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What is Donor Management Software?

Donor management software can be used by nonprofits to manage their contacts and donor contributions, and it assists targeted email marketing. Nonprofits can also use the software to analyze and segment contacts so that they can engage them with targeted and relevant marketing content.
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Donor management software is offered both as a standalone solution and a part of bigger donor constituent relations management (CRM) suites. Standalone solutions offer features such as donor profiling and donor databasing. Donor management CRM systems also provide these features as well as fundraising, grant management, and fund accounting functionality to serve as a one-stop platform that fulfills the marketing needs of nonprofits. Start by checking our leader NetSuite Grant Management, and other recommended solutions in this category. Show less

How was this ranking made?

To develop this ranking of best Donor Management Software we have examined 77leading solutions currently available on the market, comparing their features, ease of implementation, customer service, offered integrations with other systems and mobile device support using our unique SmartScoreTM rating algorithm. This list has been prepared by Nestor Gilbert, our software expert responsible for the Donor Management Software category.

List of Top 12 Donor Management Software

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1. NetSuite Grant Management

Our score: 9.7 User satisfaction: 100%

An integrated cloud-based management software for nonprofit organizations, foundations, and social enterprises. This platform offers an end-to-end solution and visibility into every stage of the grant lifecycle. Among its features are grant and fund accounting, financial management and segmentation, automated FASB reporting, and more.

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2. Bloomerang

Our score: 9.3 User satisfaction: N/A

Bloomerang CRM helps nonprofits raise more by turning donor data into deeper relationships. With a 360º view of every supporter, you can personalize outreach, boost retention, and unlock greater generosity—all in one intuitive, mission-driven platform.

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3. Network for Good

Our score: 9.3 User satisfaction: 96%

Network for Good is a donor management and fundraising solution for small and growing nonprofit organizations. The software is designed to help small teams become nonprofit marketers and fundraisers by utilizing its two main modules–donor management and fundraising pages. It also has marketing tools, robust dashboards, and comprehensive learning resources.

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4. Planning Center

Our score: 9.2 User satisfaction: 100%

A web-based church management app that equips churches with the tools they need to keep up with the changes in the management operations of growing churches through task-focused solutions. Planning Center has the solutions you need to plan services, equip worship teams, schedule volunteers, and accept and process donations.

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5. Raiser's Edge

Our score: 9.1 User satisfaction: 100%

Raiser’s Edge is a fundraising system designed for nonprofit organizations, including healthcare and religious ministries. This software solution helps organizations manage their donors database and keep track of their donors’ activities for analysis purposes. Raiser’s Edge also helps monitor the overall performance of the organization.

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6. Wild Apricot

Our score: 9.0 User satisfaction: N/A

Cloud based membership management solution that helps to attract, renew and manage members with ease.

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7. Salsa CRM

Our score: 9.0 User satisfaction: 94%

Powerful and intuitive donation management solution for effective donor management, fundraising, and marketing outreach. Salsa CRM brings in the tools to help organizations easily navigate complex reporting and establish clear and organized relationship connections among constituents. It also comes with engagement tools, email and online forms, and seamless mobile support.

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8. Qgiv

Our score: 8.9 User satisfaction: 91%

Qgiv is an online platform that allows users to set up fundraising events and manage donations. This software solution is highly customizable as it caters to the different needs of different organizations. It offers tools for tracking donations and allowing donors to view their gifts and contributions.

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9. Keela

Our score: 8.7 User satisfaction: 90%

An affordable cloud-based CRM software, Keela is an all-in-one suite that empowers nonprofit organizations to save time and money, while increasing community impact.

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10. Optimy

Our score: 8.5 User satisfaction: 100%

All-in-one software that enables corporate foundations to optimize and measure their corporate social responsibility. With Optimy, users can create and tailor their own forms, administer and manage multiple activities from a centralized dashboard. Key features include customizable forms, automated workflows, and data exports and reporting.

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11. Gesture

Our score: 8.4 User satisfaction: 98%

An innovative fundraising campaign management solution.

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12. MemberClicks

Our score: 7.8 User satisfaction: 93%

MemberClicks is a complete membership management solution for associations, association management companies, and nonprofits.

