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Nonprofit software roundup: Discover must-have tools & top options

Savvy changemakers need the right tools to reach their goals and make the world a better place. Assemble your toolkit with these best-in-class nonprofit software tools.

Nicola Scoon
June 28, 2024
September 4, 2023
Nerd Mr Butter

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Nonprofit organizations depend on the right CRM systems, email marketing providers, accounting software, and fundraising platforms to run smoothly and engage supporters (while staying on budget).

Fortunately, there are plenty of trusted platforms that come at an affordable price point—even for a nonprofit. In this guide, we’ve brought together the best nonprofit management software and apps available today. Find out which are the most essential nonprofit tools to help you run your operations, encourage more donations, and software make a bigger impact on your world.

1. Best free fundraising software 

Our top pick: Givebutter

Givebutter is the all-in-one fundraising platform that gives nonprofits everything they need to raise more, engage donors, and track their progress—all in one place. Discover robust donor management and CRM tools, events, fundraising pages, and more in this fully-featured fundraising management software.

💰 Cost: All of Givebutter's core fundraising features are free thanks to optional tips from donors. If you choose to turn off donor tipping, a small platform fee applies instead. Like any fundraising platform, there’s a payment processing fee. Givebutter’s payment processor charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction—but with 95% of donors opting to cover these fees, you’ll see more funds go directly to your online giving campaign. Advanced automation tools are also available through Givebutter Plus.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Online donation forms and fundraising pages
  • Fundraising events
  • Event registration and ticketing
  • Auctions
  • Donor relationship management and nonprofit CRM
  • Donor information profiles
  • SMS and email marketing tools
  • Marketing outreach campaigns
  • Text-to-donate and scan-to-donate
  • Donate buttons and other powerful widgets
  • Live display
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising
  • Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo & more
  • DAF donations
  • Livestreaming
  • Recurring donations
  • Mobile app and Tap to Pay

💛 Why nonprofits love it: Givebutter features everything a nonprofit organization needs to attract, retain, and engage their donor base. From a built-in CRM system to custom donation pages and forms, Givebutter gives nonprofits a smoother way to run their donor-facing operations.

🧈 Integrations: Givebutter integrates with a whole host of other tools and apps, so you can easily add this all-in-one nonprofit management platform to your existing tools. Explore all of Givebutter’s integrations →

Other solutions to consider

OneCause, Classy, Network for Good, and PayPal are also popular fundraising software options. Read the full guide to fundraising software for an in-depth comparison → 

2. Top nonprofit software for wealth screening

Our top pick: DonorSearch

DonorSearch is an AI-powered tool that gives nonprofits actionable insights into their donor base. Learn about your supporters’ giving history and habits so you can create more effective and accurate campaigns to inspire them to give.

💰 Cost: DonorSearch’s products are priced on a per-month basis, but the exact cost isn’t available publicly. Get in touch with DonorSearch directly to book a demo or get a custom quote.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Prospect list building
  • Donor engagement
  • Marketing plans and lists
  • Wealth screening

💛 Why nonprofits love it: DonorSearch gives nonprofit changemakers greater insights into their supporters’ ability to give, so they can create more tailored campaigns and spend their time and energy focusing on the donors most likely to give to any given fundraiser or cause.

🧈 Integrates with Givebutter? Yes! Givebutter has a DonorSearch integration that allows you to make the most of these wealth screening tools right inside your donor database.

Other solutions to consider

NPOInfo, GivingDNA, and NPOAuthority are also popular wealth screening options. 

3. Best nonprofit fundraising software for matching gifts

Our top pick: Givebutter 

With Givebutter, nonprofits can access a built-in matching gift software and add it to any fundraising page and event, so donors don’t have to visit a third-party site. With gift matching front and center, more donors are prompted to explore the option—meaning more matched funds for your nonprofit.

💰 Cost: You can enjoy a 0% platform fee on Givebutter thanks to optional tips from donors. If you choose to turn off donor tipping, a small platform fee applies instead.

Like any fundraising platform, there’s a payment processing fee. Givebutter’s payment processor charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction—but with 95% of donors opting to cover these fees, you’ll see more funds go directly to your online giving campaign.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Spotlight the company or individual providing the match
  • Send instant email receipts
  • Customize maximum amount, match ratio, and more

💛 Why nonprofits love it: Many donors know about gift matching but aren’t sure how to do it. Givebutter makes the entire process easy, so your donors can give more than ever without jumping through hoops.

Other solutions to consider

Double the Donation, MatchFinder, and HEPdata are also popular matching gift software options. 

4. Best CRM software for nonprofits

Our top pick: Givebutter

The best CRM software for nonprofits helps organizations not only compile all of the most important donor data but also do something powerful with it. With Givebutter, nonprofits can carefully manage all of their most important supporter data and connect with supporters right from the platform.

