Holdings vs. Chase: The Best Nonprofit Banking & Grant Tracking

Choosing a banking partner as a nonprofit is much more than opening an account. It’s about empowering your mission, protecting your grant dollars, and making every process—from board reporting to paying volunteers—transparent and simple. Nonprofit leaders, treasurers, and founders know the struggle: traditional banks rarely “get” what scrappy, purpose-driven teams need day-to-day.

That’s where Holdings stands out from antiquated business banks like Chase. Specifically built for the realities of nonprofit operations—whether you’re tracking one restricted donation or juggling ten government grants—Holdings doesn’t just keep your funds safe. It lets you control, segment, grow, and track them the way today’s nonprofit work demands.

Welcome to a deep dive on how Holdings and Chase stack up for organizations like yours. From program-based cash segmentation and grant tracking to staff debit cards and audit-ready bookkeeping, we’ll break down the differences that matter for nonprofits of every size and structure.

Introducing the Contenders: Holdings & Chase

Let’s start with the basics. Chase is a legacy bank, with thousands of branches, familiar products, and a lot of paperwork. It’s built for traditional business banking—offering business checking, merchant accounts, basic savings, and credit lines, but often through generic interfaces and with fee structures that don’t fit the nonprofit model.

Holdings, by contrast, is a modern financial platform designed from the ground up for mission-driven teams. It’s a one-stop hub where you can:

• Split your cash by fund or grant with virtual accounts

• Issue cards to staff and volunteers with custom controls

• Get zero-fee banking and 2% APY on all balances

• Tap into easy bookkeeping and pre-built accounting integrations

• Track and report program spending with fewer spreadsheets

Quick Comparison: Holdings vs. Chase for Nonprofits

Why Traditional Business Banking Falls Short for Nonprofits

Most banks are built for one straightforward checking account per company. But nonprofit money isn’t that simple. Each donation, grant, or government contract has a purpose. Managing these funds in a single account can lead to:

• Spreadsheet chaos to track restricted balances

• Manual transfers just to avoid overspending grants

• Nightmares for board reporting and compliance

Fees also add up quickly. With traditional business checking, you’re often forced to:

• Maintain high minimum balances

• Track monthly fees, transaction charges, or overdraft penalties

• Worry about cash deposit and wire transfer costs

Wasting your limited attention (and budget) on bank admin takes time away from your mission.

The Holdings Difference: Purpose-Built for Nonprofit Money

Holdings was founded on a simple question: how can we make nonprofit financial management as easy as possible—no matter what accounting system or finance process you use?

The answer is flexibility, transparency, and trust:

• Zero Fees: No “gotcha” or surprise charges, ever. You control every cent that goes in or out.

• 2% APY on Balances: Your grant money actually grows until you spend it on your mission, instead of sitting idle.

• Virtual Accounts: Instantly segment funds by grant, program, or board-designated purpose. No spreadsheet formulas required.

• Virtual & Debit Cards: Empower staff, volunteers, or chapters to spend with safer, pre-set limits. Forget messy reimbursement workflows.

• Simple Bookkeeping: Keep your finance records (and audits) clean, even if you don’t have a bookkeeper in-house.

Segmentation Without Spreadsheets

Nonprofits often juggle multiple funding sources—think restricted grants, capital campaigns, or designated donations for specific projects. With most banks, keeping those separated can mean opening multiple accounts or tracking everything in external spreadsheets.

Holdings fixes this by letting you create “virtual accounts” at will. Each program, grant, or fund gets its own virtual bucket—no matter how your Chart of Accounts is set up. Move money in seconds and see at a glance:

• How much you’ve spent from each grant

• What remains available for every fund or project

• Real-time updates, perfect for reporting to funders or governance

No spreadsheet exports. No manual reconciliations. Adjust, segment, and report instantly.

Expense Control Designed for Nonprofit Teams

Does your team hate chasing receipts or waiting weeks for financial reimbursements? Are you nervous about letting volunteers or program managers make purchases without risking overspending?

With Holdings, you can instantly:

• Issue no-fee debit or virtual cards to any teammate or volunteer

• Set card spend limits by grant, program, or event

• Pause, deactivate, or reload cards at any time

Expense management flows smoothly into your bookkeeping, reducing human error and making it easy to demonstrate compliance.

