# Top 10 CRMs for charities and nonprofits

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/
- Published: 2017-01-16T21:46:54+00:00
- Author: Guest Blogger

## **The Top 10 CRMs For Charities And Nonprofits**

[⌊Learn which CRM systems work for charities and nonprofits. Download link.⌉⌊Learn
which CRM systems work for charities and nonprofits. Download link.⌉[

**Reference**: You can [download a full copy of this free report here](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/top-10-crms-for-charities-and-nonprofits)

### _**Table of Content:**_

 1. Introduction
 2. Customers vs. Constituents
 3. Features of a Nonprofit CRM Software
 4. Top 10 CRMs For Charities And Nonprofits 

### ⏎ **_1. Introduction_**

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has proved to be an extremely useful software
tool across multiple industries. Due to its popularity and usefulness, CRM software
is often perceived by the business world as an essential component of [the business sales and marketing methodology](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/what-is-inbound-marketing).
With the emergence of cloud computing and numerous cloud-based installations and
with ever growing features and integrations, there is nothing that modern CRM software
systems cannot do. 
This is  a guide that takes a detailed look at some of the best
performing CRM software for charities and nonprofits available in the market today.

[⌊Customer Relationship Management⌉⌊Customer Relationship Management⌉[

 

## Advertisement

### _**2. Customers vs. Constituents**_

Customer Relationship Management is best for profit-model businesses where it focuses
primarily on building and leveraging relationships to increase sales and revenue.
Contacts, customers, leads are the subjects. When it comes to charities and nonprofits,
these organisations have a rather diverse support base and maintain relationships
with their subjects that are generally referred to as constituents. Therefore, the
acronym, CRM in the nonprofit sector, means Constituent Relationship Management.

Constituents generally include the following:

 * Members
 * Volunteers
 * Donors
 * Partners
 * Vendors
 * Alumni
 * Students
 * Media Outlets

[⌊Customer Relationship Management⌉⌊Customer Relationship Management⌉[

Constituents are diverse in terms of the support they offer. Each constituent has
a different role to play and their goals vary from other constituents depending 
on the relationship with the non profit organisation, but together they are vital
to keep the organisation running smoothly. They want donors to keep donating; volunteers
to lend a helping hand and contribute their time in numerous activities organised
by the nonprofits; and you need media outlets to run encouraging and positive stories
about your charity / nonprofit.

Nonprofits face unique challenges in the United Kingdom, such as, tight budgets 
and stringent regulatory constraints. Therefore, building long term relationship
with your constituents is not only essential but necessary for achievement of your
goals. Charities and nonprofits usually work on a predetermined front-end mission,
for instance, community service, advocacy,  activism, religious beliefs, so on and
so forth.

But in order to run the organisation, charities depend on donations or charitable
contributions for financial support, which is why the operational mission of charities
as well as nonprofits, usually revolves around the management of donors. CRM software
for nonprofits, which is also called donor management software, is exclusively designed
to help charities and nonprofits run operations smoothly.
 

[⌊Data Driven Technology⌉⌊Data Driven Technology⌉[

 

[⌊Social Media Engagement⌉⌊Social Media Engagement⌉[

With the advancement in data driven technology, it has become easier to manage constituents
and also succeed as a nonprofit organisation without spending significant amount
of money [hiring staff / resources](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/how-to-find-and-hire-the-perfect-inbound-marketer-for-your-nonprofit).
It has been observed that charity and nonprofit organisations that used CRM technology
noted an increase in the donor contribution growth by 20 percent and more. With 
the emergence of current donor management software, 70% of the organisations are
satisfied with the CRM technology.

Donor attrition is one of the biggest challenges for nonprofits today. Attracting
new donors requires involvement, marketing and word of mouth, but the retention 
of current donors is often an uphill battle. Unless the charity or nonprofit organisation
continually courts them to support their worthy initiatives or renewed memberships,
engage them in volunteer activities or additional pledges, they might lose their
donors.

CRM software platforms for charities and non profits provide valuable and effective
retention tools, such as, pledge management, [marketing automation](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/what-is-inbound-marketing),
as well as [social media engagement](https://www.whitehat-seo.co.uk/social-media-marketing).
These three tools if used efficiently will give your charity organisation the right
amount impact through your constituents.
 

### **_3. Features of a Nonprofit CRM Software_**

CRM software have evolved and have given an upper hand to the non profits especially
when it comes to improving retention, executing mission operations and boosting 
donations. If you are searching for a CRM system that would suit your charity or
nonprofit organisation perfectly, you should start off by first familiarising yourself
with some of the most important software features that your organisation needs. 
Once you begin your research, you will be able to decide which vendors offer precisely
what you need, and then shortlist the best CRM software.

