Table of contents
Table of contents
Nonprofit organizations have to manage hundreds of contacts and interactions, from new prospects to lifelong donors and volunteers. Constituent relationship management (CRM) software is essential in helping nonprofits create and store detailed donor profiles—and with advanced CRM software, they can do even more.
In this blog, we’ll make your shopping process easier by walking you through the best nonprofit CRM software options on the market. Plus, we have top tips on what to look for in a CRM platform, so you can choose the right one for your organization.
1. Givebutter: The best nonprofit CRM for all-in-one fundraising
🧈 The spread: Givebutter is the only all-in-one fundraising solution that brings together everything changemakers need to raise more—including the world's first free CRM for nonprofits! With unlimited contacts and easy-to-navigate donor management tools, Givebutter's CRM can spare you the headache (and monthly fees!) that come with clunkier platforms.
Plus, all of Givebutter's easy event ticketing features, fundraising pages, and donation forms integrate automatically with your CRM, so you have a record of every contact's donations, registrations, peer-to-peer campaigns, and communications in one neat timeline right at your fingertips.
📣 Standout features:
- Personalized donor profiles
- Custom fields, contact tags, and notes
- Automatic activity tracking in a timeline view
- Giving summary charts and donation management
- Wealth screening tools through Donorsearch integration
- End-of-year reporting
- Robust donor segments and contact management
- Self-serve importing and migration
- Access to 100+ other free features for fundraising, nonprofit marketing, and donor engagement
💰 Price: Givebutter’s nonprofit CRM is completely free—really! Givebutter is free thanks to optional tips we receive from donors when they make a donation through Givebutter donation forms, fundraising pages, and events.
🔥 Our take: Whether you're brand new to the world of CRMs or you're looking to switch to a better platform to meet your needs, Givebutter is the best nonprofit CRM that’s built to scale as your organization grows—without any of the cost. We know we’re biased, but with access to all of Givebutter’s other highly rated free tools and 1,000+ free integrations, creating an account is a no-brainer.
Start building better donor relationships today
2. Bloomerang: Best nonprofit CRM for donor analysis
🧈 The spread: Bloomerang is a cloud-based donor management software solution that’s designed specifically for nonprofits. The platform offers cutting-edge CRM tools, like an interactive dashboard, donor histories, marketing automation, and in-depth reports.
📣 Standout features:
- Wealth screening
- Unlimited users
- Engagement scoring
- Zapier integration
- Open API
- Data hygiene tools
💰 Price: Bloomerang pricing is based on the number of records you have, starting at 500 records/month for $119/month.
🔥 Our take: Bloomerang’s integrations and inclusion of advanced features like wealth screening and engagement scoring make it the best nonprofit CRM for organizations that want to take their donor relationships to the next level. Given the price, however, Bloomerang is not well-suited for small, grassroots organizations, but rather larger nonprofits interested in some of their next-level functionality.
3. Neon One: Best nonprofit CRM for customer service
🧈 The spread: Neon One is a beloved fundraising software solution for nonprofits that offers a robust CRM, plus some other pretty sweet tools like peer-to-peer fundraising capabilities, event management features, and more.
📣 Standout features:
- Custom fields
- User-friendly dashboard
- Engagement timeline
- Pre-built and custom reporting
- Radius search tools
💰 Price: Neon One offers a few different pricing plans depending on your nonprofit's annual revenue and the number of features and integrations you need access to. Pricing plans range from $99–$399+/month.
🔥 Our take: For organizations that value customer service when it comes to choosing the best nonprofit CRM, Neon One might just be the answer. While all of their CRM tools are pretty standard, their highly-rated support is what makes them stand out.
4. Salesforce: Best CRM for enterprise-level nonprofits
🧈 The spread: Salesforce is one of the most well-known names in sales and CRM software. Their NonProfit Success Pack (NPSP), specifically designed for charities, offers a lot of functionality, including access to a 360-view of fundraising efforts, donor insights, real-time reports, and an intuitive dashboard.
📣 Standout features:
- AI-powered insights
- Detailed donor insights
- Access to other Salesforce tools
- Reporting and analytics
💰 Price: 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofits in the U.S. are eligible for up to 10 free licenses to the Nonprofit Success Pack.
🔥 Our take: While Salesforce has some powerful tools, users on G2 note a steep learning curve, increased fees as nonprofits scale, and hard-to-reach customer service. For large organizations that want the power of Salesforce, already have a grip on their donor information, and don’t mind taking the time to learn the platform, this nonprofit CRM could be a great match.
5. Guided Fundraising: Best nonprofit CRM for personalized coaching
🧈 The spread: Guided Fundraising, which is Network for Good's new name since becoming a part of Bonterra, is an all-in-one fundraising software (like Givebutter) that offers nonprofits several tools for success—including a CRM. Easy to use and highly rated, this platform's CRM offers quite a few stellar features.
📣 Standout features:
- Interactive dashboard
- Automated data hygiene tools
- Free onboarding specialist
- Personalized coaching
- Pledge management
💰 Price: Guided Fundraising does not publicly list their prices. In order to receive a quote, potential customers need to get in touch with a Bonterra sales representative.
🔥 Our take: Guided Fundraising has an excellent reputation for being a reliable, easy-to-use CRM that seamlessly integrates with other essential fundraising tools. However, without any public pricing information, small or grassroots nonprofits might be blindsided by a big bill. For organizations prepared to pay for the features they need, including a personal fundraising coach for an additional fee, Bonterra Guided Fundraising might be the perfect match.