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Similar Categories:

In the event you didn't find just the solution you were looking for here's a list of various categories similar to Donor Management Software that you might want to browse through:

Donor Management Software Guide

Table of contents

Industry Report - Donor Management Software for 2022

CloudRank™ system is a unique algorithm that our research team uses to evaluate Donor Management Software solutions in a detailed and accurate way. The Winter 2022 edition of the ranking was prepared by Nestor Gilbert, our leading expert in the field of Donor Management Software, who has authored 1380+ product reviews in this category. The goal of CloudRank™ is to present an unbiased, multi-layered perspective on Donor Management Software, considering a wide range of metrics and factors, and educating potential customers about both opportunities and challenges associated with each piece of software.

In order to achieve full objectivity the position in our CloudRank™ is based on:

  • Expert Score: which involves extensive analysis by our internal team which carefully examined all key elements of each software and testing it in real-life situations
  • User Score: which involves an aggregated opinion of actual users of each product whose identity was properly verified
  • Market Position: which involves general recognition of a given vendor on the market and reflects its overall popularity and reach
What do the tiers in CloudRank™ mean?

What do the tiers in CloudRank™ mean?

We’ve calculated a score for each product based on the average experience shared by our users in their product reviews and arranged the list in three tiers. You can see the methodology below on how the calculations were made.

  • Leaders: those with a User Score of 7.5 or higher; this tier includes products that are currently leaders on the market and are appreciated by both experts and actual users. They always represent the best of what the Donor Management Software market has to offer and are all worth trying out if you’re looking for a reliable solution.
  • Contenders: those with a User Score between 7 and 7.5; this tier includes high-quality products that still have some minor drawbacks that prevent them from becoming leaders on the market. They always represent well-designed tools that, over time, will most likely develop into market leaders as the missing features are added.
  • Rising Stars: those with a User Score between 6.5 and 7; this tier includes products that have high-potential but still lack some crucial features or services expected from a leading solution. They are products with solid foundations and a vision that makes us eager to see what they will become as their solution improves in the future.

Regardless of their tier, all products included in our CloudRank™ are popular, quality products considered top-performers by our team of experts. Make sure you read a more detailed review of each solution to find one that will work best for your specific needs and budget.

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Rising Star
Contenders
Front-Runners

MARKET POSITION

A score between 1 and 10 based on popularity and market reach of each product.

TOTAL score

A score between 1 and 10 based on the average of our Expert Score and User Score.

How does CloudRank™ work?

Arrow top

Market Position

A score between 1 and 10 based on popularity and market reach of each product.

Arrow right

Total Score

A score between 1 and 10 based on the average of our Expert Score and User Score.

CloudRank™ tier

Based on product's total score.

Rising Star

Contender

Front Runners

25 Most Popular Donor Management Software

Here is a list of all 25 Donor Management Software solutions evaluated with our CloudRank™ analysis. We have compared their features, user satisfaction, market presence and other key factors in an in-depth analysis you can find below:

1. Optimy

8.06
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:8.06
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Mobile

%

Online Registrations

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Membership Management

%

Interaction History

%
Worst features

Donor Events

%

Other Types of Contributions

%

Volunteer Base

%

Newsletters

%

Donor Categorization

%

2. Wild Apricot

7.89
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.89
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Mobile

%

Support

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Volunteer Base

%

Merchandise and Auctions

%
Worst features

Customization

%

Email Marketing

%

Newsletters

%

API/Integrations

%

Payment Methods

%

3. Flipcause

7.78
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.78
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Mobile

%

Support

%

Online Donations

%

Payment Methods

%

Membership Management

%
Worst features

Volunteer Base

%

Donor Events

%

Donor Categorization

%

API/Integrations

%

Customization

%

4. Bloomerang

7.70
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.70
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Donor Categorization

%

Interaction History

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

Benefactor Profiles

%

Support

%
Worst features

Payment Methods

%

Automated Gratitude Messages

%

API/Integrations

%

Volunteer Base

%

Mobile

%

5. Keela

7.52
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.52
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

Email Marketing

%

Membership Management

%

Online Donations

%

Volunteer Base

%
Worst features

Customization

%

Benefactor Profiles

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Automated Gratitude Messages

%

Newsletters

%

6. Planning Center

7.48
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.48
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

API/Integrations

%

Benefactor Profiles

%

Online Donations

%

Customization

%
Worst features

Online Registrations

%

Pre-Authorization of Credit Cards

%

Donor Categorization

%

Payment Methods

%

Other Types of Contributions

%

7. Givelify

7.38
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.38
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Mobile