Below we have compiled some of the most essential and primary features that a CRM
software must have:

#### **Constituent Management**

This is the most essential feature of CRM software. It is also the traditional CRM
equivalent of customer / contact management. The only difference between the two
is that constituent management includes donors, volunteers, vendors, students, alumni
foundations and other groups. This type of CRM also includes tools that range from
basic contact details to other types of classification, such as, memberships, donation
history and social media engagement.
 

[⌊Constituent Management⌉⌊Constituent Management⌉[

#### **Campaigns**

Charity or a nonprofit organisation generally use [marketing campaigns](https://blog.whitehat-seo.co.uk/grow-your-business-with-a-successful-seo-campaign)
to promote themselves, attract new donors and keep its constituents informed about
its activities. Campaigns are as important as sales are to a profit-model business,
thus, fundraising campaigns are how charities and nonprofits raise funds from. Fortunately,
in the digital age, charity owners do not need to spend long hours designing pamphlets
to promote their campaign because most nonprofit CRMs have an extremely helpful 
marketing automation feature that launches email campaigns and sends it to all your
constituents instantly.

#### **Donation Management**

A good CRM will help a charity or nonprofit to process the donations they receive.
In order to reach out to all types of donors and give them a seamless and optimal
customer experience, it is important to add flexible payment options so that you
are able to collect donations from more than one channel. A CRM software that has
an integrated payment processing system for credit/debit card, must be preferred
over all others. There are advanced CRMs available that offer nonprofits with integrated
accounting and budgeting features as well.

#### **Event Manager**

Event management is part of promotional activities that nonprofits usually devote
their time to. If your organisation is likely to hold 5 to 6 events annually, you
must use a CRM software that has an event planning and management tool because this
software will enable you to schedule events, create seating charts, track RSVPs,
send invitations and also let your team members access the data from their devices.

[⌊Event Management⌉⌊Event Management⌉[

 

#### **Monthly Reports and Analytics**

Traditional CRMs have always been known to collect huge amounts of data, but they
are not well known for using that data efficiently, same is true for nonprofit  
CRMs. So, when you are researching a suitable CRM software for your organisation,
make sure you select one that is exclusive designed to make analysis easy and helps
you segment your constituents as well. Easy analysis would enable you to plan ahead,
and clarify your perspective as well in the form clean and customisation dashboards.

CRM software has become a fundamental part of majority of charities and nonprofits
organisations today, because it helps in streamlining their operations and enable
them to run smoothly in the long term. A nonprofit CRM is not just another contact
management system, it is a software solution that consolidates vital information
about constituent donations as well as their participation history so that the organisation
can build upon the relationship they have with their donors, members, volunteers,
corporate, sponsors, staff, alumni, etc.  An ideal nonprofit CRM is one that is 
full featured and affordable at the same time. Most of them are free and allow access
to [powerful reporting](https://blog.whitehat-seo.co.uk/inbound-marketing-close-closed-loop-reporting),
as well as, communication tools that help nonprofits to measure the effectiveness
of their marketing campaigns, analyse their outreach and measure results of their
fundraising campaigns.

### **_4. Top 10 CRMs For Charities And Nonprofits_**

#### **Zoho**

**Reference Link**: [www.zoho.com/crm](https://www.zoho.com/crm/)

Zoho ranks as one of the most popular CRM software for charities and nonprofits 
primarily due to its features and inexpensive pricing options. In addition to that,
Zoho also has an entirely free version available for up to three users. The regular
monthly starting rate is from $12 and $35 for an Enterprise version which specifically
offers users more customisation, data storage and security controls.
 

[⌊Zoho CRM Software⌉⌊Zoho CRM Software⌉[

 

The best thing about Zoho is that it offers discounts to nonprofit organisations,
so that they can focus more on their initiatives. Nonprofits that are looking for
a cost effective and economical CRM software can make full use of Zoho’s key CRM
features and also avail their comprehensive support services.

Zoho CRM is efficiently designed to work smoothly on all types of devices. It is
simple to use and has a user friendly interface. The reporting features are very
easy to use and there are also a variety of prebuilt reports that users can run,
or create their own custom reports if they like in the form graphical presentations
that may include, pie charts, funnel, or line etc. Another great feature of Zoho
is it’s built-in social CRM that allows your organisation to engage with users social
networks, such as, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The software can be easily accessed
on mobile devices access with an Internet connection.

