When it comes to nonprofit financial tools, it can be overwhelming. There are lots of nonprofit financial tools available and sifting through all the noise can be challenging. But finding the tools that will most help your organization grow and give back to your community are worth the search.
It’s important to look into a variety of nonprofit financial tools to increase incoming funds and decrease expenses. The six recommendations mentioned in this article fall into the following categories:
- Accounting
- Fundraising/CRM
- Website Management/Development
I felt it was important to segment these out because having a variety of nonprofit financial tools in your financial toolbox will ensure stability and organization. When a nonprofit is just starting out, investing only in fundraising tools may be tempting, but having a solid backend system and donor tracking is vital to scalability.
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Check out these nonprofit financial tools for your organizations.
1) Adaptive Insights
If you’ve been getting by with complex excel spreadsheets with formulas that are constantly breaking…look no further than Adaptive Insights. Their biggest focus is helping nonprofits go from simply tracking financials to planning for future growth. If you’ve got a more senior, experienced financial leader on your team, Sage Intacct would also be an even cheaper option for your team.
2) Abila
Abila is a company with an accounting solution specifically made for nonprofits. Since merging with Community Brands, Abila has a whole host of other services beyond their Accounting program, including Fundraising, CRM and Association Management Softwares & Services.
It’s important to take into consideration a company’s full product stack and integration capabilities if scaling is at the top of your brain. From nonprofit financial management, budgeting, timekeeping, asset management, payroll and human resources, Abila has a ton of options with the base cost starting at just $150/month for their software.
3) Zipbooks
If you live in the Accounting world, odds are you’ve heard of QuickBooks, but you may not have heard of ZipBooks. Zipbooks is a comparable and much less expensive option for nonprofits. Their starter plan, which includes invoicing, accounting, contact management, simple reports, review gathering and publishing, is totally free for nonprofits, and even their premium plan only goes up to $35/month. Especially, if you’re a CFO at an early stage non-profit, I recommend you look into Zipbook.
4) Firespring
When it comes to nonprofit fundraising, your website design and optimization should be at the top of your priority list. Which is why one of my recommendations is to check out Firespring. A lot of nonprofits may choose to build their websites on Wordpress or Wix but Firespring is an excellent option for those looking for a website platform built to meet the needs of nonprofits.
Firespring includes website functionality for launching fundraising campaigns, events, and operating a content management (CMS), all packaged in with a modern design. Their reviews are glowing and the platform starts at only $59/Month. Note: When working with affordable website platforms, it really helps to have someone with web development knowledge on your team or available for freelance work!
5) Funraise
This tool is the jack of all trades. One of the hardest parts about establishing your tech stack is making sure it doesn’t grow too large and confusing, which is why Funraise is a great option if you’re okay with investing a little more. Base packages start at $350/month but include a plethora or donation management, nonprofit fundraising, CRM tools.
Similar to Abila, Funraise has a big list of features and options so I’d recommend only trying out a few to test their ability and customer support, then adding on more tools as needed.
6) CRM from Salesforce
Why should for-profits get access to the best technology but not NGOs?! This is where CRM from Salesforce comes in. Fortune 500 Businesses all around the world use Salesforce to track companies, contacts, activity, and monetary goals, but Salesforce has also made this software available and usable for nonprofits!
Although nonprofit and for-profit may use different terms, their goal of tracking engagements with individuals and companies is the same.
When a nonprofit is small, it only costs $36/month to track all donor relations with Salesforce CRM software. The price does increase based on staff sizes and donor list serves, but as your nonprofit scales this will help you grow!
These are just a few tools that can help if you’re just starting out as a nonprofit. These low-cost investments can also simplify outdated systems in a more established nonprofit. Regardless of the technology decisions you decide to make, I can not stress how important it is to check their reviews.
Sites like TrustRadius or Capterra show real customer reviews and rankings and you should always consult them before making decisions.
**Note: None of the nonprofit financial tools are paid endorsements. All recommendations are based on research, reviews, and industry knowledge.
Header Photo by Zan
