Nonprofit organizations and charities depend on their donors to survive. They need to be able to communicate with them effectively, keep track of donations and other contributions, and ensure they are meeting the needs of those who support their mission. If you want to find out how a CRM software can help your organization get in front of new donors or increase engagement with existing ones, read on!
In this guide, we review How To Use Crm For Nonprofits, nonprofit client tracking software, freshsales for nonprofits, and crm donor management.
How To Use Crm For Nonprofits
Non-profit organizations have unique needs when it comes to CRM software.
Non-profit organizations are unique in that their purpose is fundamentally different from that of for-profit businesses. Nonprofits, despite their name, don’t make money and have a much more narrow focus when it comes to their goals, strategy and expectations.
For example, non-profits may not need every feature that a CRM offers; in fact they may only need one or two key features: contact management and lead generation. By comparison, since for profit companies need to generate revenue through selling products and services they will likely require all the other features included in most CRMs such as sales force automation (SFA) tools like email marketing automation, data visualizations and reporting capabilities.
Track Donors and Prospects Correctly.
Tracking donors, prospects and volunteers is one of the most important aspects to maintaining a strong CRM strategy. You need to know who has given money, who has come into contact with the organization (prospects) and those that have become involved in some capacity. This includes tracking events as well as donations.
The best way to approach this is by using a combination of automation tools along with manual input from your staff members or volunteers. Some situations may require additional information beyond what can be automatically entered into the system so make sure you’re not missing anything when updating donor records or prospect profiles!
Use the right tools to track volunteer hours and donations.
When it comes to tracking your nonprofit’s donations and volunteer hours, there are a few options. You can use a general CRM, like Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365, which is great if you have a large donation base or multiple locations with employees needing to submit time sheets.
However, these tools may not be ideal for smaller organizations that don’t need as much functionality. In this case, you’ll want to take advantage of free CRM software like Zoho Projects or Trello (which offer free basic accounts) or Hubspot (which offers an online toolkit for nonprofits).
All of these tools allow you to track donations and volunteer hours in real-time so that everyone on your team is aware of where things stand throughout the organization at any given time.
Use an integration that makes donations easy to track, get reported on, and improve fundraising efficiency.
One of the most important reasons to use a CRM is to track donations, so you can better understand who your donors are and what they want. You can use this information to improve fundraising efficiency by targeting new donors who fit your target audience, or by keeping tabs on existing donors so that you know when it’s time for them to make their next gift.
To get started with tracking donations in your CRM, try using an integration that makes it easy for you to bring all of this data into one place. For example, if you’re using Salesforce as your main platform and have created a custom object called “Donations,” then all you need is an integration with Givewired’s donation software platform. Once set up with our integration app (which takes about two minutes), every donation will automatically be added as a Contact or Lead entry within the Salesforce database—and since everything is connected via API-based webhooks, there won’t be any extra steps required on either side!
If you don’t yet have a custom object set up specifically for Donations but still want access immediately after receiving money from customers or other nonprofits organizations interested in making charitable contributions towards causes they care about through campaigns like Giving Tuesday then go ahead create one first before proceeding further down below where we explain how exactly this works step-by-step.”
Use automated and targeted marketing campaigns with personalized messaging that helps ensure you are communicating in a meaningful way.
- Use personalization to improve response rates.
- Use automation to reduce manual effort.
- Use targeted marketing to improve conversion rates.
- Use email campaigns to communicate with your supporters, volunteers, and donors about upcoming events or opportunities for involvement in the organization’s work.
Ask for feedback from your community to make sure you continue to meet their needs as effectively as possible.
You can use CRM software to help you collect and manage your community’s feedback. Ask your volunteers or members to give you feedback on what they like and don’t like about the organization, its website, newsletters, and other communications. You can also ask them questions like:
- Is this information useful?
- How could we make it more useful?
- Are there any topics that are missing from our newsletters?
Nonprofift CRMs need to be robust enough for all of your fundraising efforts but include additional features to efficiently track and manage volunteers, email campaigns and member engagement.
