Deed falling short on features and support?
Deed’s design might catch your eye, but their missing features, lack of grants or EAFs, and overwhelmed support team say otherwise. With Groundswell, what you see is what you get—and what you get actually works.
Companies that made the switch
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Features
Groundswell
Deed
24 hours
Donations take 15-30 days
Matching takes 15-30 days
Monthly invoicing
Monthly reconciliations and AP requirements
ACH, payroll, credit/debit, stock, and more
Credit/debit, Paypal, and payroll only
5-star mobile app with full functionality
3.7-star mobile app with limited functionality
Third-party grantmaking add-on
2.5% distribution fee
Giving, volunteering, grantmaking, and EAF
No EAF and grantmaking via third-party tool
Ticketing queues
Product roadmap is focused on top client needs
Why Companies Choose Groundswell Over Deed
One platform. Always improving.
Groundswell unites everything you need for giving, volunteering, and grants — in one platform that doesn’t stand still. We ship fast, listen closely, and build for every customer, not just the biggest ones.
Fast, frictionless donations.
Groundswell uses a modern donor-advised fund (DAF) structure to power the fastest distribution timelines in the industry—within 24 hours of donation. That means donations and matches get to nonprofits in record time, with less overhead, fewer delays, and zero manual payout batching. It can take up to 50 days for a donation to reach a nonprofit on Deed and up to 90 days for the match to get there.
Transparent pricing. No surprise fees.
With Groundswell, what you see is what you get. We offer the lowest processing fees in the industry, never charge for grant disbursements, and don’t nickel and dime for every request. While Deed charges additional fees for core functionality and slows the process with administrative overhead, Groundswell keeps things simple and transparent. No hidden costs. No extra fees.
Easy tools. Expert help.
Groundswell gives you the power to run your program without waiting on support—but when questions come up, you won’t get stuck in ticket limbo. Our team of real humans is here to help, with fast, personalized support from people who know your program.
The All-in-One Platform for Social Impact Leaders
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See why our customers love us
Real results. Real impact. Hear from the teams using Groundswell to power their programs every day.
"So simple to use and will make a huge difference."
I have worked for very large organizations of 50k down to 4k employees. They have always been hard to work with. I love that Groundswell is so super easy.
Jania Stout
Senior Vice President, OneDigital
"Great platform used by over 70% of our associates!"
This tool has allowed us to rapidly expand our employee matching and employee gifting programs and has been well received by the associates. Groundswell continues to add new features that make the platform even more valuable to us. The partnership with CAF America to include international NGOs allowed us to expand to our India-based associates which has been very well received.
Durward Ferland
Partner, Wipfli
"Easy, impactful and fulfilling!"
Not only does Groundswell let you put corporate giving into the hands of employees, the user experience is seamless and the customer support is A+. The Groundswell team is always proactive about finding new ways for our company to leverage the app and the holidays awareness month toolkits are especially helpful.
Jaclyn Johnston
GHJ
Frequently asked questions
A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) is a charitable giving account that lets individuals make a donation, receive an immediate tax deduction, and recommend grants to nonprofits over time. Every Groundswell user gets their own personal DAF and it doesn’t require any PII or bank data to create. With just a few clicks, their account will be created and they’ll be able to use their DAF forever, even if they’re no longer an employee.
Yes. Groundswell unifies employee giving, donation matching, volunteering, grantmaking, and employee assistance funds in a single platform with a single login—no need for multiple vendors or disconnected tools.
Yes. Groundswell supports employees around the world with international donation options, including credit/debit cards and stock. We also offer language localization, local currency support, a global nonprofit database, and country-specific filters so you can create a giving experience that’s relevant, compliant, and inspiring—no matter where your employees live and work.
Yes. Thanks to our Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) structure, most domestic donations are disbursed to nonprofits within 24 hours (and often even faster). If a company requires additional validation or verification, then the timeline for when a charity receives a match will be in accordance with the company's program configuration. For international donations, we partner with CAF America to ensure secure and compliant disbursement, typically within 30 days.
Most companies are up and running in just six to eight weeks. Our onboarding process is streamlined, with dedicated support to guide you through every step—from configuration to launch communications. You set the pace, and we’ll meet it.
Ready to make a bigger impact?
Big impact doesn’t have to mean big effort. Groundswell makes it simple to launch, manage, and scale programs that matter.
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