, campaign pages, and event ticketing from one account.
Setup is done online by the organization.
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is a crowdfunding site where a campaign page is set up for a cause and shared around, commonly used for one off efforts rather than something a chapter runs every year.
The page lives on GoFundMe rather than on anything the chapter owns.
OmegaFi
OmegaFi provides financial and management services for fraternity and sorority organizations, covering dues billing and chapter finances.
It is generally arranged through the national organization rather than by a chapter.
ChapterSpot
ChapterSpot is chapter management software for Greek organizations, covering rosters, dues, and chapter operations.
It is bought at the organization level rather than by an individual chair.
Venmo
Venmo is a peer to peer payments app. Plenty of chapters collect through it because members already have it, and money arrives in whichever account the handle belongs to.
It is a payments app rather than a fundraising tool.
PayPal
PayPal is a payment account with donation buttons and checkout links, and many chapters or their nationals already have one.
The link can be shared anywhere.
| Platform | What it is |
|---|---|
| CoreCause | Branded donation page for the chapter and event, multiple funds, recurring and pledge giving, donation tracking, SMS Outreach, and in person giving through tap to pay and NFC tags |
| Givebutter | Donation pages, campaign pages, and event ticketing |
| GoFundMe | Crowdfunding pages shared around for a cause |
| OmegaFi | Financial and management services for Greek organizations |
| ChapterSpot | Chapter management software for rosters, dues and operations |
| Venmo | Peer to peer payments app |
| PayPal | Payment account with donation buttons and checkout links |
Platforms change what they offer. Check the current terms on each one before your chapter signs up.
If Your Chapter Is Stuck Collecting on Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App
This is where most chapters start, and for splitting a dinner bill it is exactly right. For Greek life philanthropy donations it runs out of road fast, and usually at the worst moment, which is when somebody asks for numbers.
You get a feed, not a record. A payment app shows an amount, a handle, and maybe an emoji. It does not tell you who that person is, what event they were giving to, or whether they gave last year. When nationals or the university ask what you raised and for what, you are scrolling screenshots.
It is attached to a person, not the chapter. The handle belongs to whoever set it up. When that person graduates, the account, the history, and sometimes the money go with them. Every new chair starts from zero.
Donors have to already use it. Parents, alumni, and local businesses are the people most likely to give real money, and they are the least likely to have the app or want to send money to a handle they do not recognize.
There is no receipt and no tax treatment. A peer to peer transfer is not a donation record. If your philanthropy raises for a registered nonprofit, that matters to the donors who ask.
A donation page fixes those four things by default. The page is the chapter’s, the record is per donor and per event, anyone with a card can give without an account, and receipts go out on their own. If your chapter is already collecting card gifts and just needs the record and the funds around them, that is the gap it closes. You can still take money at the event, just through tap to pay on a phone rather than a handle.
How to Collect Donations for a Philanthropy Event
The pattern that works is the same whether it is a week, a single night, or a semester campaign.
Set the page up before you promote anything. One page, with a fund for the event. Put the link in every post, every group chat, and every email to alumni.
Put a QR code or a tap tag on the table. At the event, people give in the moment or not at all. Something physical they can tap or scan converts far better than telling them to look you up later.
Take cards at the event. A phone is the card reader, so anyone working the table can take a donation without hardware.
Text the list, do not just post. A post gets scrolled past. A text about a deadline gets read.
Thank people afterwards using the record. Sorority philanthropy fundraising lives on repeat donors, mostly parents and alumni, and they give again when somebody actually thanked them for last time. Running separate funds also makes that easier, which is covered in raise more with multiple funds.
How to Choose for Your Chapter
Who owns the account? If the answer is a person rather than the chapter, you will be doing this again next year.
Will you collect at the event as well as online? If yes, check what taking a card in person actually involves.
Do you run more than one cause? If yes, you want funds on one page rather than separate pages.
What does the handoff look like? Pick something the next chair can pick up without a handover document.
The Bottom Line
If your chapter wants one place that handles the branded page, multiple events, donation tracking, texting supporters, alumni recurring gifts, and taking donations at the event, CoreCause is where we would start. You can set it up yourselves and have it live before your next event. See how CoreCause works, CoreCause for nonprofits, or how it compares to Givebutter.