Nonprofit CRMs need to be robust enough for all of your fundraising efforts but include additional features to efficiently track and manage volunteers, email campaigns and member engagement. You’ll want a CRM that can help you quickly manage donor inquiries, update your database in real-time, set up email marketing campaigns and record information about those donors who have signed up for recurring gifts.
Many nonprofit organizations use their CRM as an essential tool for managing volunteer hours so they can plan better events based on the number of volunteers available. This means that volunteer management software should be able to track hours worked by each individual as well as group projects completed by teams of volunteers. Additionally, it’s important for organizations with memberships or annual giving programs to be able to track renewals and dues payments made by all members so they know when it’s time to send out renewal notices or make sure money is being collected from those who haven’t paid yet (and alert them if they need to).
Email marketing has become one of the most effective ways nonprofits communicate with current supporters while raising awareness among potential new donors through email campaigns or newsletters sent directly from their organization’s website using one-to-one communication tools within their web presence CMS platform (like WordPress). Using third party systems like MailChimp allows these organizations do this themselves without having any technical knowledge required because these systems offer templates which provide easy customization options which anyone can use without having any knowledge of coding languages such as HTML5/CSS3 etcetera..
nonprofit client tracking software
Nonprofits rely on case managers to work with people or clients dealing with homelessness, addiction, serious healthcare issues, and more. Case managers meet with clients, provide the necessary education and emotional support, and connect them with external sources to continue their growth. Case management software for nonprofits must help case managers tackle all this and keep track of progress.
The following 10 software options were developed for case managers, many by case managers themselves, and were built for a specific field and their needs.
Case management, also often referred to as human services management, helps organizations support their beneficiaries by creating various programs, recording case notes, making case plans, solving issues, and tracking any progress or growth.
Case managers meet with clients (beneficiaries), discuss issues they’re dealing with, and connect them with the resources that fit them best. Nonprofit case managers must remain ethical and build trust with their clients to ensure continued growth.
Case management software is a single system that lets case managers create, record, and plan programs to help their clients as well as track all data.
Nonprofits should invest in case management software for help with –
Many case management software systems enable nonprofits to comply with local, state, and federal laws as well.
The following list of software options includes software targeted to specific fields like homelessness, health care, and addiction. Many of them are flexible enough to be used by any nonprofit.
This software serves nonprofits, the public sector, and philanthropists. But it’s best suited for those in social services.
Case managers can use Apricot 360 to:
Apricot 360 is also available on a mobile app so that case managers can use the software while on the road. Organizations can try Apricot 360 free for 30 days.
FAMCare is a case management software that works best for nonprofits working with families and children, the homeless, mental health, and long-term care.
It can be set up on-premise or cloud-based on any device to allow case managers to use it while visiting clients in their homes.
The following features let case managers:
This software is supported by data scientists and social workers who understand case managers’ needs with 24/7 tech support.
Organizations can purchase a subscription license with maintenance and hosting included. They can also purchase a FAMCare license and do an on-premises installation with a separate maintenance agreement. Sign up for a free demo and contact FAMCare for more information.
Salesforce is well known to many nonprofits thanks to its online donation and donor management tools. But they also have case management software.
This software option includes a home page to help case managers view all upcoming meetings and tasks. Case managers can also use Salesforce to quickly search for clients and easily find crucial details and connections.
Salesforce is an excellent option for charities and nonprofits with its other features, including grant management, fundraising tools, and marketing.
Salesforce’s case management software costs $360 a year. Their Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) with fundraising and client engagement features is also automatically installed in this product.
Donorbox seamlessly integrates with Salesforce NPSP to help you manage your donor data more effectively and use it for important tasks like case management. It takes only 4 steps to get started and Donorbox is there to help you every step of the way. Check out this quick video guide to learn more about this integration –
PlanStreet was explicitly developed for organizations with reentry programs, homeless management, and child and family care.
This software has specialized features for each of these program types with
PlanStreet is a flexible system that can help organizations with their specific needs.
Case managers can also use PlanStreet to
Prices start at $50 per user/month (billed annually) for a custom licensing plan. Contact sales to learn more.
Penelope by Social Solutions helps organizations focus on billing issues with their case management software.