💰 Cost: Givebutter's built-in CRM and core donor management features are free thanks to optional tips from donors. Advanced reporting and automation tools are also available through Givebutter Plus based on the number of contacts you organization has.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Custom filters
  • Contact tags
  • Table sorting
  • Automatic donor activity tracking
  • Automatic receipts and refunds
  • Built-in data hygiene tools

💛 Why nonprofits love it: Nonprofits love Givebutter’s CRM functionality because it’s easy to use, incredibly robust, and really affordable—plus it integrates with all of Givebutter’s other fundraising features like event and auction management tools, text-to-donate, mass emailing, and so much more. 

Other options to consider

Bloomerang, NeonOne, and Salesforce are also popular CRM options. Read the full guide to CRM software for an in-depth comparison → 

5. Best web data management software for nonprofits

Our top pick: Google Analytics

The best software for nonprofits extends beyond purpose-built apps and tools. Knowing where your visitors come from, how they find you, and what they do on your website allows you to engage with your supporters more effectively. Google Analytics is our go-to tool for analytics and SEO for nonprofits, thanks to its ease of use and familiarity.

💰 Cost: Google Analytics is completely free. All you need to do is create an account and connect it to your nonprofit website.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Traffic and visitor analysis
  • Audience insights
  • Visitor action insights
  • Marketing campaign success measurement
  • E-commerce tracking

💛 Why nonprofits love it: Google Analytics remains one of the best-in-class options for web analytics across every niche, including nonprofits. Nonprofits appreciate Google’s straightforward approach and ease of use.

🧈 Integrates with Givebutter? Yes! While it’s not a one-click integration, it’s still easy and useful to integrate Google Analytics with Givebutter.

6. Best events and auction software for nonprofits

Our top pick: Givebutter

Givebutter lets nonprofits of all shapes and sizes manage fundraising events and auctions from start to finish. With unlimited ticketing tools, livestreaming capabilities, payment processing, and more, any organization can set up, manage, and close out an event like never before.

💰 Cost: You can host unlimited events and auctions on Givebutter for free thanks to optional donor tips. But like any fundraising platform, there’s a standard payment processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction—which 95% of donors opt to cover.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Mobile ticket sales and event check-ins
  • Unlimited physical and digital auction items 
  • Real-time bidding
  • Text and email bid notifications
  • Automated payment collection 
  • Personalized peer-to-peer fundraising pages
  • Unlimited ticket types and bundles
  • Custom ticket fields, quantities, and promo codes 

💛 Why nonprofits love it:  Unlike other nonprofit event software, Givebutter really lets nonprofits do it all. From creating custom tickets and event landing pages to scanning in attendees at the door and letting them self-checkout, Givebutter makes running an event smooth as butter.

Other options to consider

OneCause, ePly, and Silent Auction Pro are also popular event software options. Read the full guide to event management software for an in-depth comparison →

7. Best nonprofit software solution for graphics

Our top pick: Canva

Canva is one of our favorite tools as it makes great design accessible to all, thanks to its intuitive interface and non-technical approach. Nonprofits can use Canva to create or customize templates to create engaging graphics for email campaigns, social media campaigns, digital ads, and more.

💰 Cost: Canva operates on a freemium model, so you can get access to the platform’s basic features for free. Beyond that, most users need to pay a premium every month for access to the best features. Not nonprofits, though—eligible nonprofits can enjoy access to Canva’s premium features for free.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Content creation
  • Built-in templates and graphic elements
  • Document creation
  • Presentations and whiteboards
  • Photo editor
  • Video editor
  • AI image generator
  • Brand and asset management

💛 Why nonprofits love it: Canva is one of the best design tools available, and what’s even better is that it’s free.

🧈 Integrates with Givebutter? Of course! With Givebutter’s native Canva integration, you can create impressive graphics for your campaigns and emails without even leaving Givebutter.

Other options to consider

VistaCreate, ColourCode, and Adobe are also popular software solutions for graphics options. 

8. Best productivity and project management software for nonprofits

Our top pick: monday.com

Running fundraising campaigns and staying on top of all your tasks and to-do lists can get overwhelming. If you’re looking for a better way to organize your fundraising efforts and stay productive, monday.com is our top pick for nonprofits. This cloud-based project management software helps streamline processes, increase productivity, automate tasks, and introduce much-needed functionality for teams.

💰 Cost: Like most software tools, monday.com offers a generous discount for nonprofits. Eligible organizations can use ten seats for free, with any further seats enjoying a 70% discount on the standard plan price.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Donation pipelines
  • Automated emails and texts
  • Donor profiles
  • Volunteer management
  • Volunteer recruitment forms
  • Grant management
  • Task management
  • End-to-end project management

💛 Why nonprofits love it: monday.com makes it easy to plan, track, and analyze your fundraising campaigns with a user-friendly approach to project and event management.

🧈 Integrates with Givebutter? Yes! You can use our monday.com integration to sync donor and campaign data between your Givebutter dashboard and monday’s fundraising boards. This means no more manual updates and more time for actions that make a difference.

Other options to consider

Asana, Wrike, and Trello are also popular productivity and project management software options. Read the full guide to nonprofit project management software for an in-depth comparison →

9. Best P2P software for nonprofits

Our top pick: Givebutter

Givebutter lets nonprofits add peer-to-peer fundraising to any page or event, helping organizations foster more friendly competition and bring in more donations than ever.

