Nonprofit CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software helps nonprofits manage donor data, streamline fundraising campaigns, and automate various administrative tasks, allowing you to focus more on making an impact and less on managing spreadsheets.
If you’re looking for the best nonprofit CRM software to take your organization to the next level, we’ve compiled a list of the top tools available today. In this guide, we’ll break down the key features, benefits, and pricing options of the best CRMs specifically designed for nonprofits.
What is Nonprofit CRM Software?
CRM software is a tool designed to help organizations manage and analyze interactions with donors, volunteers, and other contacts. Nonprofit CRMs, in particular, offer specialized features like donation tracking, volunteer management, event planning, and grant management that cater to the unique needs of nonprofit organizations.
These CRMs are designed to improve donor retention, streamline operations, and enhance reporting to make fundraising efforts more efficient.
Some common features of nonprofit CRMs include:
- Donor tracking and segmentation
- Fundraising campaign management
- Volunteer and event management
- Reporting and analytics
- Email marketing integrations
By investing in a nonprofit CRM, you’re investing in the long-term success of your organization through better donor engagement and improved fundraising efficiency.
Key Factors to Consider When Choosing Nonprofit CRM Software
Before choosing a nonprofit CRM, consider the following factors to ensure you select a solution that meets your organization’s specific needs:
- Budget and Pricing: Many nonprofit CRMs offer tiered pricing, including free versions for smaller organizations or nonprofit discounts. It’s important to understand your budget and how much you can allocate for software each year.
- Customizability: Can the CRM be tailored to fit your organization’s unique processes and donor segments? Look for solutions that allow you to customize fields, reports, and workflows.
- User-Friendliness: A CRM should make your life easier, not harder. Look for a system that’s intuitive, with a low learning curve for staff and volunteers.
- Integration Capabilities: Your CRM should integrate with other key tools you already use, such as accounting software, email marketing platforms, and payment processors.
- Scalability: As your nonprofit grows, so should your CRM. Ensure that the system can accommodate a growing donor base and additional fundraising activities.
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Best Nonprofit CRM Software
Below is a comparison of the best nonprofit CRM tools on the market, each offering unique features to help you achieve your organizational goals.
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
Salesforce is a well-known leader in the CRM space, and its Nonprofit Cloud is designed specifically to cater to nonprofit organizations. Built on the powerful Salesforce platform, Nonprofit Cloud provides a comprehensive set of tools that help manage everything from donor relationships to grant tracking and volunteer management.
- Key Features: Nonprofit Cloud offers a wide range of features including donor management, engagement tracking, grant tracking, and fundraising automation. It allows nonprofits to create personalized engagement plans for donors, track their entire journey, and customize workflows to match their needs. One of the key features is the Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), which is built to address common nonprofit use cases and includes pre-built reports and dashboards to monitor donor activity, manage volunteers, and track grants.
- Integrations: Salesforce integrates with hundreds of third-party applications such as Mailchimp, QuickBooks, and accounting tools, enabling seamless data flow across platforms.
- Customization: One of Salesforce’s strongest features is its high degree of customization. Nonprofits can tailor workflows, donation processes, and reports to meet their unique needs.
- Pricing: Salesforce offers significant discounts for nonprofits. Eligible organizations can receive up to 10 free licenses through Salesforce’s Power of Us Program. Paid tiers scale up depending on the number of users and the required features.
- Best For: Medium to large nonprofits that need robust donor management, automation, and scalability. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud is ideal for organizations with complex fundraising operations, or those that need a highly customizable solution.
Keela CRM
Keela is an intuitive nonprofit CRM that combines donor management, fundraising automation, and powerful reporting tools. Keela is designed to help small to mid-sized nonprofits optimize their donor relationships and fundraising efforts by providing data-driven insights and smart automation features.
- Key Features: Keela offers a full suite of tools, including donor management, fundraising automation, email marketing, and impact reporting. The platform helps nonprofits manage donations, track donor interactions, and segment their donor base for more personalized outreach. Keela’s smart tools provide predictive insights into donor behavior, helping nonprofits identify donors likely to give again or increase their contribution.
- Fundraising Automation: One of Keela’s standout features is its automation capabilities. The platform allows nonprofits to automate key tasks like sending donation receipts, follow-up emails, and personalized thank-you messages, saving time and ensuring timely communication with donors. This automation helps nonprofits keep donors engaged and increases retention rates.