It also includes many of the same options provided by Apricot 360 except
Request a demo to learn more.
Foothold Technology works best for human services organizations working with developmental disabilities, mental health, substance use, homelessness, and housing.
This case management software offers
Foothold also helps case managers meet external and internal audit standards and provides accessible remote access to client data.
Schedule a demo with Foothold Technology for more information.
The purpose of My Junna is to simplify the day-to-day activities of case managers and patient advocates. A long-time case manager created My Junna to improve efficiency and communication between team members.
It’s a cloud-based platform that can be used anywhere. It’s also HIPPA compliant.
With My Junna, case managers can track client progress, family members, professionals, demographics, and assessments in one location and assign team members to tasks. It also has dashboards for clients, where employees can see tasks, billable time, and calendars and easily monitor the progress and targets.
Other stand-out features include:
My Junna has a one-time $199 set-up fee, and monthly prices start at $89 monthly for the first user. Additional users are $59 a month.
CaseWorthy is a flexible case management software that allows organizations to customize and build workflows that work best for their staff and clients. It also helps case managers sort information to better understand their client’s needs and program effectiveness.
It is ideal for organizations that work with homeless populations because they understand the continuum of care needs.
CaseWorthy can help with:
This software also helps organizations find and apply for grant funding and remain compliant with HUD regulations. Schedule a demo to learn more.
Notehouse was created by a lawyer offering legal services out of her van. She saw a need for attorneys and social workers in the nonprofit field and came up with simple, affordable, and user-friendly software for anyone who takes notes on humans.
freshsales for nonprofits
Freshsales for donor outreach and tracking
Best for: community development charities
If you’re running a community-based organisation, like a local food bank or arts collective, we think Freshsales is the best CRM for you.
As an incredibly easy-to-use system with a penchant for customisation, you can store pretty much every bit of information about your donors in Freshsales, including addresses for door-to-door visits.
Communication is a must when it comes to raising money. People want to know exactly what they’re donating to and where their money has gone. Freshsales boasts a built-in phone dialer with pay-as-you-go call rates for low-cost donor outreach.
You can use this service to make as many phone calls as you’d like from inside the system. All relevant information – such as a donor’s bank details, name, and email – can then be quickly logged into the Freshsales system.
Freshsales’ AI tool ‘Freddy’ is also clever enough to allocate an automatic lead score to your contact. This is a great way to recognise and reward valuable supporter relationships.
Freshsales pricing
Freshsales costs £12 per user for its lowest-priced plan, putting it in the middle of the CRM cost spectrum. One area we think Freshsales doesn’t score so well in is feature allowances.
Most of its elements have caps. For instance, while it permits an unlimited number of contacts, only 1,000 of these can be used for marketing emails per month on the Freshsales Growth plan.
Salesforce for impact reporting
Best for: charities with lots of trustees
Our full review of the Salesforce platform outlines that Salesforce is an incredibly sophisticated CRM tool, which makes it ideal for NPOs with complex operations and lots of trustees.
As you’ll be aware, every charity needs to prepare a trustee annual review each year, outlining where you’ve got your money from and what you’re planning to do with it.
Startups’ specialist team of testers found that Salesforce has the biggest range of dashboards and reports among all of our CRM brands, dramatically simplifying the process.
Displaying this data is also very easy. You can use number and speedometer widgets or select a donut, funnel, line, bar, or dot chart.
Used alongside Salesforce’s high-powered analytics – including website visitor tracking – you can build real insights for your donor base and present key information to stakeholders. Such transparency is crucial to nurturing important working relationships with large partners.
Salesforce pricing
Salesforce Essential costs £20 per user, per month.
However, NPOs should contact the Salesforce customer team to qualify for Salesforce’s special ‘Power for Us’ package, which provides charities with 10 free subscriptions.
HubSpot for fundraising campaigns
Best for: seasonal fundraising
For campaigning and awareness, HubSpot’s scores are green across the board. A favourite amongst cash-poor charities due to its generous free plan, HubSpot takes care of all those repetitive outreach tasks that can take up a lot of management time.
