The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best CRM for Nonprofits

Nonprofit organizations play a crucial role by working toward various social, environmental, and humanitarian causes. They contribute to societal growth, peace, and prosperity by addressing social issues like inequality, homelessness, education, health, and the environment. They also fill gaps in public services by providing services and resources that the government and private sectors may not be able to deliver efficiently.

Like for-profit organizations, managing nonprofit organizations can also be very challenging. First, you must create compelling sales and marketing campaigns to increase their awareness and get more people to support their efforts. Additionally, these organizations need to run fundraising campaigns to finance their campaigns and manage their day-to-day operations effectively – this is where nonprofit CRM comes in.

Nonprofit CRM Software is designed to help nonprofits track and analyze their engagement with donors, manage fundraising campaigns, and improve donor retention. So how do you choose a good CRM too? What features should you look out for? And How can these CRM tools help nonprofits grow?

This comprehensive guide has covered the benefits of CRM Software for Nonprofits, the key features your CRM platform should have, the top 12 CRMs for nonprofits, and how to choose a CRM that fits your nonprofit’s needs. Keep reading!

Table of Content

• What is Nonprofit CRM?
• Why Do Nonprofits Need CRM Software?
• Key Features To Look Out For In a CRM Software
• How to Choose a CRM Solution For Your Nonprofit?
• 12 Best Nonprofit CRM Software You Should be Using in 2023.

What is Nonprofit CRM?

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) for nonprofits is a software solution that helps nonprofits manage their interactions and relationships with donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders. It includes tools and features to help nonprofits track and analyze their engagement with donors, manage fundraising campaigns, and improve donor retention.

A nonprofit CRM can help organizations improve communication and engagement with donors and volunteers, increase donations, and streamline operations. It can also provide valuable insights and analytics to help nonprofits make informed decisions about their fundraising strategies and operations and build stronger relationships with their supporters.

Some critical features of a nonprofit CRM include donor management, volunteer management, fundraising management, event management, and marketing automation.

Why Do Nonprofits Need CRM Software?

Nonprofits need CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software for various reasons. Here are some of the most common ones:

1. Better Donor Management

A CRM system can help nonprofits manage their relationships with donors, store donor data and send targeted fundraising appeals based on their interests and preferences. Significantly, Nonprofit CRMs can help you identify your potential major donors, track their activities and give you access to their donation history. This information can help you tailor your fundraising efforts and make more informed decisions about donor outreach.

2. Streamlined Communication

A nonprofit CRM can help you stay in touch with donors and supporters through automated email campaigns, social media outreach, and targeted messaging.

3. Improved Volunteer Management

Nonprofits often rely on volunteers to carry out their mission. A CRM system can help nonprofits manage their volunteers more effectively by keeping track of their skills, availability, and contributions, assigning tasks, and monitoring progress.

3. Event Management

Many nonprofits organize events to raise awareness and funds for their cause. A CRM system can help manage event registration, ticket sales, and communication with attendees.

4. Grant Management

Nonprofits often rely on grants to fund their work. A CRM system can help manage grant applications, deadlines, and reporting requirements.

5. Program Management

Nonprofits may have various programs or projects that require coordination and collaboration among staff and volunteers. A CRM system can help manage these programs by providing a centralized location for data, communication, and collaboration.

6. Enhanced Fundraising

Nonprofit CRMs can help you track your fundraising progress and identify new fundraising opportunities. This can help you increase your overall revenue and engage with more donors.

7. Increased Efficiency

A nonprofit CRM can help you streamline your operations by centralizing all your donor, volunteer, and fundraising data in one place. This can help you save time and reduce administrative costs.

8. Improved Reporting

Nonprofit CRMs can provide detailed reports on your fundraising, donor engagement, and volunteer activities. This information can help you identify trends, measure progress, and make data-driven decisions.

Overall, a CRM system can help nonprofits streamline operations, improve donors and provide valuable insights into their fundraising and programmatic activities to help you build stronger relationships with donors and supporters and make data-driven decisions.

Key Features To Look Out for in a CRM Software

Several key features must be considered when evaluating a nonprofit CRM software to ensure the system meets your organization’s unique needs. Here are some of the essential features to look out for:

1. Donor Management

This feature should allow for storing and organizing donor data and information in one central location, including donation history, contact information, and communication preferences.