- Data-Driven Insights: Keela leverages AI-powered insights to help nonprofits make informed decisions. The platform’s predictive analytics provide data on donor giving trends, helping nonprofits prioritize high-value donors and optimize fundraising strategies. Keela also offers robust reporting tools to track the success of campaigns and measure organizational impact.
- Email Marketing: Keela integrates with email marketing tools, enabling nonprofits to send targeted campaigns directly from the platform. Nonprofits can create segmented donor lists, design custom email templates, and track engagement metrics.
- Pricing: Keela offers competitive pricing starting at $99 per month, based on the number of contacts and the features required. Keela also provides a free trial, allowing nonprofits to test the platform before committing to a subscription.
- Best For: Small to mid-sized nonprofits that are looking for a CRM with AI-powered insights and automation to optimize their donor relationships and fundraising strategies. Keela is especially useful for organizations that want to leverage data to drive decision-making and improve donor engagement.
Bloomerang
Bloomerang is a popular CRM solution tailored to nonprofit organizations, with a strong focus on donor retention. Its user-friendly design and intuitive dashboard make it easy for small and mid-sized nonprofits to manage their donor relationships and fundraising campaigns effectively.
- Key Features: Bloomerang emphasizes donor engagement and retention by tracking donor interactions and providing easy-to-understand reports on donor lifetime value, retention rates, and engagement levels. It also comes with built-in email marketing tools and integrates with popular platforms like Mailchimp. The software’s donor segmentation feature allows nonprofits to create specific donor categories based on donation frequency, gift size, and engagement.
- Donor Engagement Focus: Bloomerang provides engagement scores to track how actively involved each donor is, helping nonprofits plan when and how to re-engage donors effectively.
- Ease of Use: Bloomerang’s simple and clean interface makes it an attractive option for nonprofits that don’t have an extensive technical background. Its mobile app also allows nonprofits to access donor information on the go.
- Pricing: Bloomerang offers a tiered pricing model, with plans starting at about $99 per month for small nonprofits. The pricing scales based on the number of records and the features needed, making it affordable for smaller organizations while still offering powerful tools for larger ones.
- Best For: Small to mid-sized nonprofits focused on improving donor retention and engagement. The ease of use makes it ideal for organizations with limited technical resources.
Neon CRM
Neon CRM is an all-in-one platform designed to help nonprofits manage fundraising, memberships, events, and volunteers. It’s ideal for organizations that want to centralize all their activities into one system, providing a powerful toolkit for growing nonprofits with a wide range of needs.
- Key Features: Neon CRM provides nonprofits with a range of tools to manage their entire organization, including fundraising management, donation processing, event and volunteer management, and membership tracking. The platform allows nonprofits to manage their entire donor journey, from initial contact to long-term engagement. It also includes peer-to-peer fundraising tools, mobile donation options, and a robust reporting suite that can generate custom reports for various stakeholders.
- Membership Management: Nonprofits that offer membership programs can benefit from Neon CRM’s membership tracking and renewal tools. This feature allows organizations to manage member dues, communication, and renewals.
- Volunteer Management: Neon CRM includes tools for scheduling, tracking, and communicating with volunteers, making it easier for nonprofits to manage both donors and volunteers in a single system.
- Pricing: Neon CRM has a tiered pricing structure, but for exact pricing you will need to contact them. Higher tiers offer more advanced features such as peer-to-peer fundraising and event management.
- Best For: Growing nonprofits that need a comprehensive tool to manage fundraising, memberships, and volunteer activities. Neon CRM is also ideal for organizations with a diverse set of operational needs.
DonorPerfect
DonorPerfect is one of the most popular and long-established nonprofit CRM systems available today. It is highly customizable and offers a wide range of features specifically designed to help nonprofits manage their fundraising efforts.
- Key Features: DonorPerfect provides nonprofits with tools to track donations, manage donors, and create targeted fundraising campaigns. It offers built-in event registration, membership management, and automated workflows to send thank-you notes, receipts, and reminders. DonorPerfect’s robust reporting system allows nonprofits to create customized reports that can be used for grant applications, board meetings, and donor analysis.
- Customization: One of DonorPerfect’s key strengths is its ability to be tailored to specific nonprofit needs. Users can customize fields, workflows, and reports to suit their organization’s fundraising processes.
- Mobile-Friendly: DonorPerfect is also mobile-friendly, allowing nonprofits to access donor information, process donations, and check progress on fundraising goals from anywhere.
