21 Top Nonprofit CRMs to Better Manage Supporters in 2024

Before requesting demos, you should understand essential nonprofit CRM features. This will ensure your system aligns with your organization’s specific needs, so you can choose one that optimizes your budget, enhances operational efficiency, and can scale alongside your organization. Not to mention, the right system will also contribute to higher adoption rates among staff. Now, let’s explore several standard features.

Supporter Profiles

This is the most basic function of a nonprofit CRM. Ensure you can track and manage constituent information, enabling personalized communication and stronger relationships. For example, you’ll want to be able to store:

• Names
• Contact information
• Preferred communication methods
• Engagement history (e.g., past donation amounts, donation dates, event attendance)
• Personal and business connections

Your database should be able to store this information for donors, volunteers, advocates, corporate sponsors, and anyone else you work with.

Payment Processing

Some CRMs offer built-in payment processors, so you can securely process donations and other financial transactions without an additional system. This feature streamlines the donation process, reduces administrative overhead, enables immediate recording of financial data, and improves the donor experience.

Event Management

Some nonprofit CRMs come equipped with event management tools. That way, you can organize and manage events from start to finish. If this is a must-have feature, be sure your CRM can handle registration, ticketing, attendee tracking, and post-event analysis.

Fundraising Campaign Management

Within your nonprofit CRM, you may be able to facilitate campaign planning, execution, and monitoring. This could include tracking donations, engaging in major gift fundraising, setting goals, and analyzing performance.

Know that 46% of nonprofits use a CRM distinct from their fundraising software, while 54% use an all-in-one CRM and fundraising platform. Overall, whether you choose an all-in-one system or one that strictly offers donor management depends on your nonprofit’s needs.

Marketing Tools

Many CRMs include marketing tools for email marketing, social media integration, and targeted communication campaigns. When a CRM makes it easy to segment supporters, you can send relevant and personalized appeals, enhancing outreach and engagement strategies.

Data Security and Compliance

Nonprofit CRMs handle sensitive data, like contact information. Ensure your CRM offers robust data security measures and compliance with data protection regulations. That way, you can safeguard sensitive donor and organizational information.

Reporting and Analytics

Think of all the data nonprofit CRMs store—you’ll need the ability to report on and analyze this data. In turn, you’ll have a comprehensive overview of performance, whether you want to analyze donor behavior (frequency, amount, and geographic concentration of donations) or organizational growth (increase in membership and a breakdown of revenue versus expenses).

Choose a CRM that offers out-of-the-box reports and dashboards so you’re always on top of your data and maximizing operational efficiency.

Integrations

Chances are, your nonprofit’s toolkit is filled with helpful software. Ensure a cohesive, efficient workflow by prioritizing nonprofit CRMs that integrate with other tools, such as accounting software, payment gateways, and fundraising software. For example, our matching gift platform offers several integrations with leading CRMs, empowering nonprofits to cultivate relationships with match-eligible donors and drive more revenue via corporate giving.