The 9 Best CRM for Nonprofits to Make an Impact

Running a nonprofit organization requires wearing many hats. From fundraising to community outreach, nonprofit teams juggle a lot while making every dollar count.

To achieve your organization’s goals, you not only need to find donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries but also create lasting relationships with them.

A solid Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can help you do just that! You can opt for a free contact management software according to your business needs. 

With features like donor profiles, email templates, payment processing, and analytics, the right CRM will empower you to enhance your organization’s efficiency and build stronger connections.

Which Is the Best Nonprofit CRM?

Customer relationship management for nonprofits involves managing donor relations, coordinating fundraising efforts, and optimizing your organization’s impact. To accomplish all of this, you need to find the right tool.

While the best CRM software for nonprofits depends on its size, goals, and specific needs, here are my 3 top recommendations based on personal experience:

Option A: BIGContacts

BIGContacts stands out as the best option for small to medium nonprofit organizations looking for simplicity and affordability. With the user-friendly interface and robust features of this low-cost CRM for nonprofits, you can manage contacts and relationships without spending exorbitant amounts of time on training or setup. Furthermore, the forever-free plan allows organizations to save valuable financial resources for their causes.

Option B: Blackbaud

For large-scale non-profit organizations, Blackbaud is the CRM of choice. Combining extensive fundraising programs with CRM functionality, it can cater to the needs of enterprise-scale nonprofits. Blackbaud offers a comprehensive platform with features like moves management, stewardship features, and multi-channel campaigns.

Option C: GiveButter

Lastly, if your organization’s primary focus is online fundraising, GiveButter is an excellent choice. The free platform is designed specifically for nonprofit organizations and service groups. With engaging fundraising pages, real-time tracking, and easy campaign creation, GiveButter enables organizations to maximize their online fundraising success.

9 Top CRM for Nonprofits

Compiling this list of the 9 Best CRMs for nonprofits required careful scrutiny of key features such as extensive donor management, strong reporting, robust security, and integrations. I used my personal experience in the CRM industry as well as peer evaluations, user reviews, and the popularity of the platforms, to come up with the final list.

1. BIGContacts – Best Contact Management & Email Marketing CRM for Small to Medium-Sized Nonprofits

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BIGContacts CRM intelligently meets the needs of smaller teams, providing a system that is not overwhelming yet suitably comprehensive.

It delivers an array of features to manage contacts effectively, thus keeping you connected with all stakeholders, be it donors, volunteers, or beneficiaries.

In my opinion, this is one of the strongest CRM contenders for nonprofits to track communication history, send email campaigns on a personalized level, and automate tasks and reminders to avoid missing out on critical actions.

This nonprofit CRM software is also pocket-friendly, with a forever free plan for small teams.

Here’s what Sennen Quigley, Manager at The Foundation for Financial Education, says about BIGContacts:

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This is the best CRM for small nonprofits, offering a snapshot view of every contact, giving you a complete picture in seconds. Not only does it ensure all your critical information is in one accessible place, but it also facilitates collaboration, making the overall operation smoother and more effective.

What You’ll Like:

• Powerful contact management software, including segmented contact lists, custom data fields, tags, communication tracking, social media integration, and more
• Sales pipeline management and automated drip email marketing feature that enhances engagement
• Smart reports and analytics to assess team performance and campaign effectiveness
• Option to customize according to your own process and workflow systems
• Exceptional and round-the-clock support, available via phone, chat, email
• Quickbooks integration to track all transactions from within the contact records

What You May Not Like:

• Search functionality for email templates could be improved
• Frequent software updates, although helpful, require you to adapt continually

Pricing:

• Forever free for up to 100 contacts.
• Paid plans start at $9.99/month/1,000 contacts with a 15-day free trial.

Read More: The CRM Implementation Plan: 12 Step Strategy Process

2. DonorPerfect – Best for Fundraising & Donor Management

Image Source: DonorPerfect Knowledge Base

DonorPerfect is a donor management software designed to help nonprofits grow to their fullest potential by attracting new donors, nurturing relationships, and gaining actionable insights.