2. Fundraising Management

The system should be able to track donations, pledges, campaigns, and fundraising progress and offer tools for online giving, event management, and peer-to-peer fundraising.

3. Volunteer Management

This feature should allow you to manage your volunteers, including their availability, skills, and preferences, and track volunteer hours and engagement.

4. Grant Management

If your nonprofit relies on grant funding, the CRM should offer tools for grant proposal management, reporting, and tracking deadlines.

5. Marketing Automation capabilities

This feature should allow you to create and execute targeted marketing and fundraising campaigns, such as email campaigns, social media campaigns, and newsletters. The tool should also help you automate payment processing, email communication, and campaign management.

6. Reporting and Analytics

The system should have analytics tools that enable you to generate detailed reports on key metrics such as donor engagement, fundraising progress, and volunteer activities. It should also have donor management tools to help you track communications, fundraising efforts, and other essential tasks.

7. Integration with Other Tools

The CRM should integrate with other tools you use, such as email, calendar, and project management tools.

8. Customization

The CRM should be customizable to fit your organization’s unique needs, such as custom fields, workflows, and permissions.

9. Mobile Access

Accessing the CRM on mobile devices can be crucial for staff and volunteers who work remotely.

10. Donor and Data Privacy

Ensure the CRM complies with data protection laws and has consent management and data encryption features.

Considering these key features, you can find nonprofit CRM software to help you manage and grow your nonprofit organization effectively.

How to Choose a CRM Solution for Your Nonprofit?

Choosing the right CRM solutions for your nonprofit organization can be critical. The CRM system you select will help you manage your donor relationships and optimize your fundraising efforts. Here are some key factors to consider when selecting a CRM solution for your nonprofit:

1. Functionality

The Nonprofit CRM solution should have the features to manage donor relationships effectively. It should offer a range of tools for tracking donor information, recording donations, managing campaigns, and generating reports.

2. Ease of use

The CRM system should be user-friendly and intuitive, so your staff can quickly learn how to use it without extensive training. The system should also be customizable to fit your organization’s unique needs.

3. Integration

The nonprofit CRM platform should integrate with other tools and applications you use, such as email marketing software, accounting software, or social media platforms.

4. Security

Your donor information is sensitive, so it’s important to choose nonprofit CRM software with strong security features to protect your data. Look for a system with encryption, firewalls, and other security measures.

5. Price

The cost of the CRM solution is an important consideration, but don’t make price your only factor. Look for a system that provides the functionality and features you need within your budget.

6. Support

The CRM vendor should offer good customer support, including training, documentation, and technical assistance. Make sure the vendor has a reputation for providing excellent support.

7. Scalability

As your nonprofit grows, you may need to add more users, functionality, and data to your CRM system. Make sure your chosen system is scalable and accommodates your organization’s growth.

Overall, choosing nonprofit CRM solutions requires careful consideration of your organization’s needs and goals. By evaluating your options and selecting the right system, you can improve your fundraising efforts and build stronger relationships with your donors.

12 Best Nonprofit CRM Software You Should be Using in 2023

Nonprofit organizations rely heavily on their ability to build strong relationships with donors, supporters, and volunteers. One key tool that can help nonprofits manage these relationships is the CRM tool. Nonprofit CRM software can help organizations track donor information, manage campaigns, and improve fundraising efforts.

Below are the 12 best nonprofit CRM software solutions in 2023, along with their features, pricing, and benefits.

1. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud is a cloud-based CRM solution designed specifically for nonprofits. It offers features of donor management, contact management, fundraising, marketing & engagement, grantmaking, and volunteer and operations management. More specifically, it allows you to achieve the following functions:

• Nurture your most important relationships.
• Break down silos between teams.
• It integrates well with other Salesforce tools like Marketing Cloud and Pardot.
• Secure your data and unlock insights.

Pricing: Starts at $60/user/month.

2. Bloomerang

Bloomerang is a simple-to-use web-based CRM solution with people-powered support designed specifically for nonprofits. It helps nonprofits deliver a better experience, raise funds, and create lasting change.

