Nonprofit CRM: A Guide + 7 Essential Software Tools for 2024
A CRM, or client/customer relationship manager, is a powerful tool nonprofits use to track donations, create fundraising strategies that work, and build better, lasting relationships with their donors. In short, it's a crucial tool to fundraise better – with less effort. In this article, we'll look at several nonprofit CRM options so you can find one that works for your organization. Plus, we'll look at which qualities you should look for in your next (or first!) CRM.
You’ve likely spent a fair amount of time Googling nonprofit CRMs — between the sponsored ads, outdated posts, jargon-filled articles, and lists of features that all begin to blend into each other — it’s hard to know where to start. Put a pin in your endless Google scroll and pull up a chair. We’ve given this article a facelift for 2024, ensuring that all the information we’re about to share on fundraising CRMs is as up-to-date as possible. You’re getting a fresh look at the best CRM software for nonprofit organizations on the market, their features, what we love, and red flags to look out for.
Naturally, when it comes to the title of Best Nonprofit CRM, we think Donorbox CRM is the clear winner. However, your organization’s unique needs will be the ultimate determining factor. Maybe you’re really focused on finding a CRM that helps with donor management, or perhaps it is communications that your team needs support with, or is the effort of tracking offline transactions beginning to give your finance manager a migraine? Whatever your pain point is, there’s CRM software designed for nonprofits that can help you.
Can a Nonprofit CRM Help Me Build Stronger Donor Relationships?
Absolutely! CRM software for nonprofit organizations will help you track when, why, and what donors have given to your organization. They will also help you manage donors, and schedule communications, great nonprofit CRMs will even help you automate your communication.
Another critical feature of nonprofit CRM software is segmentation. You need to be able to group your donor base by characteristics that streamline and personalize your communication. Maybe it’s campaign-specific, and you need a group for everyone who attended and donated at a recent event. Maybe it’s location-specific because you have a pop-up event happening in a town and you’d like to invite donors who live in or near the town. Whatever the reason, your fundraising CRM needs to have robust segmentation features that are easy to navigate.
But finding the best nonprofit CRM software is really daunting. Your very first step should be researching options the options available.
How Do I Start Researching a Fundraising CRM?
Finding the right nonprofit CRM software should follow the same process you have for any big decision you make in your organization. It’s important to set time aside to take a holistic look at your organization and all of its moving parts and chat with key stakeholders and teams who would be most impacted by the implementation of a new nonprofit CRM. Allocate time to talk with the teams who would benefit from the tools and features CRM software offers nonprofits.
Before you start looking at your options, you should consider the following questions:
What do I actually need?
Those conversations with key internal stakeholders will come in handy as you begin to identify your needs and how a nonprofit CRM can address them. It’s always a good idea to start with your mission statement but also consider your main organizational goals. Take a deep dive and examine your current system, whether it’s an outdated CRM or something more basic like Excel — what challenges is it failing to solve?
Is my team equipped to adopt new nonprofit CRM software?
Here’s one truth you can apply as a filter to all potential fundraising CRMs: Any CRM platform you chose, should make your job easier, not harder. The best nonprofit CRM for your organization will be one that’s intuitive and easy for your team to navigate. If it requires hours of IT support and a degree in software engineering to set up, it’s probably going to cause some challenges for your nonprofit.
What’s my organization’s growth plan and can this nonprofit CRM scale as we evolve?
It doesn’t matter how big or small your organization is, your mission matters and that means you’re destined to grow. Your fundraising CRM needs to grow with you. Think about the long-term plan — handling a growing donor base, planning bigger appeals, managing more campaigns, and adding new team members. CRM software for nonprofit organizations should be able to scale and grow with you. List this as a must-have feature!
Does this nonprofit CRM software play nice with the tools we already use?
Any potential nonprofit CRM shouldn’t work in isolation. We love all-in-one cloud-based solutions (like Donorbox CRM, ahem) that connect seamlessly with your existing tools so all the vital data you’re gathering with each appeal or campaign flows effortlessly into your fundraising CRM. This means you have instant access to critical insights that allow you to make data-led decisions in the future.
Okay so now you’re able to answer these questions, you know what your organization needs and how a fundraising CRM will address these needs. It’s time to find the best nonprofit CRM software for you!
7 of the Best Nonprofit CRM Software Options
Right, let’s get stuck into it! We’ve put together an updated list of the best nonprofit CRM options available in 2024. They’re all great options. Before we dive in, remember your list of questions, and your requirements. Consider how each of these fundraising CRM platforms will help you build stronger donor relationships, gather valuable data, and ultimately raise more for your cause.