Users can send follow up emails directly to donors from the HubSpot system. You can also send autoresponses, and gather insights on who is reading and engaging with your messages.
We therefore most recommend HubSpot to those who carry out seasonal campaigns – for example, themed sends during Christmas.
Another strong point is that HubSpot integrates with website builders, so you can use it for lead generation via webforms or pop-ups.
As a charitable cherry on top, you can also integrate HubSpot with ecommerce builders like BigCommerce and WooCommerce. This is a great way to upsell any charity merchandise sold on your website.
HubSpot pricing
NPOs with more capital to spare can apply for HubSpot CRM’s nonprofit program, which offers a 40% discount for higher tiers.
However, these start from around £300 per month. As we noted in our HubSpot review, the HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter pack is a better way to spend your money (£38 per month, billed annually).
monday.com for volunteer management
Best for: shelters or hospices
A large number of volunteers is exactly what a lot of charities want – but this can create issues when it comes to shift scheduling and communication.
monday.com is our top nonprofit CRM for volunteer management. This is due to a set of fantastic customisable tools, for which we gave monday full marks in our latest round of user testing. It’s also one of the many reasons monday.com took the crown as our best CRM for small business overall.
A particular highlight is the app’s preset templates. Drag-and-drop functionality means users can effortlessly move these around to:
Being able to organise and coordinate each staff member is a smart way to improve the volunteer experience and increase retention, saving you time that would otherwise be spent attracting new talent. Still, if you need to recruit new volunteers, monday.com can take care of that as well.
Using its web form feature, you can embed integrated recruitment forms into your website, so people can easily sign up to support your cause.
monday.com pricing
Complaints about monday.com’s confusing pricing structure are common amongst users. If you want to know more about how much the platform will cost you, read our monday.com pricing guide.
Zoho CRM for grant applications
Best for: large-scale projects
Grant proposals take up a lot of time. If you’re wanting to get a project up and running quickly – for example, if you need the money to build a new play area in a local park – then you want to make the process go as smoothly as possible.
We think Zoho CRM is the best system for this duty due to its superb document management system.
Users have access to a central library with relevant preset document templates. Need to find a particular donation invoice or a volunteer’s sponsorship form? Zoho stores all of this information in one easily accessible location.
You’ll even have user hierarchies, so you can control who has access to which documents at any time.
Surprisingly, one of the most common reasons for proposal rejection is simple: the deadline for submission was not met.
Zoho CRM’s time management features include a calendar, appointment scheduling, and automated reminders. These will ensure that every grant or award application you submit is done on time, so you won’t have to sacrifice funding due to silly time-based errors.
crm donor management
Key Features of Funraise’s Donor CRM
Any fundraising CRM software worth its salt provides custom data reports, allows your entire team to manage donors, and collects giving history and interactions. Funraise offers all of that plus flexibility and ease of use while integrating with your favorite tools—free.
⚡️Experience the Power of the People
Rich Supporter Data
Store all your data in one place with Funraise’s nonprofit donation management software—easily access, edit, and manage comprehensive donor data in an easy-to-use, nonprofit-centric CRM. Organize your donor database, including giving history, subscriptions, demographic and household info, and so much more.
Custom Segmentation
Funraise’s donor software for nonprofits allows you to filter and save dynamic lists of supporters based on donation history, demographic data, tags, contact information, and track your custom segments’ donation activity.
Household management
Connect families or groups to see collective impact via Funraise’s donor management system. Manage families or groups of supporters and export your physical mailing lists with connected supporter and donation data.
Interaction tracking
Document donor relationship touch-points to keep track of all your supporter communications in one delightful place. Log and track interactions directly on supporter profiles within the donor CRM.
Donor Portfolios
Because fundraising is personal. Develop personal relationships and boost donor retention by assigning staff members their own supporter portfolio in Funraise’s donor database software for nonprofits. Automate donation tasks based on donor behavior.
Donor Portal App
Presenting… Giving by Funraise. Giving by Funraise, our friendly donor-facing app, gives your donors access to their donation information on their schedule. Through Funraise’s donor portal mobile application, donors can view historic transaction receipts and donation summaries.