Bookkeeping Help for Every Nonprofit Situation

Some organizations have an in-house finance lead; others work with a part-time bookkeeper or have no financial staff at all. Holdings adapts to your workflow:

• Use your own finance systems with easy accounting integrations (QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, CSV)

• Or, add affordable bookkeeping support from Holdings, so you’re always audit-ready and nothing slips through the cracks

Want to sync your expenses and accounts to Sage Intacct or QuickBooks? Holdings connects directly—no duplicate entry or data wrangling required. Setup is fast, and our friendly support team can guide you through every step.

Real-Time Cash Flow and Reporting

Visibility drives good decisions. Holdings gives you:

• An always-up-to-date view of every restricted and unrestricted balance

• Program-level reporting to share with your board, ED, or funders

• Automated allocation, so grant spending is always tracked to the right program

Whether you’re prepping a quarterly report, filing compliance paperwork, or just planning your next fundraiser, you’ll never be in the dark about your financial status.

Grow Your Grant Dollars (Don’t Just Hold Them)

Why let precious grant funds sit idle while you plan your next program? With most banks, you’ll get a fraction of a percent—or no interest at all. Holdings’ flat 2% yield on all eligible balances puts money back into your mission, letting your reserves, campaign proceeds, and restricted funds actually earn for you.

Zero Surprise Fees—Ever

Traditional banks love fees: monthly maintenance, minimum balances, overdraft charges, or wire costs. Nonprofits have to run lean—every dollar matters.

Holdings believes in radical fee transparency. You pay nothing for:

• Monthly maintenance or account minimums

• Card transactions

• Domestic wire or ACH transfers

• FDIC-insured deposits up to $3 million

The only costs come if you choose optional add-ons, like accounting software or extra help with bookkeeping—both at lower, nonprofit-friendly rates.

Free, Fast Cash Deposits

Do you still receive regular cash donations at events, or need to process fundraising proceeds quickly? Holdings gives you fee-free access to a network of 55,000+ Allpoint+ ATMs, where you can deposit or withdraw whenever you need to—no cost, no restrictions.

Digital-First, But Support-Driven

While many “digital banks” offer only automated support, Holdings believes nonprofits deserve real human help. Whether you’re onboarding, setting up grant accounts, or have a compliance question, our US-based support responds fast—by chat, email, or phone.

Our web platform and mobile app are designed with accessibility in mind, so your finance lead, board treasurer, or volunteer project manager can use them easily.

Advanced Security and Insurance (Without the Worry)

Nonprofits are right to ask: how safe is my money and data? Holdings uses industry-standard encryption, offers multi-factor authentication, and keeps compliance front-and-center.

Even better: while Chase and most banks insure deposits only up to $250,000, Holdings’ unique sweep program protects your nonprofit’s deposits up to $3 million—more than enough for major campaigns or annual reserves. Sleep easier knowing your funds are safe and audit-ready.

Make Audits and Reporting Less Stressful

Annual audits are part of nonprofit life. Holdings makes them painless by:

• Automatically organizing transactions by program, grant, or restriction

• Providing granular, export-ready reports for any period or funder requirement

• Simplifying supporting documentation—no more missing receipts

Your auditor—or anyone reviewing restricted fund activity—will thank you!

Flexible Integrations for the Tools You Already Use

Holdings is not about replacing your financial systems. Whether your team runs Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, or just needs easy CSV downloads, Holdings plugs in smoothly. You can sync transactions, map funds to your Chart of Accounts, and keep your unique workflow intact.

No need to switch accounting systems. Use what works, enhance it where you need more control, and export your data anytime.

How to Switch: Seamless Onboarding

Ready to modernize your money management?

1. Open a Holdings account online—no paperwork, just your nonprofit’s info.

2. Set up virtual accounts for each grant, program, or fund.

3. Connect your existing finance tools, or try Holdings’ built-in accounting or bookkeeping.

4. Issue cards to team members or volunteers as needed. Set limits and controls in seconds.

5. Enjoy real-time reporting and audit-ready transparency from day one.

No branch visits, no unnecessary paperwork, and support is ready to walk you through the setup at any stage.

Use Case: From Shoe-Box Receipts to Streamlined Grant Tracking

Imagine you’re a grassroots organization running on spreadsheet tracking and a single bank account. With Holdings:

• Migrate every balance and transaction into virtual accounts for each grant

• Issue spending cards to team leads (no more reimbursement hassle)

• Sync expenses with your existing accounting system, or use Holdings bookkeeping help

• At audit time, export precise reports showing exactly how every dollar was used

Your receipts, compliance, and funder reporting are always at your fingertips.