%

Support

%

Payment Methods

%

Membership Management

%

Online Donations

%
Worst features

Other Types of Contributions

%

Volunteer Base

%

Donor Categorization

%

API/Integrations

%

Customization

%

8. DonorPerfect

7.37
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.37
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

Donor Categorization

%

Benefactor Profiles

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

Membership Management

%
Worst features

Other Types of Contributions

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

API/Integrations

%

Donor Events

%

Pre-Authorization of Credit Cards

%

9. Pushpay

7.35
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.35
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Volunteer Base

%

Membership Management

%

Online Donations

%

Payment Methods

%

Benefactor Profiles

%
Worst features

API/Integrations

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

Newsletters

%

Support

%

Mobile

%

10. Network for Good

7.33
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.33
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Payment Methods

%

Donor Categorization

%

Other Types of Contributions

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Reporting & Analytics

%
Worst features

Benefactor Profiles

%

Online Donations

%

Automated Gratitude Messages

%

Newsletters

%

Customization

%

11. Benevity

7.32
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.32
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Volunteer Base

%

Donor Categorization

%

Membership Management

%

Online Donations

%

Other Types of Contributions

%
Worst features

Benefactor Profiles

%

Interaction History

%

Mobile

%

Donor Events

%

Support

%

12. easyTithe

7.29
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.29
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Mobile

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Customization

%

Membership Management

%
Worst features

Online Donations

%

Payment Methods

%

Interaction History

%

Support

%

API/Integrations

%

13. SignUpGenius

7.28
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.28
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

Online Registrations

%

Online Donations

%

Pre-Authorization of Credit Cards

%

Reporting & Analytics

%
Worst features

Automated Email Reminders

%

API/Integrations

%

Membership Management

%

Customization

%

Mobile

%

14. Anedot

7.24
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.24
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

Online Donations

%

Membership Management

%

Online Registrations

%

Payment Methods

%
Worst features

Email Marketing

%

Volunteer Base

%

Benefactor Profiles

%

Other Types of Contributions

%

Mobile

%

15. Qgiv

7.21
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.21
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Online Donations

%

Support

%

Other Types of Contributions

%

Payment Methods

%

Reporting & Analytics

%
Worst features

API/Integrations

%

Donor Events

%

Merchandise and Auctions

%

Online Registrations

%

Volunteer Base

%

16. Raiser’s Edge

7.17
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.17
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Donor Events

%

Benefactor Profiles

%

API/Integrations

%

Customization

%

Volunteer Base

%
Worst features

Payment Methods

%

Email Marketing

%

Newsletters

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Automated Gratitude Messages

%

17. NetSuite Grant Management

7.00
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.00
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Reporting & Analytics

%

Online Donations

%

API/Integrations

%

Customization

%

Support

%
Worst features

18. CiviCore Client and Case Management Software

6.96
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:6.96
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

API/Integrations

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Customization

%
Worst features

19. Zengine by WizeHive

6.91
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:6.91
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

Volunteer Base

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

Online Donations

%

API/Integrations

%
Worst features

Other Types of Contributions

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Customization

%

Payment Methods

%

Newsletters

%

20. Donorbox

6.90
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:6.90
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

Other Types of Contributions

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

Online Donations

%

Donor Categorization

%
Worst features

Membership Management

%

Interaction History

%

Online Registrations

%

Donor Events

%

Automated Gratitude Messages

%

21. Mightycause (formerly Razoo)

6.88
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:6.88
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

Online Donations

%

Newsletters

%

Customization

%

Payment Methods

%
Worst features

Membership Management

%

Pre-Authorization of Credit Cards

%

Volunteer Base

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

Donor Events

%

22. DonorSearch

6.82
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:6.82
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

API/Integrations

%

Email Marketing

%

Customization

%

Reporting & Analytics

%
Worst features

Donor Events

%

Pre-Authorization of Credit Cards

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Benefactor Profiles

%

Merchandise and Auctions

%

23. GiveGab

6.78
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:6.78
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Automated Email Reminders

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

Donor Events

%

Online Registrations

%

Other Types of Contributions

%
Worst features

Customization

%

Online Donations

%

Automated Gratitude Messages

%

API/Integrations

%

Mobile

%

24. EveryAction

6.77
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:6.77
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Online Registrations

%

Automated Email Reminders

%

Online Donations

%

Customization

%

Membership Management

%
Worst features

Support

%

Volunteer Base

%

Benefactor Profiles

%

Newsletters

%

Reporting & Analytics

%

25. Salsa CRM

6.48
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:6.48
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Support