- Pricing: DonorPerfect offers a flexible pricing model. The platform grows with your organization, and there are different pricing tiers depending on the number of users and donor records. For exact pricing you will need to contact them.
- Best For: Nonprofits focused on major gift management, grant tracking, and customized reporting. It’s particularly useful for organizations that need a flexible system to handle complex fundraising campaigns.
Little Green Light
Little Green Light is a simple yet powerful CRM designed specifically for small nonprofits. Its primary focus is on donor management, and it provides an affordable, user-friendly solution for tracking donors, managing fundraising campaigns, and generating reports.
- Key Features: Little Green Light’s feature set includes donor management, contact management, donation tracking, event registration, and email marketing. The platform allows nonprofits to create campaigns and track their performance through built-in reporting and analytics tools. The batch gift entry feature is particularly useful for processing large numbers of donations quickly.
- Affordable and Easy to Use: Little Green Light is well-known for being budget-friendly and easy to use, making it ideal for smaller nonprofits with limited resources. Despite its low price point, it offers many of the same features found in more expensive systems.
- Event and Campaign Tracking: Nonprofits can easily manage and track events, campaigns, and donor communications through the platform. It also includes features for managing recurring donations and sending automated receipts to donors.
- Pricing: Little Green Light has an affordable pricing structure starting at $45 per month for up to 2,500 records, making it one of the most cost-effective solutions for small nonprofits.
- Best For: Small nonprofits and schools that need an affordable, easy-to-use CRM to manage donor relationships and track fundraising efforts.
Aplos
Aplos is a nonprofit CRM and accounting software that simplifies donor management, donation tracking, and fund accounting. Aplos is a great choice for small to mid-sized nonprofits looking for a tool that combines donor management with financial tracking.
- Key Features: Aplos offers comprehensive tools for donor management, fund accounting, online donation tracking, and email marketing. Nonprofits can track donations, create segmented donor lists, and manage events all within the same platform. Aplos also integrates with accounting tools to ensure accurate financial reporting, which is especially useful for grant reporting and compliance.
- Fund Accounting: A standout feature of Aplos is its built-in fund accounting system, which helps nonprofits track donations, grants, and expenses. This makes it ideal for organizations that need to maintain clear financial records for compliance and grant reporting.
- Donor Management and Communication: Aplos allows nonprofits to manage donor relationships through personalized communication, donor segmentation, and automated receipts. Its email marketing tools are integrated with the donor database, making it easy to launch targeted campaigns.
- Pricing: Aplos pricing starts at $59 per month, with higher-tier options for additional users and advanced features. The platform’s affordability and integration of financial tools make it particularly attractive for smaller nonprofits.
- Best For: Small to mid-sized nonprofits that need a donor management system integrated with fund accounting tools for easy financial tracking and reporting.
CharityEngine
CharityEngine is a comprehensive nonprofit CRM solution designed to help organizations manage donors, fundraising campaigns, and communications in one unified platform. With tools for marketing automation, online donations, and reporting, CharityEngine is a powerful option for mid-sized and large nonprofits.
- Key Features: CharityEngine offers a robust set of features for donor management, fundraising automation, email marketing, and event management. Its marketing automation tools allow nonprofits to automate tasks like sending welcome emails, donation receipts, and follow-up messages. The platform also offers peer-to-peer fundraising tools, making it easy for supporters to create their own campaigns. CharityEngine provides real-time reporting and analytics, helping nonprofits track donor behavior and campaign performance.
- Online Fundraising: CharityEngine offers powerful online fundraising tools, including customizable donation forms, mobile giving, and integration with social media. This makes it easier for nonprofits to run digital fundraising campaigns and engage donors across multiple platforms.
- Automation and Reporting: CharityEngine excels in automation, helping nonprofits save time by automating repetitive tasks like donation processing, donor outreach, and reporting. The platform’s real-time reporting tools provide insights into donor behavior and campaign effectiveness, helping nonprofits make data-driven decisions.
- Pricing: You will need to contact CharityEngine to receive specific pricing based on your organizations revenue.
- Best For: Medium to large nonprofits that need a comprehensive, all-in-one CRM with advanced automation and reporting tools. CharityEngine is ideal for organizations with complex fundraising and donor engagement strategies.
eTapestry by Blackbaud
eTapestry is a cloud-based CRM solution offered by Blackbaud, specifically designed for small and growing nonprofits. It provides essential donor management and fundraising tools, making it easy for organizations to cultivate relationships and track donations.
