● Honest comparison
Daily Deed vs TapKat
TapKat and Daily Deed are the two specialist platforms in US charity prize promotions. Both operate exclusively as no-purchase-necessary giveaways with a mandatory free-entry path — neither runs raffles. The differences are operational: who sources the prize, who files state registration, when funds reach the charity, and what eligibility bar a nonprofit has to clear. This page lays out where each fits without spin.
Side-by-side
| Dimension | The Daily Deed | TapKat |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | 8% platform fee plus payment processing. | 10% of gross donations + processor fees deducted separately. Pricing is documented in the FAQ — TapKat does not publish a standalone pricing page. |
| Compliance handling (state registration, official rules, AMOE, bonding) | End-to-end. We file NY/FL/RI state registration and bonding for every campaign that crosses prize-value thresholds. Rules drafting, AMOE, and winner verification are platform-handled. | Official rules and AMOE are platform-handled. Whether TapKat files NY/FL/RI registration and bonding on the charity's behalf is not documented on their public pages — confirm with TapKat sales for any campaign with prize value above $5,000. |
| Prize sourcing | Daily Deed sources the prize on the charity's behalf — premium experiences, vehicles, watches, electronics, cash. Charity provides nothing. | Charity sources its own prize. TapKat curates a partner directory (Winspire, Auction Packages, HGAFundraising, others) for consignment-style procurement, but the charity owns the relationship and the contract. |
| Donor experience | Mobile-first. Free Deed Bucks entry surface is part of the core UI, not buried in fine print. Single donor account spans all campaigns. | Mobile-first — TapKat reports 70% of donations from mobile devices. Free entry (AMOE) lives inside per-campaign Official Rules pages rather than the global UI, which can make it harder for donors to discover at a glance. |
| Time from charity application to live campaign | 2–4 weeks. Includes compliance review, prize sourcing, official rules drafting, and state filings where required. | Not publicly published. Marketing copy describes self-serve drag-and-drop campaign setup with no developer required. Confirm specifics with TapKat directly. |
| Payout speed (campaign close → wire to charity) | Net wired within 7 days of draw close. Funds held in escrow during the campaign run. | Real-time / continuous. Donations deposit to the charity's bank account as they clear, not at end of campaign. |
| Charity eligibility | Verified IRS 501(c)(3). No tax-exempt-status age minimum. | Verified IRS 501(c)(3) with at least 1 year of tax-exempt status (Ruling Year ≥ 1 year old). |
When to choose The Daily Deed
Choose Daily Deed when you want premium prize sourcing handled for you (vehicles, luxury experiences, watches, cash) so the campaign can launch without a procurement burden. We file NY, FL, and RI state registration and bonding for any campaign that triggers thresholds, draft official rules, and handle AMOE end-to-end. We work with newly approved 501(c)(3) charities — there is no 1-year tax-exempt minimum. Best fit when your team would rather focus on mission than on running prize-promotion compliance.
When to choose TapKat
Choose TapKat when you have already procured the prize (a sponsor-donated car, an in-kind donation, a museum-piece vehicle) and want continuous real-time payouts as donations come in. TapKat deposits to your bank account in real time as funds clear, which is genuinely useful if cash flow timing matters more than a single end-of-campaign wire. They have a strong portfolio in classic-car, aviation, and museum verticals. Requires a 501(c)(3) with at least 1 year of tax-exempt status.
FAQ
- When should a nonprofit choose TapKat over Daily Deed?
- When you have already procured your prize (sponsor donation, in-kind contribution, established consignment relationship), you have a 1+ year tax-exempt history, and you want continuous real-time payouts rather than a single end-of-campaign wire. TapKat's specialty is high-value vehicle and experience prizes — they have a deep portfolio in classic-car and aviation-museum verticals. If that profile matches your campaign, TapKat is a strong choice.
- When should a nonprofit choose Daily Deed over TapKat?
- When you want the prize sourced for you so the campaign can launch without a procurement burden, when your tax-exempt status is under a year old (TapKat's 1-year minimum makes you ineligible), or when you'd rather not track NY/FL/RI registration thresholds and bonding requirements yourself. Daily Deed handles the entire compliance + procurement + fulfillment loop.
- How do their fee structures compare on a $100K campaign?
- TapKat: 10% of gross = $10,000 to the platform, plus ~3% Stripe = $3,000, leaving roughly $87,000 net to the charity. Daily Deed: 8% platform fee plus payment processing. The math is similar; the differentiator is what's bundled. Daily Deed includes prize sourcing in the platform fee — TapKat does not, so the charity carries any prize procurement cost separately.
- Does either platform handle state giveaway registration?
- Daily Deed files state registration and bonding in NY, FL, and RI for every campaign with a prize value over $5,000. TapKat's responsibility split for state registration and bonding is not documented on their public pages — confirm directly with TapKat sales for any campaign that would trigger those thresholds.
- Which platform's donors are more likely to convert?
- Both platforms report mobile-dominant donor traffic. Conversion is more a function of campaign-level factors (prize-to-goal ratio, charity reach, marketing cadence, prize category, time of year) than of platform UI. TapKat reports 70% mobile donations and significant donor list growth in case studies. Daily Deed is in pre-launch, so we don't have aggregate platform conversion data to share publicly. Real comparable conversion benchmarks aren't published by either side.