%

Membership Management

%

Benefactor Profiles

%

API/Integrations

%

Interaction History

%
Worst features

Reporting & Analytics

%

Email Marketing

%

Online Donations

%

Payment Methods

%

Donor Categorization

%

Our report covered 25 most popular products from the Donor Management Software category. We’ve analyzed their features, performance, integration, customer support, pricing, and several other key buying factors and combined it with feedback from user reviews to come up with the current list of best solutions:

Seizing the top spot for this year’s CloudRank for donor management software category is Optimy. This flexible, all-in-one social impact platform and donor management software is designed to help enhance organizational performance across a plethora of CSR and nonprofit activities through efficient management of processes such as project management, grant application, budgeting, reporting, and automated workflows.

Deployed by over 250 organizations across the world, Optimy is the solution of choice among community investors, grants, partnerships, sponsorship, and CSR professionals and corporate teams. It provides users with an efficient, central dashboard to view and manage all relevant donor management processes. This tool also allows the design and use of customized forms straight from one’s corporate website.

Because donor management is primarily founded on project management principles and protocols, Optimy is designed how projects can be handled efficiently. As such, nonprofits, CSR professionals, and other users get to enjoy benefits such as creating tailor-made solutions for particular activities, managing all stakeholders and contacts in a single location, and streamlining an entire cycle of processes, be it corporate gift-giving, fundraising programs, and other similar activities. 

Optimy offers six robust donation management solutions covering the various facets of CSR and other philanthropic programs. It comes in three pricing plans: Corporate Sponsorship (€6500/year), Corporate Grants (€6500/year), and Corporate Volunteering (€9000/year), with a free trial option.

Most users of Donor Management Software solutions confirm that in most cases these tools allow them to reach the following business goals:

  • It leveraged the current donor base to meet goals and collect funds. [ 85.6% of users ]
  • It maintained solid donor relationships and strengthened contact. [ 86.3% of users ]
  • It provided email blasts and newspapers to attract new donors. [ 84.5% of users ]
  • It reduced expenses by automating donor management operations. [ 85.5% of users ]
  • It targeted and tracked key donors in the industry. [ 85.5% of users ]

How did we select products for this Donor Management Software report?

The Winter 2022 version of the report includes a total of 25 Donor Management Software products that were compared and analyzed by our team. We selected them based on the following factors:

  • Popularity of a given brand in the SaaS market (based on our own market research)
  • How popular a given brand is among FinancesOnline users (based on number of mothly readers for each review page)
  • Availability of statistical data generated from user reviews of a particular product (we excluded products with not enough data to draw meaningful conclusions)
  • The current listing reflects the state of our database and research as of February 2022. An updated version of the report will be released quarterly to keep data fresh and incorporate information about shifts and changing trends in the market.

What are the current Donor Management Software trends?

Project-based giving

Organizations involved in fundraising efforts often cover multiple causes and projects. The aim is noteworthy but may miss the mark as donors give significantly larger amounts for causes that resonate with them. The specificity of project-based giving helps to target donors who are more likely to give and give in larger amounts. It would also ensure that all of the money raised will go to the intended project/charity instead of just a percentage of it. Projects are time-bound having a fixed period of accomplishment and tangible results when compared to an organization. Providing information to potential donors on how donations will be used increases accountability and encourage potential donors to give and share larger amounts.

Giving USA

Personalize to build relationships and increase donor marketing impact

Adding a touch of personalization to donor marketing efforts with correct and specific personal details will make potential donors feel connected to the organization. Personalization sends a message the organization knows of them and more importantly, prompts donors to respond favorably to the relationship the organization is building with them. Another personalization trend is storytelling, giving a face and name to the cause is a powerful way to engage the emotions of donors. Beyond touching hearts, storytelling also gives a credible and descriptive answer to the question, “what does your organization do?”. When presented with a story, donors are more likely to give twice as much compared to marketing efforts presented with statistics for the cause.

Huffpost; GoFundMe

Integrated giving

At a time when ordering food, electronics, books, entertainment, and everything else is done with a few taps and clicks, giving should be too. Create a smooth and uncomplicated giving process by eliminating unnecessary steps and forms both in the website and the mobile app. Simplify the process with text giving and adding widely accepted payment methods – Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, as well as credit card options. Alternative options that are being rolled out include Facebook Pay which can be used to accept payments on social platforms. What could be easier when there are 2.7 billion monthly active users (MAU) on Facebook alone. 