- Key Features: eTapestry offers features like donor management, fundraising, and reporting tools. The platform includes an easy-to-use interface for tracking donations, managing donor interactions, and generating reports. It also integrates with email marketing platforms to help nonprofits automate their communication strategies.
- Online Fundraising: eTapestry allows nonprofits to create customized online donation forms that are mobile-responsive, making it easy for supporters to donate from any device. It also includes tools for managing campaigns, events, and volunteer activities.
- Reporting and Analytics: Nonprofits can use eTapestry’s built-in reporting tools to analyze donor trends, segment donors, and track the success of fundraising campaigns. The platform offers detailed reports that can be customized based on the organization’s needs.
- Pricing: eTapestry offers flexible pricing plans, starting at around $500 per month, making it a more expensive option for smaller nonprofits.
- Best For: Medium and growing nonprofits looking for a cloud-based CRM with donor management and online fundraising capabilities.
Givebutter
Givebutter is a modern, all-in-one fundraising platform that offers a CRM specifically designed for nonprofits. Originally focused on peer-to-peer fundraising, Givebutter has expanded into a comprehensive tool that combines donor management, online fundraising, and communication tools in one easy-to-use platform.
- Key Features: Givebutter provides robust features including donor management, fundraising tools, ticketing for events, and peer-to-peer fundraising. The platform allows nonprofits to create beautiful, branded fundraising pages that support one-time and recurring donations. In addition, Givebutter’s CRM helps nonprofits manage and engage donors with built-in tools for segmentation, automated follow-ups, and personalized outreach.
- Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: Givebutter excels in peer-to-peer fundraising, making it easy for donors to create individual fundraising pages and share them via social media. This feature helps amplify the reach of fundraising campaigns by encouraging supporters to get involved in the fundraising process.
- Payment Flexibility: Givebutter stands out with its flexible payment options, allowing supporters to donate via Venmo, PayPal, Apple Pay, and credit cards. This convenience makes it easier for nonprofits to cater to a wider range of donor preferences.
- Free Platform with Optional Tips: One of Givebutter’s key advantages is its free-to-use model, where donors can leave an optional tip to cover platform fees. This makes it a highly attractive option for small and mid-sized nonprofits with limited budgets.
- Pricing: While Givebutter doesn’t charge monthly fees, there are transaction fees of 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. However, donors have the option to cover these fees, keeping costs low for nonprofits.
- Best For: Small to mid-sized nonprofits looking for a free or low-cost CRM solution with strong peer-to-peer and event fundraising tools. Givebutter is ideal for organizations that want to maximize online and social media fundraising efforts while keeping costs minimal.
Benefits of Using Nonprofit CRM Software
Adopting a nonprofit CRM can have a transformative impact on your organization. Key benefits include:
- Improved Donor Management: Track donor interactions and preferences to build lasting relationships.
- Streamlined Fundraising Campaigns: Plan, launch, and manage fundraising campaigns with built-in tools that track progress and results.
- Centralized Data: Keep all donor, volunteer, and grant information in one place, accessible to your entire team.
- Enhanced Reporting: Use robust reporting tools to analyze performance and inform strategic decisions.
- Time-Saving Automations: Automate routine tasks like sending donation receipts, updating donor profiles, and managing follow-up communications.
Free and Low-Cost Nonprofit CRM Options
If you’re working with a tight budget, there are free and low-cost CRM options that can still meet your needs. CiviCRM is an open-source solution that’s free to download and use. HubSpot for Nonprofits offers free CRM features with add-ons available for email marketing and customer support.
These options may not have the full range of features found in premium CRMs, but they can still help small nonprofits manage donor relationships effectively.
How to Implement and Maximize Your Nonprofit CRM
Implementing a new CRM can be a big step for your nonprofit, so it’s important to ensure the process is smooth. Here are a few tips for successful implementation:
- Staff Training: Ensure your team is properly trained on how to use the CRM to its fullest potential.
- Data Migration: Take time to clean and migrate your existing donor data into the new system.
- Donor Engagement: Leverage your CRM’s automation tools to send personalized thank-you messages, reminders, and updates to your donors.
- Use Reporting Features: Regularly analyze the data your CRM collects to make informed decisions and improve your fundraising strategies.