It offers features for donor management, fundraising, and event management and also includes various reporting and analytics tools to help nonprofits track their fundraising efforts. More specifically, it allows you to achieve the following functions:

• First, collect donations anytime and anywhere.
• Second, tend to your donor community.
• Third, cultivate relationships that make a real impact.
• Providing automatic daily updates creates opportunities for more profound stewardship and connection with your donors.
• Finally, measure your results and generate reports.

Pricing: Starts at $119/month

3. NeonCRM

NeonCRM is a cloud-based CRM solution designed specifically for small to midsize nonprofits. It offers donor management, fundraising, marketing, and volunteer management features, reporting, and analytics to manage donors, members, email, events, fundraising, volunteers, and grants in one easy-to-use platform. In addition, it allows you to achieve the following functions:

• Raise more funds.
• Persoanlize experiences.
• Automated operational tools, including workflow automation, smart deduplication, and payment processing, to drive your organization forward.
• Integrate with Quickbooks, Zapier, and over 50 other tools to make a more significant impact.

Pricing: Starts at $99/month

4. DonorPerfect

DonorPerfect is a cloud-based CRM solution coordinating nonprofit development and managing fundraising and donor engagement efforts.

It offers features for donor management, fundraising, and event management. It also includes various reporting and analytics tools to help nonprofits track their fundraising efforts. Additionally, DonorPerfect also offers nonprofits personalized onboarding, on-demand training, and customer support

Pricing: Starts at $99/month

5. Little Green Light

Little Green Light is a web-based CRM solution for small and medium-sized nonprofits. It has an all-in-one donor management feature that helps nonprofits quickly transform their work.

It offers features for donor management, fundraising, and event management. Little Green Light includes various reporting and analytics tools to help nonprofits track their fundraising efforts. Little Green Light’s users have access to

• Cloud-Based Platform
• Unlimited Users
• No Hidden Fees
• Support Resources
• Security & Backups

Pricing: Starts at $45/month

6. Kindful

Kindful is a cloud-based CRM solution designed specifically to help nonprofits thrive. They exist to help nonprofits make a more significant impact on the world by providing the technology and tools that allow them to spend more time and resources on furthering their missions.

It offers donor management, fundraising, marketing, and volunteer management features. It also includes various reporting and analytics tools to help nonprofits track their fundraising efforts.

• It allows online donation pages and peer-to-peer campaigns to flow into your CRM.
• It allows you to track everything from a central database.
• Effectively manage donor communication.
• Track real-time progress and stay a step ahead with cutting-edge recommendations.

Pricing: Starts at $119/month per 1000 contact

7. CiviCRM

CiviCRM is an open-source CRM solution designed specifically for nonprofits. It offers features of donor management, fundraising, event management, and membership management. It also includes various reporting and analytics tools to help nonprofits track their fundraising efforts.

• Centralize constituent communications
• Build and manage your donor base & membership
• Full integration with WordPress, Drupal, Joomla & Backdrop.

Pricing: Free, but fees may apply for hosting and support

8. Aplos

Aplos is a cloud-based CRM solution designed specifically for nonprofits and churches of any size. It has giving tools, people management, donor management, fundraising, accounting, and robust reporting to help them manage and track their fundraising efforts. In addition, Aplos enables the following functions.

• Built-In Fund Accounting Software
• Accept Online Donations & Gifts
• People & Donor Management
• Manage Groups & Teams
• Email Marketing & Communication
• Deep Reporting & Analytics

Pricing: Starts at $39.50/month

9. Blackbaud CRM

Blackbaud CRM is a cloud-based CRM solution designed specifically for nonprofits. It combines unrivaled nonprofit professionalism with industry-leading fundraising and customer relationship management software tools, integrated analytics, multichannel marketing, and data mining services to help large nonprofits build more robust and productive relationships.

It also integrates with other Blackbaud tools, such as Raiser’s Edge and Luminate Online. More specifically, Blackbaud CRM allows nonprofits to:

• Focus on constituent relationships and turn supporters into major givers.
• Make every contact count with multichannel marketing.