Fundraising and giving on social media

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Donor management software programs can help nonprofits and similar organizations boost the donations they receive from their patrons. But how do you select a suitable solution from the scores of donor management tools out there? This buyer’s guide will help you to separate the wheat from the chaff and choose the best donor management software for your specific needs.

Get to know each product with free trial

We recommend you start by registering for the free trial or demo offered by the best donor management software providers. This will help you check out each app’s list of features at no cost and gauge whether they are suitable for your organization. You can find out whether a free trial is offered by the following popular donor management tools: BloomerangRaiser’s EdgeDonorPerfectSalsa CRM, and NeonCRM. These products have been given high rankings in our donor management software reviews and you can browse them to get a comparison of their features. 

Targeted Businesses

The following organizations make use of donor management tools:

  • Nonprofits
  • Animal welfare
  • Education organizations
  • Environmental organizations
  • Grantwriting and volunteer organizations
  • Human services
  • International organizations and NGOs
  • Political and advocacy groups
  • Religious and faith-based organizations
  • Trade associations

What are Examples of Donor Management Software?

  • Bloomerang: Bloomerang is a simple fundraising and donor database software system for small business and nonprofits that helps them reduce donor attrition and boost revenue.
  • Raiser’s Edge: Gives you all the donor management and fundraising features you need to connect with constituents and raise money anywhere, anytime.
  • DonorPerfect: Nonprofits can use DonorPerfect fundraising software for their donor management, mass mailing, moves management, grant & gift tracking needs and more.
  • Salsa CRM: It is a fundraising, marketing, and advocacy software solution used by more than 3,000 nonprofit organizations.
  • NeonCRM: A cloud-based CRM solution that offers a full suite of tools and features for small to midsized nonprofits.

Types of Donor Management Software

  • Online fundraising: Online fundraising software helps organizations to accept donations online making it convenient for them and their donors.
  • Online advocacy: Online advocacy software makes it simple for nonprofits to boost awareness about their causes and help change legislation to further their missions.
  • All-in-one or integrated software: This type of software hosts all the features of online fundraising and donor management software in one system. It also includes the added benefits of outreach and marketing features.
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising: Peer-to-peer software offers nonprofits the specialized features they need to run P2P campaigns. This software helps them to effectively oversee fundraisers’ efforts and combine their digital P2P campaigns with fundraising events.

Key Features of Donor Management Software

  • Industry-specific solutions: Donor management applications are designed for specific fields such as sports, education, healthcare, etc. Based on your needs, decide if you require a niche software or a standard solution.
  • Integrations: Good quality donor management apps offer integration with third-party solutions to collect data. The donor management product can smoothly integrate with your existing fundraising, email marketing, accounting, and other software.
  • Mobile features: Top donor management solutions offer mobile functionality, allowing users to access contact records from their mobile devices and enabling donors to donate using their mobile devices. Some vendors offer a complete mobile app compatible with popular platforms.
  • Marketing features: Good quality donor management solutions offer automated marketing features, including event management, mail merging, email marketing, donor prospect research, and more. Consider how these features can integrate with your current marketing strategies before you select a suitable software.
  • Donation tracking: Not only does a donor management software keeps tabs on donors, it also tracks donations. It can even record every donation made by supporters.
  • Donor database: This gives you visibility into the number of donors you have, all the necessary information about your donors, as well as their donation history.
  • Reporting and analytics: Accurate reports can give you an insight into the results of your fundraising event, the status of donations, and which areas you need to work on.

Benefits of Donor Management Software

Our detailed comparisons show that donor management software provide the following advantages:

  • You can make use of your current donor base to raise funds and achieve goals
  • Boost contact and donor relationships by keeping in constant touch with them
  • Increase the donations you receive by contacting your donors through newsletters and email blasts
  • Use segmented analytics to target and track important donors
  • Ensure your outreach effort is relevant to each recipient
  • Reduce expenses by making use of automation features within donor management

Focus on donor retention

Nonprofits retain only a smart percentage of new donors. So they are increasingly focusing on donor retention by investing more resources and staff in donor relations. They are using donor management software to evaluate the performance of their donor relations programming.