The feature I liked most about this fundraising CRM was its ability to create custom online forms to gain more donations. It also comes with handy segmentation tools to target donors precisely, thus enhancing engagement and conversion rates.

To top it all, DonorPerfect data can be integrated with other software applications that your nonprofit may be using, creating a unified toolset for an all-around smoother running of your operations.

What You’ll Like:

• Comprehensive fundraising tools, including recurring donations and crowdfunding
• Integrated payment processing, simplifying the process and reducing errors 
• Standard and customizable reports for advanced data insights
• Feature to keep track of volunteer time and non-monetary gifts
• Automated task assignments and workflows to enhance organizational productivity

What You May Not Like:

• Some users report a dated user interface
• Data imports may sometimes require additional assistance

Pricing:

• Starts at $99/month.

3. Donorbox CRM – Best for Fundraising & Donor Management

Image Source: Donorbox

Powered by AI, Donorbox CRM served as an all-in-one donor management solution that truly empowered me to strengthen relationships with donors and boost our fundraising efforts. The built-in Mail Center was truly helpful for my team, allowing us to stay on top of all donor communications without ever needing to leave the platform.

What stood out even more were the advanced segmentation tools. They made it incredibly easy to target the right donors at the right time, increasing the impact of our outreach. I was able to effortlessly track donor information, craft personalized outreach materials using AI, and analyze the effectiveness of our fundraising campaigns—all in one place.

Additionally, Donorbox’s intuitive fundraising suite provided detailed insights that helped me make data-driven decisions. I could optimize strategies, identify key opportunities for growth, and nurture long-term donor relationships. It made managing our fundraising operations not only efficient but also impactful.

What You’ll Like:

• Integration with powerful fundraising tools, including crowdfunding, event ticketing, and more
• Built-in Mail Center to help connect multiple Gmail or Outlook accounts making it easy to send, track, and manage emails directly within the platform
• Effective segmentation for maximized outreach potential and more effective campaigns
• Dynamic Lists to automatically group every contact that meets your predetermined set of criteria.
• Moments feature to transform key donor actions and events into impactful outreach opportunities for timely, personalized engagement

What You May Not Like:

• When emailing a group via the Mail Center, accounts linked to Google and Outlook have limits on the number of recipients that can be included at once
• While Donorbox offers a range of features, its customization options may be limited

Pricing:

• Custom pricing.

4. Bloomerang – Best for Donor Retention

Image Source: Bloomerang

Bloomerang is a CRM designed specifically for nonprofits and focuses on donor retention, ensuring that organizations can build sustainable, long-lasting relationships with their supporters.

With rich data insights and comprehensive donor profiles, this contact management software for nonprofits helps manage communications, track donor interactions, and stay organized.

I love its filter-based reporting and smart analytics tools, which help identify at-risk donors and improve donor conversations and engagement strategies. You can also benefit from publicly available wealth screening data to identify high-value donors.

What You’ll Like:

• Comprehensive donor profiles and useful data insights to boost donations 
• Generosity level tracking for donors, facilitating effective prioritization
• Monitor transactions on the go with a powerful mobile app
• In-built payment processor to maximize your fundraising effortlessly 
• Smooth third-party integrations with email marketing tools, accounting software, and more

What You May Not Like:

• The email formatting and personalization options may be limited
• Onboarding and initial setup may be time-consuming

Pricing:

• Starts at $79/month. Optional phone support is available at an additional $35/month.

5. EngageBay – Best for Lead Generation & Marketing

Image Source: EngageBay

EngageBay offers a comprehensive CRM solution for nonprofits, with specialized tools to manage contacts, automate marketing, identify potential leads, and track user engagement.

With its all-in-one platform, the tool ensures that your nonprofit can manage its relationships with donors, members, and supporters seamlessly.