Use Case: Scaling to Multiple Programs With a Lean Team

As your nonprofit grows—adding more staff, more grants, and more events—Holdings grows with you. Set up new virtual accounts in minutes. Empower staff and volunteers to spend safely with customized cards, and keep every transaction tied to the right project.

Even if your staff is small, Holdings handles complexity without adding manual work.

For the CFO-Led Nonprofit: Advanced Features, Familiar Controls

If you have a finance lead or use Sage Intacct for multi-entity reporting, Holdings still simplifies operations:

• Seamless export/sync to accounting platforms

• Detailed, segmented transaction data for each entity, fund, and program

• Proactive controls on who can spend, and on what, eliminating petty cash risk

Your bookkeeper and board will get deeper control and greater confidence—all while keeping your favorite back-office tools in place.

Fully Mobile Experience, But Board-Ready Security

Handle approvals, review balances, and run reports from any device. Holdings mobile experience is designed so even volunteers or part-time treasurers can get what they need on the go. Meanwhile, advanced multi-user permissions and reporting mean you keep clean audit trails for every decision.

Save Time, Save Money, Protect Your Funding

Here’s what you save by switching to Holdings:

• No monthly, wire, or transaction fees (hundreds saved annually)

• Interest earned on every balance (your $50,000 rainy day fund yields $1,000 per year at 2%)

• Fewer staff hours spent sorting receipts or doing manual grant allocations

• Audit costs go down with cleaner, more accessible records

That money and capacity go back into your mission—not to bank admin or lost to unnecessary fees.

Common Questions for Nonprofit Leaders

Is Holdings a bank?

Nope, we’re a financial technology platform. Your funds are held securely by our FDIC-insured bank partner and backed up to $3 million through our sweep program.

How do virtual accounts work for grants?

Set them up instantly in your dashboard. They work like sub-accounts—track, allocate, and report on each fund separately with no need to open or manage multiple bank accounts.

Is bookkeeping required?

Only if you want it. Many orgs use our integration with their existing accounting platform. For those who are understaffed, our bookkeeping option is an easy add-on, handled by real people.

Can we use Holdings for both operations and fundraising money?

Absolutely. You can segment everything automatically, so unrestricted funds and dedicated campaign dollars never get mixed up.

The Holdings Community: Join a Network of Mission-Driven Teams

You’re not alone. Organizations from lean, startup charities to large, CFO-led foundations use Holdings to upgrade financial control and compliance—without giving up the tools they love.

Share knowledge, access best practices, and even get perks through the Holdings community and Hustle Handbook. We’re here to support, educate, and connect.

Our Promise: Your Mission First

Whether you’re serving your first family or running a network of shelters, you deserve a financial platform designed for nonprofit realities. Holdings will never require you to abandon your accounting system or give up board-level controls.

Instead, we meet you where you are—amplifying your processes, integrating with your tools, and making it easy for every dollar to go farther.

Ready to Get Started?

You can open a Holdings account online in minutes:

1. Visit our site and click "Open Account"

2. Upload your basic nonprofit information and IRS confirmation

3. Set up your first virtual accounts for each grant, program, or fund

4. Start spending, tracking, and earning interest on every dollar

If you need support, our onboarding team is happy to help at every step.

If You Still Need a Traditional Branch…

Some organizations might still prefer walking into a branch—especially if you receive lots of cash donations daily. If in-person service is crucial for your fundraising workflow, a legacy bank like Chase may still make sense. Just be aware of both the fees and the old-school accounting workarounds you’ll need.

For every other nonprofit—even those with complex grant flows or distributed teams—Holdings is built for your needs.

The Future of Nonprofit Money Management

It’s a new era for mission-driven organizations. You shouldn’t have to force your unique challenges into cookie-cutter business bank accounts. Holdings gives you the flexibility, transparency, and support you need, no matter how complex your funding, programs, or team.

From grassroots upstarts to multi-million-dollar charities, we’re here to demystify money management, make reporting easy, and help you keep every dollar working for good.

Join Holdings—Empower Your Mission

Say goodbye to surprise fees, endless spreadsheets, and bank accounts that aren’t built for your purpose. Holdings is your flexible financial partner—ready to help you segment, control, grow, and spend your funds with maximum efficiency and compliance.

Open an account today and experience nonprofit banking reimagined for modern missions. We can’t wait to support your work and help your impact go further.