Lift: Charity and Donations vs Pennies ‑ Digital Charity Boxfor Shopify (2026)
Both Lift: Charity and Donations and Pennies ‑ Digital Charity Box are Shopify apps designed to facilitate charitable donations through online stores. Lift positions itself as a comprehensive solution for both non-profits and mission-driven brands to raise funds, offering features like round-ups, custom donation amounts, tiers, match-funding, and portion-of-sale contributions. It emphasizes seamless store integration and multi-channel support (online and POS). Pennies, on the other hand, is geared towards businesses wanting to offer their customers a simple way to donate to charity, focusing on ease of implementation, customization of the donation widget, and allowing merchants to nominate their own charity partner. Lift appears to be the more robust solution with a wider range of donation options and integrations. Its description suggests a target audience that includes organizations actively seeking to fundraise, not just businesses wanting to offer a donation option. Pennies focuses on simplicity and ease of use, streamlining the process of adding a charitable donation option at checkout. The crucial difference is the ability to nominate your own charity with Pennies. This level of choice is not available with Lift.
At a Glance
Lift: Charity and Donations
5 reviews
Pennies ‑ Digital Charity Box
0 reviews
Detailed Overview
Lift: Charity and Donations
Give with Lift - support charities and non-profits with flexible, seamless donation tools.
Key Features
- For Nonprofits & Mission-Driven Brands – Raise funds directly through your store
- Customizable Giving Options – Enable round-ups, and donation tiers & match funds
- Seamless Store Integration – Donation widgets blend perfectly into your design.
- Multi-Channel Support – Works across Online Store and Shopify POS.
- Track Donations – Stay organized with clear reports on donations and payments
Pennies ‑ Digital Charity Box
Give your customers the option to add a donation to charity when they shop
Key Features
- You can nominate your own charity partner. There are no restrictive lists
- Pennies takes care of governance, due diligence and granting
- Easy to implement with Step by Step guide and user friendly dashboard
- ‘Widget Styling’ feature allows you to tailor to your brand
- Clear back end reporting makes tracking impact and reconciliation simple
Feature Comparison
| Rating | 5/5 | 0/5 |
Rating Lift: Charity and Donations5/5 Pennies ‑ Digital Charity Box0/5 | ||
| Reviews | 5 | 0 |
Reviews Lift: Charity and Donations5 Pennies ‑ Digital Charity Box0 | ||
| Target Merchant | Non-profits & mission-driven brands | Businesses wanting to offer donation options |
Target Merchant Lift: Charity and DonationsNon-profits & mission-driven brands Pennies ‑ Digital Charity BoxBusinesses wanting to offer donation options | ||
| Donation Options | Round-ups, custom amounts, tiers, match-funding, portion-of-sale | Round-up or top-up |
Donation Options Lift: Charity and DonationsRound-ups, custom amounts, tiers, match-funding, portion-of-sale Pennies ‑ Digital Charity BoxRound-up or top-up | ||
| Charity Selection | Not specified (Implies limited control) | Nominate your own charity partner |
Charity Selection Lift: Charity and DonationsNot specified (Implies limited control) Pennies ‑ Digital Charity BoxNominate your own charity partner | ||
| POS Integration | Yes | Not specified |
POS Integration Lift: Charity and DonationsYes Pennies ‑ Digital Charity BoxNot specified | ||
| Governance | Not specified | Pennies takes care of governance, due diligence and granting |
Governance Lift: Charity and DonationsNot specified Pennies ‑ Digital Charity BoxPennies takes care of governance, due diligence and granting | ||
| Reporting | Clear donation reports | Clear back end reporting |
Reporting Lift: Charity and DonationsClear donation reports Pennies ‑ Digital Charity BoxClear back end reporting | ||
| Ease of Use | Seamless Store Integration | Easy to implement with Step by Step guide and user friendly dashboard |
Ease of Use Lift: Charity and DonationsSeamless Store Integration Pennies ‑ Digital Charity BoxEasy to implement with Step by Step guide and user friendly dashboard | ||
| Customization | Customizable Giving Options; Donation widgets blend perfectly into your design | 'Widget Styling' feature allows you to tailor to your brand |
Customization Lift: Charity and DonationsCustomizable Giving Options; Donation widgets blend perfectly into your design Pennies ‑ Digital Charity Box'Widget Styling' feature allows you to tailor to your brand | ||
| Value Proposition | Raise funds directly and seamlessly through your store; Multi-Channel Support | Easy way to give customers donation options; takes care of governance and reconciliation |
Value Proposition Lift: Charity and DonationsRaise funds directly and seamlessly through your store; Multi-Channel Support Pennies ‑ Digital Charity BoxEasy way to give customers donation options; takes care of governance and reconciliation | ||
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Our Verdict
Based on the available information, Lift appears to be a better choice for non-profits and mission-driven organizations that actively seek to integrate fundraising directly into their Shopify store and POS system. Its broader range of donation options and support for different fundraising strategies (match-funding, tiers) make it a more powerful tool for this purpose. However, merchants who value simplicity, ease of setup, and complete control over charity selection should strongly consider Pennies. The ability to nominate your own charity partner is a significant advantage for businesses with existing relationships or preferences.
Ultimately, the lack of reviews for Pennies makes it a riskier choice, despite its appealing features. Merchants may want to wait for more user feedback before committing to Pennies. If ease of use and charity selection are top priorities, and a business is willing to take the risk of no reviews, then Pennies could be the best option. Otherwise, Lift, with its demonstrated functionality and positive (albeit limited) reviews, is the safer choice.
Common Questions
Which app allows me to choose the specific charity I want to support?
Pennies ‑ Digital Charity Box explicitly allows you to nominate your own charity partner. Lift's description doesn't specify the degree of charity control, implying that choice may be limited.
Which app offers more diverse donation options beyond simple round-ups?
Lift: Charity and Donations offers a wider range of donation options, including round-ups, custom amounts, tiers, match-funding, and portion-of-sale contributions. Pennies focuses on round-up and top-up options.
Which app is easier to set up and integrate with my store?
Pennies ‑ Digital Charity Box claims to be easy to implement with a step-by-step guide and user-friendly dashboard. Lift emphasizes seamless store integration, but doesn't directly claim ease of setup in the same way. Lift claims donation widgets blend perfectly into your design and multi-channel support, however.
Which app is better suited for non-profit organizations?
Lift: Charity and Donations is explicitly designed for both non-profits and mission-driven brands, with features and language tailored to fundraising. While Pennies can be used by any business, its focus is on providing a simple donation option for customers, rather than a full-fledged fundraising platform.
Which app has POS integration capabilities?
Lift: Charity and Donations explicitly states that it offers multi-channel support including Shopify POS integration. Pennies doesn't mention POS integration in its description or key features.
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