Email templates, landing pages, targeted email campaigns, task reminders, and advanced analytics improve outreach efforts, while integrations with other nonprofit solutions ensure a simplified workflow.

What You’ll Like:

• Customizable workflows improve volunteer effectiveness
• Advanced email templates and targeted campaigns to enhance communication
• Intuitive task reminders and contact management to facilitate organized operations
• Social collaboration tools to manage volunteers, exchange ideas, and assign tasks
• Integrated calendar and appointment scheduling to improve donor relationships

What You May Not Like:

• A handful of users report that the mobile app experience is limited
• Importing contacts may require additional steps

Pricing:

• Free for 10 users with 250 contacts and limited features. Paid options start at $13.79/user/month.

6. Blackbaud CRM – Best for Fundraising for Enterprise-Scale Nonprofits

Image Source: Reviano

For large-scale nonprofits that have a distinct set of donors and need to engage with them through multiple channels, my top recommendation would be Blackbaud CRM.

This platform combines CRM functionality with a diverse range of fundraising programs, providing an all-inclusive solution to manage events, volunteers, memberships, and more.

Blackbaud CRM unlocks the potential for increased funding and operational efficiency with flexible moves management and robust stewardship features. Plus, its business intelligence and data analytics capabilities make it a powerful addition to the tech stack of an enterprise-scale nonprofit.

What You’ll Like:

• Revenue management features like automated receipting, end-to-end card processing, and more 
• Extensible fundraising data model for accurate tracking and recognition of donors
• Duplication management and data enrichment keep your database clean and usable at all times
• Mobile access to view essential information on the go 
• Open industry-standard REST APIs for developing tailored applications and extensions

What You May Not Like:

• The platform can be challenging to learn and requires significant training
• The high cost of implementation and ongoing service fees might be prohibitive for smaller non-profits

Pricing:

• Custom pricing.

Also Read: Lead Generation Through CRM Software: Everything You Need to Know

7. Neon CRM – Best for Supporter Management for Small to Mid-Sized Nonprofits

Image Source: Neon CRM Help Center

The next tool on my list of the best CRM for nonprofit organizations is Neon CRM.

Offering donor and membership management, e-mail marketing, and event registration, it provides an ecosystem that fosters deep and meaningful relationships with constituents and supporters across digital platforms.

Neon CRM also integrates with industry-standard tools like Quickbooks, Constant Contact, and Mailchimp, ensuring that all of your systems speak to each other seamlessly.

I found the workflow automation capabilities of this client management software for nonprofits to be extremely valuable for improving my team’s operational efficiency. Plus, the smart deduplication kept my database free of redundancies.

What You’ll Like:

• Ease of creating and managing fundraising events with automated follow-up processes
• Offers integrations with third-party payment gateways to ease financial account management
• Generates comprehensive reports for donor activity and contributions
• Insightful dashboards for real-time data visualization and metrics tracking
• Automated membership renewals and notifications to decrease manual work

What You May Not Like:

• The user interface might feel less intuitive for inexperienced users
• The system can struggle with speed when handling larger data sets

Pricing:

• Starts at $99/month.

8. Keela – Best for Improving Collaborative Teamwork & Stakeholder Engagement

Image Source: Keela Help Center

For nonprofit organizations that are in search of a fundraising tool that also enhances their team’s productivity and collaboration, I would recommend giving Keela a go.

Whether it is donor management, email marketing, fundraising, or robust reporting, Keela does it all while keeping the process manageable and straightforward. It simplifies donor and contact management, supported by intelligent tools that provide actionable insights.

Keela is also a reliable option to run multiple fundraising campaigns simultaneously. I found the tool’s ability to bring data from multiple sources and present it as digestible reports to be quite impressive.

What You’ll Like:

• Rich contact profiling for extensive visibility into donor information
• Smart automation features to streamline recurring tasks
• Flexible and encompassing donation form capabilities
• Easy creation and execution of email marketing campaigns
• Intuitive project management tools for effortless team coordination

What You May Not Like:

• Certain important features like automation and wealth screening may require an upgraded, pricier subscription
• The reporting interface may not be as detailed as provided by some competitors

Pricing:

• Starts at $99/month (without premium care, automation, peer-to-peer fundraising, etc.)

