Simple Donation

What Simple Donation does

Simple, formerly Simple Donation, is a payment gateway and giving platform built exclusively for the Rock RMS church management system. Founded in 2011-2012 by Taylor Brooks and headquartered in Austin, Texas, the company serves churches and faith-based non-profits that operate on Rock RMS, with a customer base spanning hundreds of organizations across the United States and Canada. Its core product is Merlin, an embeddable giving wizard widget that allows donors to give without leaving a church's website, supporting credit/debit cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo. The platform syncs transactions in real time to Rock RMS and includes adjacent modules for stock giving, cryptocurrency giving (via Engiven), and a corporate card/expense tool called Simple Spend (powered by Stripe Issuing and Fifth Third Bank).

Underlying the platform is a native Rock RMS integration stack developed over six-plus years, including proprietary migration tooling that retains 100% of recurring gifts when churches switch from competitors, a duplicate-person detection badge built in Rock's Lava templating language, and Simple Batches for 5-minute weekly reconciliation. In 2024, the company launched PowerPack, an AI agent suite for Rock RMS that includes Global Search, SQL Writer, Lava Writer, and Person Summarizer, leveraging foundation models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Revenue is generated through a flat $149/month subscription fee plus per-transaction processing fees, with PowerPack available free to Simple giving customers or $750/month as a standalone. The go-to-market motion is consultative direct sales targeted at Rock RMS churches, supplemented by presence at Rock RMS conferences, the Christian Stewardship Network, podcasts, and a strong community/referral engine within the Rock RMS ecosystem.

The business is privately held, bootstrapped, and founder-operated with a six-person team. The company has explicitly disclaimed any near-term exit intent, positioning itself as a long-term, mission-aligned partner to churches rather than a venture-scale growth entity.

Name

Simple Donation

Legal name

440 West, LLC

Website

https://simpledonation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Simple (formerly Simple Donation) is a payment gateway and giving platform built exclusively for churches using Rock RMS, offering an embeddable donation widget, AI-powered Rock RMS tools, stock and crypto giving, and migration services to faith-based non-profits in North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Church Giving and Payment Processing Software

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Advancement Services & Donor Operations (CRM, Gift Processing, Stewardship) (EDALAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL)

Keywords

• Church giving software
• Online donation platform
• Payment processing services
• Church management integration
• Nonprofit giving solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Monthly Subscription: Flat monthly fee of $149 plus per-transaction fees. No setup fees or hidden costs. Churches are grandfathered into their original rate - monthly fees are never increased.
2. Transaction Processing: Per-transaction fees on all donations and payments processed through the platform. Supports credit cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, stock gifts, and cryptocurrency.
3. PowerPack AI (add-on): PowerPack AI tools are free for existing Simple giving customers, otherwise $750/month for non-Simple customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Simple Donation (now Simple) provides a payment gateway and giving platform built exclusively for churches using Rock RMS church management software. Its core Merlin giving wizard embeds on church websites to enable secure online, text, and kiosk donations without requiring donor login, while syncing transactions in real time with Rock RMS. The platform is sold as a flat $149/month subscription plus per-transaction fees and includes AI productivity tools (PowerPack), migration services, stock and crypto giving capabilities, and PCI-compliant processing via Stripe.

Product overview

Simple Donation (now simply 'Simple') is a unified giving platform built exclusively for Rock RMS churches. The core product is Merlin, a giving wizard widget that embeds on church websites enabling online and mobile giving without donor login requirements. The platform integrates directly with Rock RMS for real-time transaction syncing, with support for Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, ACH, and credit cards. Additional modules include PowerPack AI (agents for Rock productivity), stock giving, cryptocurrency giving (via Engiven), and Simple Spend (corporate cards/expense management). Services include Rock Concierge (setup and support), Migration Services, and a comprehensive knowledge base. The company rebranded from 'Simple Donation' to 'Simple' in March 2023 to reflect its broader scope beyond donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Merlin: The giving wizard that makes payments easy. A giving widget that embeds directly into church websites, integrates with Rock RMS, and supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo.
• PowerPack
• Rock Concierge