Crowdfunding is becoming a popular fundraising tool

Resourceful nonprofits are using crowdfunding to engage their donors. They are boosting their social media presence and enlisting donors to be their ambassadors. Savvy nonprofits are making use of the internet cleverly to boost their fundraising.  

New communication tools help nonprofits to tell their story

Nonprofits are using new channels and platforms to reach new donors and engage more deeply with existing ones. They are making use of innovations in email marketing, social media tools, video clips, and poignant images for the purpose. Their staff are improving their use of technology and boosting their skills in utilizing new media.

Potential Issues

Steep Learning Curve

Quite a few users say that donor management software is difficult to learn. So make sure you provide proper training to your employees and make use of online resources, webinars, knowledge bases, etc. for the purpose. Sign up for a free trial or demo to learn more about how difficult the product is to learn and use before you invest in a pricing package.

Lack of customization options

This is another big challenge as some donor management apps are not easy to adapt and align with a company’s existing processes. Contact customer support and engage with the vendor to get their help to customize the software to your organization’s needs and processes.

Other common challenges

Users have also pointed out other common issues such as difficulty in exporting and importing data, lack of depth in reporting features, and lack of integration with other software. Do your homework beforehand to ensure you don’t get saddled with a software that has these limitations.

Relevant Integrations

While there are full-featured donor management systems, integrating the donor management software you are using with other systems bring further advantages. Two important integrations are the following:

Accounting software 

Donor management requires tracking inbound cashflow and outflows, funds, and estimated budget for projects and events, not to mention keeping a detailed and organized record of the donors. While there are donor management software solutions that accommodate these steps, a dedicated accounting software system can further optimize and streamline these processes.

Email marketing software

Get the most out of your donor database by integrating your donor management system with the right email marketing software. This integration enables you to create and deploy customized content to your targeted donors, including promotional emails, acknowledgments, event invitations, and other announcements. Scheduling emails as well as keeping track of your email campaigns’ results are also made easier.

Fundraising and Tech Statistics

Here are some interesting statistics about fundraising you may want to know:

  • Online donations grew by 12.1% from 2018 to 2019.
  • Millennial and Gen X donors prefer to give donations online using credit or debit cards.
  • Millennial and Gen X donors are most inspired to give by social media.
  • Mobile donations increased by 208% within a period of five years.
  • Baby boomers are most inspired to give by email.

List of Donor Management Software Companies

Order by:

Newest
  • Newest
  • Score
  • User Score
Product name:
Category:
Smart Score:
Price:
User Satisf.
User reviews:
Mightycause reviews

Mightycause

Donor Management Software
8.6
$49
92%
Right Cause reviews

Right Cause

Donor Management Software
8.0
By quote
96%
Tendenci reviews

Tendenci

Donor Management Software
7.8
$169
-
Duplie reviews

Duplie

Donor Management Software
6.9
$65
100%
Eleo reviews

Eleo

Donor Management Software
8.0
$39
95%
Donorbox reviews

Donorbox

Donor Management Software
8.6
Free
93%
NationBuilder reviews

NationBuilder

Donor Management Software
8.5
$29
90%
Virtuous CRM reviews

Virtuous CRM

Donor Management Software
8.0
$199
100%
Keela reviews

Keela

Donor Management Software
8.7
$89
90%
BiddingForGood reviews

BiddingForGood

Donor Management Software
7.9
By quote
-
CiviCore Client and Case Management Software reviews

CiviCore Client and Case Management Software

Donor Management Software
8.6
By quote
100%
Gesture reviews

Gesture

Donor Management Software
8.4
By quote
98%
Raklet reviews

Raklet

Donor Management Software
8.0
$39
-
Razoo Premium for Nonprofits reviews

Razoo Premium for Nonprofits

Donor Management Software
8.6
$49
92%
GivingFuel reviews

GivingFuel

Donor Management Software
7.0
$59
100%

Things to consider when you invest in a SaaS

Picking a suitable SaaS program from the scores of good quality systems out there can be a hard task. To assist you, we have prepared this quick primer. Find out if the SaaS vendor offers the following benefits:

Reduced Cost: Most SaaS solutions are pay as you go, and you don’t have to worry about added investments for software maintenance or IT resources, upfront licensing fees, or in-house IT staff.

Fast Set-up Time and Minimized Risk: You should be able to deploy the SaaS solution quickly and easily. Make use of the free trial to understand if the platform fits your requirements. If you choose a wrong system, you can bail out easily with minimum losses.

