HelpYouSponsor vs REACH
The modern sponsorship platform. Every feature, every plan. 2.2% to Stripe.
REACH and HelpYouSponsor are the two purpose-built sponsorship CRM platforms in this category. Both combine donor management, sponsorship workflows, and fundraising in one system. HYS wins where it matters most for mid-size nonprofits running a real program: lower Stripe processing (2.2% vs 3.5% + 1% ACH), every feature on every plan with no feature-gated tiers, built-in mission trip management, AI donor intelligence, sponsor-to-recipient message translation in 50+ languages, and API + MCP server access on every plan — not paywalled behind a $199 tier.
Feature comparison
| Feature | HelpYouSponsor | REACH |
|---|---|---|
| Every feature on every plan | Full feature set on every HYS plan. Commitment volume is the only meter. Enterprise for high-volume programs. | Features tiered across Basic ($50), Essentials ($99), Pro ($199). API, advanced automations, and conversations require Essentials or Pro. |
| Stripe processing for nonprofits | 2.2% on cards. Full stop. | REACHpay: 3.5% on cards, $1 + 1% on ACH. Roughly $1,300 more per year on $100K processed. $6,500 more at $500K. |
| Sponsorship management (1:1, community, pooled, hybrid) | Purpose-built. Matching, transfers, lifecycle, multi-program, hybrid models. | Purpose-built. Strong core sponsorship coverage. |
| Full donor CRM | Full CRM on every plan — households, giving history, custom fields, activity log, retention. | Full donor management on Essentials ($99+). Basic plan ($50) is limited. |
| AI donor intelligence | HYS Insights. Wealth capacity scoring, optimal-ask calculators, major-gift prospecting. Built in. | Donor insights (trends, lapsed). No AI wealth or ask calculators. |
| Sponsor-recipient messaging with AI translation | Moderated 1:1 messaging. Automatic translation in 50+ languages. | Conversations module (Essentials+). No translation. |
| Mission trip management | HYS Trips. Registration, individual fundraising, Checkr background checks, e-signatures. | Not available. |
| Fundraising campaigns (targets, match pools, recurring conversion) | HYS Fundraising. Campaign pages with donation targets, match pools, honor gifts, and one-click recurring conversion on checkout. | Centralized Fundraising Hub. Campaigns, events, sponsorship drives. |
| Peer-to-peer fundraising | First-class program type. Sponsors, participants, and ambassadors each get a branded fundraising page tied to the campaign donor record. | Peer-to-peer as a fundraising type. |
| Journeys (automation & workflow builder) | Journeys. Build multi-step automations across email, SMS, tasks, and portal events. Visual workflow editor. | Automation & Workflow Tools. Acknowledgments, receipts, reminders, re-engagement. |
| Payment recovery | Built in. Smart retry on failed recurring gifts, abandoned-checkout recovery, and automatic card updates via Stripe's Account Updater. Donor never has to re-enter an expired card. | Failed payment recovery. |
| Text-to-Give | Available on every plan via the Sendblue integration. | Text-to-Give with plan-tiered allowances (500 / 1,000 / 2,000 texts per month). |
| Print mailings (tax summaries, donor letters) | Mailings. Tax summaries, year-end letters, labels. Bulk PDF generation. | Not a dedicated category. |
| Mobile app for donors | Included native mobile app for donors and sponsors. | Optional paid Donor Mobile App add-on. |
| Tracking (activity, attribution, conversion) | Activity log, donor touchpoints, campaign attribution, Smart Embed conversion callbacks, GA4 events. | Reporting and donor insights. |
| API, webhooks, MCP server for AI agents | Full REST API, webhooks, Zapier, and an MCP server. Every plan. | API gated to Pro tier ($199/mo). |
| Embeddable donor experiences | Smart Embed. Six embed types, auto-resizing, brand matching, three lines of code. | Sponsorship, fundraising, forms, and project widgets. |
| Online store / merchandise | Coming soon. | Integrated ecommerce storefront. |
| Influencer / affiliate tracking | On the roadmap. | Ambassador and partner referral tracking. |
| Pricing shape — and what it actually costs to run a program | Free up to 10 commitments/mo · Pro $50 · Growth $0.80/commitment · Enterprise for high-volume. Every feature on every plan. Combined with 2.2% Stripe, total cost is lower than REACH's flat tiers for any serious program. | Flat $50 / $99 / $199 monthly with unlimited volume at every tier, but 3.5% + 1% ACH processing fees make the total materially more expensive at program scale. |
Why switch to HelpYouSponsor
Roughly 40% lower processing fees
2.2% on Stripe versus 3.5% on cards plus $1 + 1% on ACH through REACHpay. On $100K processed, that is about $1,300 a year returned to program. At $500K, it is $6,500. Year after year.
Every feature, every plan
HYS ships the full product on every plan. API, Journeys, wealth insights, mailings, trips, peer-to-peer, messaging with translation — included. REACH tiers feature access across Basic, Essentials, and Pro. If you grow past Basic, you pay to unlock features that HYS already gave you.
HYS Trips and HYS Insights are entire product categories REACH does not ship
Running a mission trip program? HYS Trips includes trip registration, individual fundraising pages, Checkr background checks, and e-signatures. Running a major-gift cultivation motion? HYS Insights includes wealth capacity, optimal ask calculators, and prospecting. Both are on the same donor record.
AI built in
Sponsor writes in English. Recipient reads in Swahili, Spanish, French, or 47 other languages. Automatic. Add HYS Insights for wealth scoring, Journeys for automation, and an MCP server for your own AI agents. Modern nonprofit software, modernly built.
Frequently asked questions
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