6. Virtuous: Best nonprofit CRM for automation tools
🧈 The spread: Virtuous is trusted by several big-name organizations like Habitat for Humanity and the Rainforest Foundation to help keep all of their donor data updated and organized. Plus, they offer email and communication tools, volunteer mobilization features, and a whole lot more.
📣 Standout features:
- Task automation
- Forecasting
- Custom gift ask pipeline
- Suggested gift asks
- Best next-call reporting
💰 Price: Virtuous lists a few pricing plans on their website, starting at $400/month, but larger nonprofits will need to reach out to the Virtuous Sales team to find the right plan for the number of contacts they have and monthly emails they send.
🔥 Our take: One of the biggest draws of Virtuous CRM is the platform’s future-esque automation and prediction tools. For organizations that are in need of a platform that will speed up their workflows and cut down on friction, Viritulous might be the right choice.
7. DonorPerfect: Best nonprofit CRM for integrations
🧈 The spread: Like other nonprofit CRMs on this list, DonorPerfect offers more than just a place to house detailed donor profiles. This software solution comes with fundraising event functionality, donation forms, and some pretty sweet automation tools.
📣 Standout features:
- Robust integrations
- Automated monthly giving options
- DonorPerfect mobile app
- Custom filters
💰 Price: DonorPerfect doesn’t list all of their pricing publicly, although they do note that their packages start at $99/month.
🔥 Our take: For organizations that already have a few tools that they don’t want to part with, DonorPerfect is a great fit. With lots of seamless integration—like Constant Contact, Quickbooks, and more—nonprofits can take their beloved software solutions and bring them all into one place.
How to choose the best nonprofit CRM for your organization
Now that you’ve got seven great CRM platforms to consider, you’re probably wondering how to narrow down your options. Here’s what you need to consider any time you’re comparison shopping for CRM software:
Priorities ❗
When considering the best nonprofit CRM for your needs, consider your short-term and long-term organizational goals and must-have features in order to make the shopping process smoother.
Users 👤
When looking for the perfect CRM fit for your nonprofit, it’s crucial to consider the people that will be interacting with it, including:
- Team members: How many team members will use the CRM, if they have technical experience? Which team members will use your CRM the most? How much technical expertise do they have?
- Donors: What does the donor-facing side of the software look like? Is it user-friendly and intuitive?
Existing tools ⚒️
Before jumping into a new software solution, be sure to audit your current tools. How many can you integrate or replace with the CRM system you’re considering?
Budget 💰
Generally, the more contacts you need to store, and the more features you need, the more expensive your plan will be. Before creating an account or pressing “buy,” consider these potential fees:
- Monthly costs: Many nonprofit CRMs charge a monthly fee based on your annual revenue or the number of contacts you have. While the monthly cost is often what’s listed on a CRM’s pricing page, it may not be the total cost you’ll pay for the platform. This cost is often in addition to platform and payment processing fees.
- Platform or payment processing fees: If you use your CRM to accept any funds, you’ll may be charged platform or payment processing fees for each transaction. Some fundraising platforms, like Givebutter, let your donors cover these costs so you receive 100% of their donation.
- Setup and training: Many CRM vendors include a couple of free setup and training sessions, but if you think you’ll need more help, ask each CRM vendor if they charge extra.
- Data migration: Software vendors may help you migrate your data to their CRM from whichever CRM or spreadsheet you’re using. However, there is usually a flat-rate fee or hourly fee for this service.
- Number of constituents: CRM plans typically include a set number of contacts and charge a small fee per additional contact. If you need to house a large number of donor profiles, make sure you choose a CRM built for large organizations.
- Number of users: Similarly, the number of users, locations, or devices your organization has can affect the final price of your CRM.
Customization needs 🎨
A great nonprofit CRM will offer lots of tailored options to help your organization create one seamless donor management experience, including custom segments, filters, notes, tags, fields, reports, and dashboards.
Extras ✨
No two CRMs are the same. Some are specifically designed for a few niche purposes, while others can take care of everything. When shopping for a nonprofit CRM, you might see tools aimed at:
- Donor management: Organize contact details, track donors' giving history and interactions, and generate reports.
- Donation management and fundraising: Accept donations and monitor overall fundraising process.
- Grant management: Research organizations and help you track the grant application process.
- Event management: Sell tickets and host virtual, in-person, or hybrid events.
- Volunteer management: Recruit and schedule volunteers.
- Advocacy efforts: Communicate with key individuals and groups.
- Program management: Monitor programs and funnel donations.
Before you go comparison-shopping, ask yourself where your organization is heading and how your fundraising CRM will help you get there. It’s up to you to decide which of these features are must-have for your organization or simply nice to have.
Sign up (for free!) for the best CRM for nonprofits 🧈
Givebutter is one of the highest-rated all-in-one fundraising and CRM tools for nonprofits—and it’s completely free (forever!).
Easy to use, sleek, and simple—and packed with 100+ other free features like auction and event management tools, text-to-donate capabilities, and a whole lot more—Givebutter helps changemakers like you make more impact for less and takes the cake for best CRM for nonprofits. 🎂
Did we mention it's free? 💛 Create your account today and see why Givebutter is the most-loved donor management software on G2.