Customization and Integration: Choose a vendor that offers a wide choice of software packages and modules. You should be able to pay only for the tools you use to meet the current needs of your business.

Security and Control: The solution should provide robust security. Choose a provider whose databanks are more secure than those in your office to maximize the benefits.

The Infrastructure: The vendor should provide the needed infrastructure so that you need not host anything in-house or need the help of internal IT resources.

Web Access: Your staff members should be able to access data anywhere, anytime. To help them be productive on the go, choose a vendor that offers mobile apps that are compatible with popular operating systems.

Consider all the six important aspects mentioned above to pick the perfect program for your requirements.

Frequently asked questions about Donor Management Software

What is the best donor management software?

The best donor management software is NetSuite Grant Management. It provides nonprofit organizations with a complete suite of features to effectively conduct charity missions and manage an entire organization.

Among the tools included in the platform are keeping track of terms and conditions, time and expense monitoring automation, spend management, and built-in analytics.

NetSuite Grant Management is also a product of NetSuite, a subsidiary of Oracle Corporation, which attests to its support and reliability.

What are the benefits of donor management software?

Using donor management software offer the following benefits:

Establish good relationships with donors. Donor management solutions provide communication channels through which you can keep in touch with your donors.

Integrated marketing. Utilize the email and newsletter features to keep your donors engaged and to let them know about ongoing fundraising.

Robust automation. Automation not only accelerates the different processes involved in fundraising, but it also helps reduce expenses.

Donor management. Keeping track of donors, their donations and gifts, and other activities related to your organization is easier.

What are the features of donor management software?

Not all donor management software have the same set of tools, but below are some of the core features a donor management solution must possess:

Industry-specific solutions: There are different types of nonprofit organizations (healthcare, faith-based, education, etc.) and it is likely that they have different requirements as well. While there are donor management software that are easily customizable, there are also those that are tailored specifically to a type of nonprofit group.

Integrations: A good donor management software must have multiple integration capabilities, especially the systems you are already using in your organization.

Robust marketing tools: Marketing features play a major role in keeping your donors engaged and reducing your donor attrition rate.

Mobile access: Being able to operate your donor management software from your phone offers convenience, especially in accessing contact records from your mobile devices.

What is the easiest donor management software to use?

The easiest applications to use are those that offer streamlined and straightforward functionalities. Some of the user-friendly donor management software are the following:

BloomerangThis donor management solution offers an intuitive interface to make planning and conducting fundraising events effortless. It also provides users with customizable fields for users to define according to their organization’s needs.

Network for GoodCreated for small and growing nonprofit organizations, Network for Good offers a simplified approach to fundraising and donation management. Aside from donation tracking and marketing features, this software solution also offers an extensive list of learning resources to its users.

PlanningCenterThis software solution helps faith-based organizations, such as churches, to manage their members using desktop and mobile devices. PlanningCenter is also a flexible donor management software that adapts to the growing needs of an expanding church.

What is a good free donor management software?

While the majority of donor management software come with price tags, there are also those that offer free plans, such as the following:

SignUpGeniusThis software’s free plan accommodates an unlimited number of participants. Among the features included are access to 700+ designs/themes, payment collection upon signing up, email and text reminders, calendar sync, email, social media sharing, and more.

QgivIts Start package has no monthly subscription fees and comes with mobile giving, recurring giving, and event registration features.

Wild Apricot. This application’s free plan accommodates one admin and a maximum of 50 contacts.

Nestor Gilbert

By Nestor Gilbert

Nestor Gilbert is a senior B2B and SaaS analyst and a core contributor at FinancesOnline for over 5 years. With his experience in software development and extensive knowledge of SaaS management, he writes mostly about emerging B2B technologies and their impact on the current business landscape. However, he also provides in-depth reviews on a wide range of software solutions to help businesses find suitable options for them. Through his work, he aims to help companies develop a more tech-forward approach to their operations and overcome their SaaS-related challenges.

Updated

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FinancesOnline is available for free for all business professionals interested in an efficient way to find top-notch SaaS solutions. We are able to keep our service free of charge thanks to cooperation with some of the vendors, who are willing to pay us for traffic and sales opportunities provided by our website. Please note, that FinancesOnline lists all vendors, we’re not limited only to the ones that pay us, and all software providers have an equal opportunity to get featured in our rankings and comparisons, win awards, gather user reviews, all in our effort to give you reliable advice that will enable you to make well-informed purchase decisions.

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