Tired of juggling brands with Submittable?
Stop dealing with multiple brands, complex licensing, and high costs. Groundswell helps CSR teams simplify their programs, engage employees, and move donations in 24 hours.
Companies that made the switch
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Features
Groundswell
Submittable
24 hours
Donations take 20-60 days
Matching takes 20-60 days
Monthly invoicing
Monthly reconciliations and AP requirements
Target employees by HRIS data
5-star mobile app with full functionality
No mobile app
Clunky admin interface
Separate grants platform
5% distribution fee
Giving, volunteering, grantmaking, and EAF
Multiple platforms under different brands
Full access to Candid’s nonprofit profiles
Separate product roadmaps
Why Companies Choose Groundswell Over Submittable
Built as one.
Not bolted together.
Groundswell was designed from the ground up as a single, unified platform—so everything works seamlessly from day one. Submittable, on the other hand, has grown through acquisitions, stitching together separate systems that act more like a frankenstack.
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 Submittable and up to 60 days for the match to get there.
Seamless anywhere.
Groundswell delivers the same powerful experience on mobile and desktop, with a dedicated mobile app that makes giving and volunteering easy anytime, anywhere. Submittable has no mobile app, meaning employees have to log in through a browser—creating friction and lowering engagement for people on the go or deskless workers.
Run programs your way.
Easily design and manage campaigns, target specific employee segments, and run reports—without waiting on support. Our intuitive, modern UI makes it simple to launch and adjust programs on your own, so you move fast without getting stuck in ticket queues. And when questions do come up, our team of real humans is here with fast, personalized support.
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.