#### **Vtiger**

[⌊Vtiger CRM Solution⌉⌊Vtiger CRM Solution⌉[

**Reference link**: [www.vtiger.com](https://www.vtiger.com/)

Vtiger is cost-effective CRM software for charity and nonprofit organisations because
it offers all the basic features for free. To avail all the features, regular pricing
rate is $12 per month, without limiting the number of users. Nonprofits can also
avail a 15-day free trial and also a 30% discount for being a charity organisation.

This CRM solution is intuitive and has an easy to navigate user interface providing
a reasonable customer support. These features make Vtiger the top choice for nonprofit
and charity organisation that want a system that can help streamline their operations
and get them up and running quickly without wasting any time. If you own a charity
or nonprofit organisation, that wants to manage an inventory, Vtiger offers one 
of the most robust inventory management tools, where you can take orders and sell
your products to fund your organisation.

#### **Microsoft Dynamics**

**Reference Link**: [www.microsoft.com/en-gb/dynamics365/home](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/dynamics365/home)

Microsoft Dynamics is considered by many charity and nonprofit organisations as 
the best CRM application because it is simple to use and users can easily download
or customise their dashboards. If your nonprofit or charity organisation uses software
from Microsoft Office, this interface of Microsoft Dynamics will also look familiar
and make it an easy navigation.

Reporting is Microsoft Dynamic’s strongest feature. It’s seamless integration with
Microsoft Excel makes reporting easier. The cutting edge technology used by Microsoft
Dynamics CRM allows users to drill deep into their data and see it visualised in
easy to understand charts and graphs. Microsoft Dynamics cost $65 a month, but qualified
charity and nonprofit organisations can get this amazing Microsoft Dynamics CRM 
for only $9.99 a month. You can also avail a 30-day free trial in order to understand
how the software works. The one thing that may limit the CRM’s power is that it 
can only run on Internet Explorer, which is Microsoft’s own Internet browser.

#### **Salesforce for ****Nonprofits**

**Reference link**: [www.salesforce.org/nonprofit](http://www.salesforce.org/nonprofit/)

Salesforce for Nonprofits is a dedicated CRM solution for charities and nonprofits
which is developed by the world’s leading CRM software provider. The traditional
Salesforce CRM offering is quite expensive as well as complicated, but this particular
version designed for nonprofits is intended to bring a friendly user interface and
best-in-class functionality. The software is free for first 10 users and there is
discount for additional subscriptions as well which is as deep as 50% percent.
 

[⌊Salesforce for nonprofits⌉⌊Salesforce for nonprofits⌉[

 

Nonprofit Salesforce CRM is innovative and comprehensive, it focuses on workplace
collaboration, social media and mobile compatibility. Salesforce is a cloud-based
solution that offers nonprofits and charities a host of fundraising tools, together
with efficient management features for call centres, cases, social media engagement
and hotlines.

#### **DonorPerfect**

Reference link: [www.donorperfect.com/fundraising-software/non-profit-crm-software](https://www.donorperfect.com/fundraising-software/non-profit-crm-software/)

DonorPerfect is another cost effective, cloud-based CRM solution which is a great
option for non profit organisations seeking growth through this robust donor management
software. It offers impressive features for a fair price, for instance, predictive
prospect analysis, built-in tools for planning and organising special events, reporting,
etc.

DonorPerfect utilises Weblink platform to enable nonprofits to create online forms
for a variety of uses such as membership forms, donation forms, gifts, volunteer
forms, event sign-ups, information requests, etc. The best thing about DonorPerfect
is its capability to integrate with Quickbooks and MS Office. DonorPerfect enables
nonprofits to manage and strengthen their relationships with constituents including
donors, volunteers, board members as well as event attendees through their database
that is accessible on all mobile devices.
 

[⌊DonorPerfect Weblink Platform⌉⌊DonorPerfect Weblink Platform⌉[

 

#### **Luminate**** CRM**

**Reference link**: [www.blackbaud.com/fundraising-crm/luminate-crm](https://www.blackbaud.com/fundraising-crm/luminate-crm)

Luminate CRM is a nonprofit software solution that is developed by Blackbaud. It
is built on Salesforce platform which means it taps into the efficient and formidable
power of world’s most popular CRM, which is the Salesforce. Luminate is a cloud-
based CRM that focuses on innovative technology, unified data management and integrated
marketing features. It has many great features and functions, which include, constituent
metrics, email marketing, web forms, document sharing, market segmentation analytics
and predesigned integrations for Microsoft Office, Outlook, and Google Apps.

