Javan Van Gronigen didn’t set out to build a fundraising platform. He set out to solve a problem he kept running into again and again.
As Creative Director of the nonprofit-focused agency Fifty & Fifty, Javan spent years helping organizations tell their stories, design campaigns, and raise money online. Across projects and clients, he kept seeing the same issue slow good work down. The technology nonprofits relied on wasn’t built for how small teams actually operate.
Nonprofits were forced into a familiar tradeoff. Either invest in expensive enterprise platforms that were complex, rigid, and time-consuming to manage, or rely on basic donation pages that felt outdated and failed to convert.
“For years, nonprofits have been stuck choosing between tools that were too heavy or too limited,” Javan says. “Neither option was designed for small teams trying to do meaningful work.”
That gap became the reason Donately exists.
Founded in 2017, Donately was created to bring the same level of design, performance, and usability Javan expected in the for-profit world into nonprofit fundraising. The goal wasn’t to add more features. It was to raise the baseline for what small and mid-sized nonprofit teams should expect from their technology.
The impact has been significant. Today, more than 14,000 nonprofits use Donately to power their online fundraising, raising over $2 billion globally. Their donation forms convert 28% better than the industry average, a difference that translates directly into more funding reaching programs and services.
Javan’s background at Fifty & Fifty heavily influenced how Donately was built. Years of watching donors abandon clunky forms and confusing flows reinforced one core belief: the best technology feels invisible.
“If software gets in the way, it’s not helping,” he says. “Nonprofits shouldn’t need a technical team or a consultant just to launch a campaign.”
That philosophy shows up in the details. Teams can launch high-performing donation forms in minutes, not weeks. Peer-to-peer campaigns, recurring giving, and donor insights are built in without forcing staff to learn complex workflows. Small teams can move quickly while still operating with the same level of professionalism donors expect from modern digital experiences.
Donately also integrates cleanly with platforms nonprofits already rely on, including enterprise CRM tools such as Salesforce and HubSpot. Instead of juggling disconnected systems or manually moving data between platforms, teams get a clearer picture of their fundraising with less administrative overhead.
Recent product additions reflect what Javan continues to hear from nonprofit leaders. New Cart Items functionality allows organizations to sell event tickets, memberships, and merchandise alongside donations, acknowledging that modern fundraising isn’t one-dimensional. An AI assistant helps teams draft campaign copy and donor communications, saving hours for organizations already stretched thin.
That focus on real-world nonprofit needs has earned Donately a 4.6-star average rating across review platforms like Capterra and Trustpilot. Organizations such as United Way and Habitat for Humanity use Donately, alongside thousands of small nonprofits and faith-based organizations doing essential work in their communities.
“We’re not trying to build flashy tools,” Javan says. “We’re building something dependable. Something that respects the reality nonprofits operate in.”
For Javan, success isn’t measured by feature releases or growth metrics alone. It’s measured by how much time nonprofit teams get back when technology stops being a barrier. When fundraising tools work the way they should, small teams can focus less on managing systems and more on advancing their mission.
For nonprofit leaders looking for tools built by someone who understands their world firsthand, that context matters. And it’s exactly why Donately continues to resonate.
