iHelp
Spanish nonprofits and donors who value vetted, legitimacy-checked causes and a commission-light giving model, and who are comfortable with a single Santander payment gateway and a smaller catalogue of campaigns.
A Spanish solidarity crowdfunding platform run by Fundacion iHelp in Madrid, funding vetted NGO causes through personal challenges and direct donations, with no platform commission charged to nonprofits or donors.
- Headquartered in i
- ES
- Funding model i
- Keep What You Raise
- Platform fee i
- 0%
- Payment processing fee i
- 0% + €0.00
- Recipient gets i
- €100.00 / €100
- Data residency i
- EU
- Registered entity i
- Fundación iHelp, CIF G-87734901 (Registro Nacional de Fundaciones nº 1938)
- Countries i
- 1
- Languages i
- 2
- Domain Rating i
- 50 / 100
- Transparency i
- 3 / 5
- Last updated
- 2026-06-08
Our overall editorial assessment. Full weights are published in the methodology.
The review
iHelp is a Spanish solidarity crowdfunding platform operated by the Madrid-based Fundacion iHelp. It launched in 2016 as a renewal of Cibersolidaridad.org, a charitable project running since 2001, and presents itself as the first solidarity crowdfunding platform to operate in Spain. Donors and organisations raise money for vetted nonprofit causes through personal solidarity challenges, known as retos solidarios, and direct donations.
The platform vets the legality and viability of the NGOs and causes it lists, and follows up after funds are transferred, framing its model around effective and transparent altruism. iHelp charges no platform commission to either nonprofits or donors; however, its privacy policy notes that a small share of each donation is absorbed by the bank fees applied by financial institutions, a nuance worth weighing against its headline messaging that the whole donation reaches the cause.
iHelp's strengths are its NGO-vetting process and long heritage in Spanish online giving, which lend credibility for donors who want assurance that causes are legitimate. The trade-offs are a relatively small catalogue of active challenges compared with larger Spanish platforms, and limited payment flexibility, since donations are routed through a single Banco Santander payment gateway with no Bizum or PayPal option surfaced on the site. For Spanish donors and vetted NGOs prioritising trust and a commission-light model these limits rarely matter; organisations wanting broad payment choice or high campaign volume may look elsewhere.
Operationally iHelp is a registered foundation rather than a licensed payment institution, with donations processed through Banco Santander's gateway. Its privacy disclosures state that personal data is not communicated outside the European space, and the service is governed by Spanish and EU data-protection law, which matters for Spain-based nonprofits handling donor information under the GDPR.
What’s good, what’s not.
- ✓No platform commission charged to nonprofits or donors, per iHelp's FAQ.
- ✓NGOs and causes are vetted for legality and viability before listing.
- ✓Long heritage in Spanish online giving, continuing Cibersolidaridad.org which ran from 2001.
- ✓Post-donation follow-up and a stated focus on transparent, effective altruism.
- ✓Operates within Spanish and EU data-protection law, with data kept within the European space.
- −Donations route through a single Banco Santander gateway, with no Bizum or PayPal shown on the site.
- −A small share of each donation is absorbed by bank fees, despite headline whole-donation messaging.
- −Smaller catalogue of active campaigns than larger Spanish platforms.
- −A registered foundation rather than a licensed payment institution.
Where each €100 actually goes.
Fees vary by payment method. We default to Credit card because that’s the dominant method in the United Kingdom.
iHelp doesn’t process payments in GBP. Pricing is shown in EUR, its native currency.
1 countries · 2 languages · 1 payment methods.
Better-fit alternatives to iHelp.
Our curated shortlist — the platforms we’d actively recommend instead of iHelp for fundraising in the United Kingdom, with the figures behind the call.
WhyDonate operates in more countries than iHelp (115 vs 1), so it reaches donors iHelp can’t.
Zeffy operates in more countries than iHelp (4 vs 1), so it reaches donors iHelp can’t.
JustGiving operates in more countries than iHelp (6 vs 1), so it reaches donors iHelp can’t.
See how iHelp stacks up head-to-head.
Frequently asked questions
What does iHelp charge?
iHelp charges a 0% platform fee and 0% + €0.00 in payment processing per donation.
Where is iHelp based?
iHelp was founded in — and is headquartered in Spain. Data residency is EU.
Which countries does iHelp operate in?
iHelp operates in 1 countries, including Spain.
Which payment methods does iHelp support?
iHelp accepts Card.
Is iHelp suitable for nonprofits?
iHelp’s primary audience is individual fundraisers and groups; nonprofits can use the platform but may find specialized alternatives better suited.
Rankings are produced by a public editorial methodology — open to peer review. We disclose ownership, scoring weights, and every change.