#### **DonorPro**** Suite**

**Reference link**: [www.salsalabs.com/fundraising-software](https://www.salsalabs.com/fundraising-software)

DonorPro is a cost effective and cloud based dynamic CRM that offers on-premise 
solutions for charities and nonprofits, including an integrated product suite to
assist in fundraising, marketing automation, mobile and web functions. The CRM offers
nonprofits a variety of features, including donor management, event planning, volunteer
management, integrated marketing, analytics and inventory management. it’s fundraising
feature is robust and supplies users with the capability to process payments securely
and create online web forms and content, created emergency appeal, conduct fundraising
events as well as host online auctions.
 

[⌊DonorPerfect Cloud-based CRM Solution⌉⌊DonorPerfect Cloud-based CRM Solution⌉[

 

#### **Insightly**

**Reference link**: [www.insightly.com](https://www.insightly.com/)

Insightly considers itself the number 1 online small business CRM. It does offer
some basic and useful features that are vital to run any charity and nonprofit organisation,
but what sets it apart from the rest of the products is that it is absolutely free.
The CRM system is free for two users, and a 200 megabytes of storage is provided
free with the membership. The feature that makes Insightly a worthy option is it’s
in built email marketing system. This means that you don’t have to subscribe to 
Mailchimp or other automated software to run your email marketing campaigns. Insightly
helps nonprofits save tons of money and utilise it where it is needed the most.

#### **Bitrix24**

**Reference link**: [www.bitrix24.com](https://www.bitrix24.com/)

Bitrix24 is one of the most flexible CRM software available in the market. You can
sign up for a free account which allows up to 12 users and up to five GB of storage
data, with a great number of features. It covers all the essential features you 
need to run your nonprofit organisation efficiently.

Bitrix is a user friendly, very easy-to-use system. It is very well integrated with
other programs and compatible with almost all mobile devices. This CRM is feature-
rich and it is extremely useful when it comes to project management. It offers a
built-in email marketing system, sales automation, invoicing, sales reporting, donor
management and much more.

#### **Hubspot CRM**

 
Reference link: [info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/what-is-hubspot](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/what-is-hubspot)

Hubspot CRM is by far the most comprehensive, feature-rich and easy to use CRM software
compared to all the CRM products listed above. It is a 100% free, innovative CRM
solution. Since Hubspot’s main product is its [comprehensive marketing automation](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/what-is-inbound-marketing)
feature, this particular CRM that is designed for nonprofits is intended to serve
as a gateway system for marketing automation.
 

[⌊Hubspot CRM Charities Nonprofits⌉⌊Hubspot CRM Charities Nonprofits⌉[

 

Hubspot makes management easier for charities and nonprofits. The software has some
really great data gathering abilities. With [Hubspot](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/inbound-marketing-agency-london),
you are no more required to enter the data of your constituents manually because
this robust software knows how to pull data about people efficiently. This is the
feature that makes Hubspot the most intuitive marketing automation software. 

The best thing about Hubspot’s CRM solution is that it is extremely lightweight.
It has all the features that are required by and essential for a charity and a nonprofit
organisation. Being a free CRM, Hubspot seems to have become the best CRM software
for charities and nonprofit organisation.

Get your copy of this report to share with your colleagues here:

### ⏎ 󠀁[⌊Free Beginners Guide To Google AdWords And PPC Advertising⌉⌊Free Beginners Guide To Google AdWords And PPC Advertising⌉󠀁[

### Other Relevant Articles

 * [Charity marketing, what’s your strategy?](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/12/12/charity-marketing-strategy-lottery-raffle/)
 * [Google grants for charities are available now](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/11/15/google-grants-for-charities/)
 * [How to find the perfect marketing person for your charity](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/how-to-find-and-hire-the-perfect-inbound-marketer-for-your-nonprofit)

## Author

This guide was written by Clwyd Probert, CEO of [Whitehat](https://www.whitehat-seo.co.uk/)(
[a certified Hubspot partner](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/inbound-marketing-agency-london))
who provide a [SEO service](https://www.whitehat-seo.co.uk/seo-services) to Charities
and Non-profits.  Whitehat are [London based inbound marketing agency](https://www.whitehat-seo.co.uk/).
Their goal is the unification of sales and marketing efforts helping charities to
drive better engagement, forge stronger relationships and [accelerate fundraising results with a strong ROI](https://info.whitehat-seo.co.uk/hubspot-roi).
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## Comments

### By: Paul Prins

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1930
- Published: 2017-01-17T13:21:00+00:00

Nice article, would have loved to see Fresh Vine ([https://freshvine.co/](https://freshvine.co/))
be included on this list.