Yup, we said it. Donorbox CRM is the best nonprofit CRM. But give us a chance to tell you why, we promise, you’ll be glad you read this first. And if you make it all the way to the end of this article, and you’ve just scrolled back here to sign up for the only fundraising CRM you need, hey, nice to see you again!
Why you’ll love it
Sure, there are a few nonprofit CRMs that claim to offer the only all-in-one fundraising CRM solution, but there are actually a few all-in-one solutions out there. However, Donorbox CRM does all-in-one in truly powerful ways. Designed, built, and tested by our experienced team of developers, Donorbox CRM has been purposefully built with your nonprofit in mind.
Our features and tools communicate effortlessly with our CRM. This means that any campaign you run, event you plan, or donation form housed on the Donorbox platform will drive insights to our CRM. Open any supporter profile and you’ll see when they last donated, which events they’ve attended, crowdfunding campaigns they’ve supported and so much more. All those rich insights are a click away, giving you instant access to accurate, real-time donor data.
Donorbox CRM is the perfect fundraising CRM if you want to:
Streamline and manage your communication and outreach
Gain a deeper and more meaningful understanding of your donors
Access the kind of powerful and detailed segmentation that allows for more authentic supporter communication
Track and manage your organizational income — both online and offline transactions — so your financial records are always accurate
Easily automate reporting so you and your team can spend more time sharing your impact, instead of generating reports to figure out that impact
Unparalleled integrated email management with Mail Center.
Our sophisticated AI Assistant.
Focused segmentation and maximized outreach potential with Groups.
Powerful contextual tracking with Supporter Timeline.
With Offline Transaction Tracking you’re one click away from comprehensive income oversight and access to records that are 100% accurate.
Easily manage repeat donations, track giving behavior, and view detailed invoice histories with Recurring Payments.
With Dynamic Lists, you set the criteria for a list and experience it automatically populate with every contact that meets your predetermined set of criteria.
Segmentation “on the fly” allows you to generate near-instant lists of supporter segments from your dashboards and reports for quick insights and decision-making.
Tasks enable you to create and manage tasks for you and your team members, ensuring a streamlined approach to your daily operations, and keeping your nonprofit organized and focused.
Literally none, are you kidding? We said it was purpose-built with nonprofits in mind and we meant it.
Pricing
Donorbox CRM custom plans start at $75 a month. Sign up on your Donorbox account under the “Engage” menu, or by clicking here.
Not a Donorbox user yet? Check out our pricing to get started.
Take a more in-depth look at all the ways Donorbox CRM can elevate your fundraising and empower you to fulfill your mission here.
2. Best Nonprofit CRM for Large Organizations: Salesforce NPSP
Salesforce NPSP is a great nonprofit CRM for larger organizations. If this sounds like your organization, you’ll be glad to hear that with Salesforce NPSP you can measure, track, and update data across your fundraising, marketing, and program operations.
Why you’ll love it
You’re a big organization with deep pockets and Salesforce gets that your needs are different to the little guys. They have great tools designed to help you steward major donors and automate their moves management process. They also make it easy for you to segment donors and have nifty source codes you can use to monitor donor response to appeals.
Red flags to watch out for
You’re going to need an IT team with great skills to get this off the ground. Salesforce NPSP has a steep learning curve that requires a lot of technical know-how to navigate. If your organization doesn’t have in-house software development skills to leverage, this may not be a great fit for you.
Pricing
Interested in finding out more about Salesforce NPSP? They have a free 30-day trial. Contact them directly to find out more about their pricing.
3. Best Nonprofit CRM for Big Databases: Blackbaud Raisers Edge NXT
Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT is the Gen X-er of nonprofit CRM software — it’s been around for over 40 years. And like most Gen X members, it’s a total workhorse.
Why you’ll love it
Like Donorbox CRM, it offers a comprehensive suite of robust features, offering your nonprofit everything from donor giving history, email and direct mailing, event attendance tracking, volunteer management, membership programs, and diverse reporting.
Red flags to watch out for
Remember when we said your nonprofit CRM shouldn’t work in isolation? Unfortunately, one of the challenges with Raiser’s Edge NXT is how siloed it is. Their modules, while powerful, are built separately and don’t communicate well with each other. It comes with a steep learning curve and users have expressed concerns over the clunky interface and outdated design.