💰 Cost: Givebutter doesn’t charge any subscription or platform fees. But like any fundraising platform, there’s a standard payment processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction—which  95% of donors opt to cover.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Custom goal bar
  • Countdown
  • Leaderboards
  • Interactive supporter feed
  • Custom team and individual fundraising pages
  • User-friendly dashboard integrated with Givebutter CRM
  • Accepts multiple payment types, including Venmo, digital wallets, and donor-advised funds

💛 Why nonprofits love it: Unlike other P2P software, Givebutter is simple, user-friendly, and powerful at the same time. With tons of robust features to make giving more fun than ever and lots of ways to track and connect with donors on the back end, Givebutter makes P2P fundraising fun for everyone.

Other options to consider

Classy, QGiv, and DonorBox are also popular peer-to-peer fundraising options. Read the full guide to peer-to-peer fundraising platforms for an in-depth comparison →

10. Best nonprofit management tool for internal communication

Our top pick: Slack

Every nonprofit team needs an effective way to communicate; otherwise, it’s easy to miss messages, opportunities, and roadblocks. Slack is our recommended tool for nonprofit team members that want a straightforward way to stay in touch, wherever they are and whatever they need to talk about.

💰 Cost: Normally, businesses have to pay a monthly fee for Slack’s Pro subscription. Eligible nonprofits can request a Slack for Charities discount that offers a free Pro upgrade for the first 350 workspace members and an 85% discount for workspaces above that size.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Asynchronous and real-time team communication
  • Open and private communication channels
  • User profiles
  • Tags and comment threads
  • Direct messages

💛 Why nonprofits love it: Slack is the go-to for team communication for in-person, hybrid, and remote teams, thanks to how easy it is to use. Nonprofits appreciate Slack’s user-friendly interface and generous Pro upgrade discount.

🧈 Integrates with Givebutter? Yes! You can use Zapier to connect Givebutter with Slack and enjoy benefits like new Slack channel messages for new transactions and tickets in Givebutter.

Other options to consider

Google Hangout, Discord, and RocketChat are also popular internal communications options. 

11. Best software for nonprofits for external communication 

Our top pick: Givebutter

Lots of nonprofits outsource their marketing efforts to a third-party platform—but that can cause a ton of headaches. That’s where Givebutter comes in. With Givebutter’s all-in-one software, nonprofits send fundraising appeals through email, direct mail, and text marketing tools, encourage event attendance, send thank-yous, and so much more.

💰 Cost: You can send unlimited emails and print your own letters for free using Givebutter's free nonprofit marketing tools. For a monthly or annual fee, Givebutter Plus offers an advanced email editor, unlimited outbound text blasts, and a discount on full-service direct mail campaigns.

🔥 Standout features:

  • Custom emails built with Canva, with your organization's logo and brand colors
  • Automated emails (including resending and scheduling)
  • Reporting and analytics (email bounces, reads, unsubscribes, etc.) 
  • Email segmentation 
  • Text to donate tools
  • Letter creation

💛 Why nonprofits love it: Givebutter lets you send automated emails, event reminders, donation requests, and so much more. Plus, nonprofits can create custom direct mail and even launch text campaigns to reach supporters right on their phones.

Other options to consider

MailChimp, ConstantContact, and Flodesk are also popular marketing and communications options. Read the full guide to the best email marketing software for nonprofits software for an in-depth comparison →

Bonus: Even more nonprofit management software tools to consider

The tools above will give you a strong start, but there are a few more top nonprofit management platforms we want to make sure you know about.

  • 💰 Accounting software: Quickbooks, Xero, and Sage are all popular nonprofit accounting software options
  • 💻 Website builders: Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace are easy to use and customize—and all support Givebutter’s donate buttons and other widgets!
  • 👏 Livestreaming apps: Twitch, YouTube, and Zoom all work well for livestreaming—plus, you can add fundraising capability with Givebutter’s livestreaming feature.
  • ❤️ Social media apps: You know the big platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn that connect you and your supporters. Social media management tools like Hootsuite can help keep you organized and save you time.
  • 📳 Communication tools: ​​​​Respect your and your team’s mental health, privacy, and boundaries with OpenPhone, a built-in phone app that gives users a separate number for work, keeping their personal number private.
  • 🤝 Collaboration: Loom enables your team to quickly record their screens, which increases collaboration while cutting down on meetings. Plus, it’s a great tool for learning and exchanging ideas.

Empower your team with Givebutter, the best nonprofit management software

Savvy changemakers use fundraising tools and nonprofit software solutions to make organizing donor data and running campaigns easy. Use this guide to help you find the perfect match for your needs so you can enjoy a better way to work.

If you’re ready to streamline your workflows and create a more engaging experience for not only you but your donors, too, make the switch to Givebutter. Our all-in-one free software for nonprofit organizations has everything you need, with the option to connect to your other favorite apps through 1,000+ integrations.

Integrate Givebutter with top nonprofit software

Sign up today and see why Givebutter is a fan-favorite fundraising software for thousands of nonprofits.

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