### By: Inbound Marketing Agency UK

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1933
- Published: 2017-01-19T13:42:00+00:00

Hi Paul, thanks for the positive feedback. We will definitely review our list and
come back with a revised collection in a future post. In addition, our research 
was not specifically focused on the UK market and I think there is probably a need
to drill down into country specific CRMs (as suggested by Casper) and will make 
sure to include Freshvine in our future analysis.

### By: HowardLake

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1931
- Published: 2017-01-18T21:45:00+00:00

To bring this right up to date, here is a US CRM for nonprofits that was launched
today:
 [https://kepla.com/](https://kepla.com/) It is “the CRM modern progressive
organisations use keep track of their supporters, volunteers, members and donors”.

### By: Inbound Marketing Agency UK

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1934
- Published: 2017-01-19T16:53:00+00:00

Thanks for that Howard, another one to add to the list..

### By: Casper Harratt

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1932
- Published: 2017-01-19T09:54:00+00:00

Thanks for the article. However it does miss out most of the actual key players 
in the UK charity CRM market. Blackbaud (for whom I work) doesn’t sell Luminate 
Online in the UK, but we provide eTapestry (small), Raiser’s Edge (medium) and Blackbaud
CRM (enterprise) to cover non-profits of all sizes. Then there is Alms.net, Civi
CRM, Donorflex, ThankQ by Access, Donorfy, Integra, DonorStrategy, Harlequin…the
list goes on! Many of these are on their way out and I’m by no means saying a charity
should consider them all – but if I were a UK charity looking for a new CRM, I would
not find many genuine options in your list.

### By: Rob Barr

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1935
- Published: 2017-01-20T17:40:00+00:00

I would have to agree with Casper below. We are proud to work with and help over
1,200 NFP clients in the UK. In the last 12 months alone over 70 NFP organisations
selected our solution Access thankQ CRM. These ranged from some of the largest charities
in the UK to lots of smaller organisations with just one or two users of our software.

The other NFP CRM solutions Casper lists below from organisations like Blackbaud
and Advanced are ones we come across on almost a weekly basis when NFPs are evaluating
options. It’s an interesting article, but I’m not sure the list is an accurate reflection
of the UK NFP sector. Clwyd – I’d be very happy to meet up to share our experiences
with your organisation.

### By: Inbound Marketing Agency UK

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1936
- Published: 2017-01-21T16:49:00+00:00

Hi Rob, thanks for the feedback and encouragement. Your points are noted and I agree.
The aim was not to look specifically at the UK market in this article. However, 
it does highlight a need and we are considering another article which will concentrate
more on the UK.

### By: GMCVO Databases

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1937
- Published: 2017-02-14T11:58:00+00:00

Thanks for this article although it does feel quite foreign in the language used–
it doesn’t seem to be written for a UK audience specifically so I agree with Casper.
As a provider of CiviCRM – [https://civicrm.org/](https://civicrm.org/) – we are
aware that over 11,000 organisations use the CiviCRM platform internationally. In
our experience people also use ThankQ, Blackbaud, Salesforce and Dynamics.
 We also
believe that an open source approach gives our customers the flexibility they need,
should they wish to change their functionality of their CRM, or migrate to another
provider. There is no vendor lock in. In terms of features that you would seek in
a CRM product for the VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) sector this
article is accurate: – \> Contact (or customer) management; \> Tracking interactions
or activities with them; \> The ability to communicate and market via email, email
newsletter, postal mail newsletters, sms; \> Record and track donations; \> Event
registrations; \> website integration; These are all useful streams of data that
should be recorded in a CRM to gain a good insight or understanding of the engagement
of your donors, service users and other stakeholders.

### By: Boardmark

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1938
- Published: 2017-04-19T19:25:00+01:00

I opened this article and immediately did a word search for CiviCRM. You would have
expected at least one Open Source option from a website dedicated to fundraising.

### By: Kevin

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/01/16/top-10-crms-charities-nonprofits/#comment-1939
- Published: 2018-02-08T01:44:00+00:00

Great list of CRM Systems! Tigernix has specialist in Charity System to support 
non-profit organisations. You can check out the set of features available here [https://www.tigernix.com/home/software/charity-donor-management](https://www.tigernix.com/home/software/charity-donor-management)
and can compare with the existing CRM systems.