Pricing
Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT does not publish its fundraising CRM pricing online so you’ll need to reach out to their sales team to find out more.
4. Best Nonprofit CRM if You Need a Basic Free Option: Hubspot
Hubspot offers awesome CRM software for nonprofits with little to no budget. While not specifically designed for nonprofit organizations, Hubspot CRM is a free option with nice marketing tools.
Why you’ll love it
Unlike most free software options, Hupspot CRM does come with pretty decent features like contact management, email tracking, and basic reporting.
Red flags to watch out for
It’s not CRM software for nonprofit organizations, so it hasn’t been built with your organization in mind. This means it lacks critical tools that address your unique pain points. Things like donor management, event planning and ticket sales, and supporter timelines, are features your nonprofit CRM should have, and all of them are absent with Hubspot. Plus, its more advanced features like automations are only available on their paid plans, and adding these can make this free option a lot more expensive than CRM software designed for nonprofit organizations.
Pricing
Hubspot CRM has a basic free version and their Professional Customer Platform costs $1,170 per month. Find out more about their pricing here.
5. Best Nonprofit CRM for Teams on the Go: CharityEngine
Like Donorbox CRM, CharityEngine is an all-in-one tool offering features and tools that communicate well with each other.
Why you’ll love it
Following in the footsteps of many other nonprofit CRMs, CharityEngine places a strong focus on donor management with features that record touch points with donors, a direct mail tool includes built-in segmentation and real-time insights to help with donor communication. Their CRM responds well on mobile so it’s great for teams working in the field or remotely.
Red flags to watch out for
Users have cited unpredictability in the software, slow customer support, and underdeveloped features as some of the main concerns with CharityEngine.
Pricing
Charity Engine’s packages are broken down by the number of donor contacts you have. Get in touch with their sales team to find out more.
6. Best Nonprofit CRM for Simple UI: Bloomerang
Bloomerang’s well-designed interface is so easy to use, making it perfect for smaller nonprofits that may not have the resources for a fundraising CRM with a steep learning curve.
Why you’ll love it
Nonprofit CRM software should be easy to use and Bloomerang is. Its tools and features, while less extensive than other fundraising CRMs are still efficient and powerful. It’s a great choice for smaller teams.
Red flags to watch out for
With less extensive tools and features unfortunately comes limitations. Bloomerang is not a great option if you need nonprofit CRM software that tracks event attendance, recurring donations, membership management, and other fundraising features that come standard with most nonprofit CRMs, like Donorbox.
Pricing
Bloomerang’s CRM has a straightforward pricing model, based on the number of donor profiles you manage. Their tiered pricing makes it accessible for organizations of all sizes. Find out more about their pricing here.
7. Best Nonprofit CRM for Medium-Sized Organizations: Neon CRM
Neon One’s CRM is a good choice if your organization is medium-sized. They have an impressive range of CRM tools geared toward helping nonprofit organizations manage donors, members, fundraising campaigns, email, events, volunteers, and grants.
Why you’ll love it
Like Donorbox CRM, Neon CRM has great donor management features that allow you to track and collect donor details in one place, customize fields, automate donor communication, and create customized reports.
Red flags to watch out for
Their CRM interface is a lot less intuitive than you’d expect, with fewer customization options than other CRM software for nonprofit organizations on this list. This makes it a bad choice for teams who will struggle to adopt platforms with a significant learning curve.
Pricing
Neon CRM offers tiered pricing based on the number of records your organization needs and the features you’d need to enable. Find out more about their pricing here.
Final Thoughts
Phew! You’ve made it to the end, congratulations. This was a long but important read. Your organization is about to take a huge step — yep, selecting CRM software for your nonprofit organization is a huge step! While we’ve given you seven great options to get the ball rolling, only one truly stands out as the perfect fit for all organizations because of its ability to scale, its robust features, its sleek design and intuitive UI, and its ability to operate as a fundraising ecosystem, not just a donor management tool — Donorbox CRM is the best nonprofit CRM for these reasons and more.
Donorbox has always been the best option for free quality donor management with some great integration options, in addition to powerful fundraising tools and now our CRM is here to pull all of these incredible features together. Sign up today and start fundraising in fifteen minutes! Already a user? Add CRM to your account here.
Read helpful blogs on donor management, fundraising, Donorbox products, and more on our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the best Donorbox resources in your inbox every month.
Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
Kristine Ensor