Pricing: Contact the vendor for pricing information

10. Salsa CRM

Salsa CRM is a cloud-based CRM solution designed specifically for nonprofits. It allows nonprofits to streamline donor data, optimize their strategy and personalize their outreach to build stronger supporter relationships, improve donor retention, and grow their fundraising. In addition, nonprofits have access to the following features:

• Rich Donor Profiles to track contact data, relationships, interests, demographics, social media accounts, and more!
• Donation tracking to track unique data with custom fields.
• Direct mail fundraising to create professional letters with our built-in word processor.
• Reporting tool for customizing dashboards for real-time visualization.
• Member management to streamline the membership experience.
• Donor cultivation to customize Moves Management workflows to track major gift prospecting.
• Grant management to share documents, collaborate easily, and hit every deadline in the grant writing and application process.
• Integrate easily with tools such as Double the Donation, 360MatchPro, WealthEngine, and DonorSearch

Pricing: Contact the vendor for pricing information

11. EveryAction

EveryAction is the fastest-growing cloud-based CRM solution offering innovative, connected technology solutions for nonprofit organizations of all sizes. It provides many nonprofits with the following features:

• Best-in-class engagement, fundraising, and donor management.
• All the tools needed to build meaningful relationships.
• Raise more with a unified donation platform
• Volunteer management, Advocacy, and Organizing solutions

EveryAction users have reported a 9x increase in sustainers, a 22% increase in new donors, and a 45% higher online contribution size.

Pricing: Contact the vendor for pricing information

12. Engaging Networks

Engaging Networks is an innovative cloud-based nonprofit CRM software that offers nonprofits fundraising and campaigning tools to elevate their engagement and impact.

It has features like donation management, fundraising automation, and communication tracking. Engaging Networks provides powerful reporting and analytics tools to help nonprofits make data-driven decisions. It has tools for the following functions:

• Fundraising
• Advocacy
• Email Marketing
• eCommerce
• Membership Engaging
• Event management
• Peer-to-peer
• Built-in Artificial Intelligence Capabilities

More importantly, Engaging Networks users choose it for the following reasons:

• Privately held reporting.
• New releases every 6-8 weeks.
• Flexible and easy-to-use tools.
• Render pages in over 140 languages and process payments in any currency.

Pricing: Contact the vendor for pricing information

Wrapping Up

Are CRM for nonprofits worth it? Yes, CRM for nonprofits can be a worthwhile investment. CRM software can help nonprofits manage interactions with donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders, manage donor information, create personalized outreach, streamline fundraising campaigns, and track engagement metrics to build and maintain long-term relationships.

By improving donor engagement and retention, nonprofits can increase revenue and accomplish their missions more effectively. In addition, by automating email marketing and volunteer management tasks, CRM software can save time and resources.

While implementing a CRM system may require an initial investment, the long-term benefits of increased efficiency, donor engagement, and fundraising success can make it a wise investment for nonprofits.

Nonprofit CRM Software FAQs

1. What is nonprofit CRM software?

Nonprofit CRM software is a technology that helps nonprofits manage their interactions with donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders. It allows nonprofits to track donor information, create personalized outreach, and manage fundraising campaigns.

2. What are the benefits of using nonprofit CRM software?

The benefits of using nonprofit CRM software include improved donor engagement and retention, streamlined fundraising campaigns, and increased efficiency and productivity. It also provides detailed reports and analytics on fundraising campaigns, donor engagement, and other key performance indicators.

3. How does nonprofit CRM software improve donor engagement?

Nonprofit CRM software can improve donor engagement by allowing nonprofits to create personalized outreach based on donor information and preferences. It also enables nonprofits to track donor interactions and create targeted fundraising campaigns tailored to specific donors’ interests and behaviors.

4. What features should I look for in nonprofit CRM software?

Features to look for in nonprofit CRM software include donor management tools, fundraising management tools, volunteer management tools, marketing automation capabilities, and reporting and analytics features.

5. How much does nonprofit CRM software cost?

The cost of nonprofit CRM software varies depending on the software’s features and functionality, as well as the size and needs of the nonprofit organization. Some CRM software providers offer pricing plans based on the number of users, while others may charge a flat rate or offer custom pricing options.

6. How do I choose the right nonprofit CRM software for my organization?

To choose the right nonprofit CRM software for your organization, consider your organization’s needs and goals, the software’s features and functionality, and the cost and support options provided by the software provider. It may also be helpful to read reviews and compare multiple CRM software options before deciding.