Products and services

• Merlin Merlin is an embeddable giving wizard widget for church websites that lets donors give online without logging in or leaving the page. It supports credit cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, and recurring gifts, and syncs transactions in real time to Rock RMS. It is the primary product offered to churches for online, text, kiosk, and event-registration giving.
• PowerPack PowerPack is an AI agent suite integrated directly into Rock RMS, providing Global Search, SQL Writer, Lava Writer, and Person Summarizer capabilities for church staff. It is included free for Simple giving customers and sold for $750/month to non-customers. It targets Rock RMS administrators and church staff seeking productivity automation.
• Rock Concierge Rock Concierge is a personalized setup, configuration, and long-term support service for Rock RMS implementations. It provides direct access to engineers for setup, fine-tuning, and ongoing optimization, targeting churches that want hands-on help running their Rock environment.
• Migration Services Migration Services assist churches in moving from any existing giving platform to Simple and Rock RMS. The service includes data transfer, donor migration, a progress tracking dashboard in Rock, and email templates for donor communications, targeting churches switching payment processors.
• Simple Spend Simple Spend is a corporate card, expense management, and bill pay service for churches and non-profits. It operates with Stripe Payments Company for money transmission, funds held at Fifth Third Bank (Member FDIC), with Celtic Bank and Sutton Bank as issuing banks. Apple Pay support is enabled via Stripe Issuing.
• Stock Giving Stock Giving enables donors to contribute stock gifts to churches and non-profits. Engiven Foundation (component fund of Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc.) serves as the fiscal sponsor, processing and liquidating the stock donations on behalf of Simple's customer organizations.
• Cryptocurrency Giving Cryptocurrency Giving allows donors to contribute crypto assets to churches and non-profits. Engiven Foundation (a project of Players Philanthropy Fund) processes the crypto gifts, converts them to USD, and grants the proceeds to Simple customer organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5-minute weekly reconciliation vs. hours of manual work with previous providers
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and strategic.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary payment processor for handling credit card and ACH transactions. Stripe processes payments and handles card tokenization for PCI compliance.
• EngivencoreTechnology or IntegrationPartner for cryptocurrency and stock giving capabilities. Provides fiscal sponsor through Engiven Foundation for processing non-cash gifts.
• Engiven FoundationcoreTechnology or IntegrationFiscal sponsor for cryptocurrency gifts (operates as project of Players Philanthropy Fund) and stock gifts (component fund of Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc.). Processes gift liquidation and grants proceeds to Simple customer organizations.
• Heroku (Salesforce)supportingTechnology or IntegrationSoftware hosting service provider for Simple's platform infrastructure.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)supportingTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider for software hosting.
• ApplesupportingTechnology or IntegrationApple Pay integration for donors to give using Apple Pay digital wallet.
• HoneybadgersupportingTechnology or IntegrationError reporting service for application monitoring.
• Help ScoutsupportingTechnology or IntegrationHelp desk software for customer support.
• Full StorysupportingTechnology or IntegrationApplication monitoring and user session recording.
• ClosesupportingTechnology or IntegrationCRM for managing customer relationships.
• LinearsupportingTechnology or IntegrationProject management tool for internal operations.
• Christian Stewardship Network (CSN)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry partnership for stewardship education and resources. CSN connects Simple with church stewardship leaders through conferences, podcasts, and webinars. Simple founder appears on CSN podcast and presents at CSN events.
• Rock RMScoreTechnology or IntegrationChurch management system (ChMS) that Simple has built its platform exclusively around. Deep native integration with all Rock functions including event registration, person matching, and contribution tracking.

Scale indicators6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Planning Center: Planning Center is a competing church management system suite (People, Giving, Check-Ins, Services, etc.) that competes with Rock RMS for Simple's prospective customers. Its Planning Center Giving module competes with Simple at the ChMS-integrated giving layer.
• Aplos Software: Aplos provides accounting, donor management, and giving tools specifically designed for faith-based nonprofits and churches. It overlaps with Simple's stewardship and reporting value proposition for church finance teams.
• Breeze ChMS: Breeze is a cloud-based church management system used by thousands of small and mid-sized churches with built-in people, giving, events, and communication modules. It competes with Rock RMS for Simple's customer pipeline and offers integrated giving as a competing solution.
• DonorPerfect: DonorPerfect is a nonprofit CRM and donor management platform with online donation forms, gift processing, and fundraising tools. It targets nonprofits and religious organizations with payment functionality adjacent to Simple's giving stack.
• TouchPoint Software: TouchPoint is a church management software (alternative to Rock RMS, Planning Center, and Breeze) used by thousands of churches. As a ChMS competitor, it represents the ecosystem Simple's prospects would otherwise adopt along with their giving integrations.

Direct peers

• SecureGive: SecureGive specializes in church giving kiosks and online donation technology — both major products offered by Simple through its Merlin wizard and kiosks. It is a direct competitor in the church giving vertical.
• Givelify: Givelify is a mobile-first giving app for churches, places of worship, and nonprofits offering tap-to-pay, recurring gifts, and donor management. Like Simple, it is laser-focused on friction reduction at the donor checkout moment.
• Pushpay: Pushpay is a leading church engagement and giving platform serving thousands of churches worldwide with online giving, text giving, and church management solutions. Simple explicitly lists Pushpay as a comparator on its /compare/pushpay page, confirming them as the most direct head-to-head competitor.
• Tithe.ly: Tithe.ly is a digital giving platform purpose-built for churches with online giving, text-to-give, kiosk support, and church app functionality. It overlaps directly with Simple's Merlin giving wizard and serves the same vertical SaaS payment segment.
• Subsplash: Subsplash provides an all-in-one church engagement platform with mobile apps, online giving, messaging, and church management features. It competes with Simple on online giving and overlaps in church-focused payment tooling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/simpledonation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/simple-donation

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Simple Donation