Dream Pilot vs Spreadsheets

Dream Pilot vs Spreadsheets

For most nonprofits the real alternative to Dream Pilot isn't OneCause or Givebutter, it's a stack of Google Sheets, Canva, and email. That stack is free and familiar, but it's where sponsorships get dropped, follow-up never happens, and nobody can see the relationship behind a gift. Dream Pilot keeps the spreadsheet's flexibility and connects it into one event record.

Build Your Event
Free to start, no credit card. Stay free with a small platform fee on sponsorships, or pay a plan to remove it.

What spreadsheets do well

Let's be fair: spreadsheets are free, endlessly flexible, and everyone already knows how to use them. For a small list, a single tab can be enough. The trouble starts when an event grows past one person's head.

Where the spreadsheet stack costs you

Side by side

Spreadsheets + emailDream Pilot
One source of truthSeparate tabs & filesOne connected event record
Sponsorship packetBuilt by hand in CanvaGenerated from your event
Take sponsor paymentNoNative via Stripe Connect
Board outreach"Take five names"Assigned lists + tracked links
Guests & seatingA separate tabRSVP that feeds the tables
Who brought whomLostCaptured as a relationship map
CostFreeFree to start

You don't have to give up the spreadsheet feel

Dream Pilot's sponsor pipeline and seating are deliberately spreadsheet-like, in-line editable, and you can paste a list of names straight into a table. You keep the speed of a spreadsheet, but every row is connected to the packet, the payment, the seating, and the relationship behind it.

See the full platform
One event record instead of ten tabs.
Sponsor Pipeline
Spreadsheet-simple, but connected and payable.
Sponsorship Packet
Generated, not hand-built in Canva.

Frequently asked questions

Is Dream Pilot just a fancy spreadsheet?
No. It keeps the in-line, paste-friendly speed of a spreadsheet, but connects everything: a sponsor you confirm flows into payment, tables, and your relationship map, instead of sitting in an isolated tab.
Can I import my existing spreadsheets?
Yes. You can paste lists of names directly into Dream Pilot, including into specific tables, so moving off a spreadsheet doesn't mean retyping everyone.
Why not just keep using Google Sheets?
For a very small event you can. The spreadsheet stack breaks down when you add sponsors, a board, payments, seating, and follow-up, because nothing is connected and relationships are never captured. That's the gap Dream Pilot closes.
Is it free, and do I have to subscribe?
Dream Pilot is free to start, and you can keep using it with no subscription by accepting a small platform fee on the sponsorships you collect, or pay a plan to remove the fee.

Get out of the tabs

Move your event into one connected record, and keep the spreadsheet speed.

Build Your Event