9. GiveButter – Best for Online Fundraising

Image Source: GiveButter Blog

As a one-stop, free fundraising CRM platform, GiveButter can help you raise more funds while paying less.

It offers several avenues for fundraising, including donations, events, and team/peer-to-peer fundraising. You can create attractive, engaging fundraising pages with rich media, social integrations, and dynamic donor walls.

Adding to its benefits is the dashboard for tracking real-time campaign progress and donor engagement. I also like that it lets you build segmented lists for donors, which helps target specific groups with personalized and automated messaging.

What You’ll Like:

• Flexible and engaging fundraising pages for donor attraction
• Ease of setting up campaigns, registration forms, and tickets
• Automated emails and receipts for donations made
• Transaction history with options for refunds and recurring donations
• Real-time tracking and reporting on all donation-related activities

What You May Not Like:

• Automatic updates and changes to the system can be confusing and disruptive
• Limited customization of email receipts may lead to less personalized donor communication

Pricing:

• Givebutter operates on a “Tips” system where all functionalities are provided for free, thanks to optional donations from users. But if tips are disabled, there is a small platform fee of 1-5%, along with standard processing fees (2.9% + 30¢) charged by their payment processors.

Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation of products or tools chosen for this nonprofit CRM software comparison follows an unbiased, systematic approach that ensures a fair, insightful, and well-rounded review. This method employs six key factors:

1. User Reviews / Ratings– Direct experiences from users, including ratings and feedback from reputable sites, provide a ground-level perspective. This feedback is critical in understanding overall satisfaction and potential problems.
2. Essential Features & Functionality: The value of a product is ascertained by its core features and overall functionality. Through an in-depth exploration of these aspects, the practical usefulness and effectiveness of the tools are carefully evaluated.
3. Ease of Use: The user-friendliness of a product or service is assessed, focusing on the design, interface, and navigation. This ensures a positive experience for users of all levels of expertise.
4. Customer Support: The quality of customer support is examined, taking into account its efficiency and how well it supports users in different phases – setting up, addressing concerns, and resolving operational issues.
5. Value for Money: Value for money is evaluated by comparing the quality, performance, and features. The goal is to help the reader understand whether they would be getting their money’s worth.
6. Personal Experience/Expert’s Favorites: This part of the evaluation criteria draws insightful observations from the personal experience of the writer and the opinions of industry experts.

Frequently Asked Quetions

What is a CRM for nonprofits?

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) for nonprofits is a software system designed to simplify and streamline an organization's constituent management, donor communication, and fundraising efforts. It helps nonprofits centralize and automate their operations, enabling them to build stronger relationships with supporters and further their mission.

Why do nonprofits need CRM?

Nonprofits need CRM to effectively manage donor information, manage tasks, improve engagement, and optimize fundraising efforts.

Such solutions offer improved donor retention, targeted communication, streamlined processes, and data-driven decision-making. They help nonprofits save time, enhance relationships with supporters, and ultimately increase their overall impact.

How to choose CRM software for nonprofits

To choose CRM for nonprofits, consider the software's functionality, ease of use, customization options, budget, and available customer support. The goal is to find a solution that aligns with the organization's size, needs, and financial resources while offering a user-friendly experience for staff members.

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How much does a nonprofit CRM system cost?

The cost of a nonprofit CRM system can vary based on several factors, including the scale and complexity of operations, features, number of users, customizations, and the specific provider. Understanding how CRM pricing is structured is crucial, as this can impact the total cost. 

For instance, perpetual licenses, subscriptions, or usage-based models could be used. Some platforms may offer a forever-free plan, which is particularly beneficial for smaller nonprofits, while others might offer tier-based pricing that can be scaled as per the organization's needs.