Trying to select the best donor management software for your nonprofit can be daunting. What options are out there? How do they compare? How do you determine which is the right fit for your organization? Can you make the decision yourself, or do you need to engage a consultant of some sort to help?
All of the questions can make your head spin, and that’s before you even step foot into the ocean of options that are out there; these packages range from extremely basic to fully comprehensive, and it can be difficult to determine where on the spectrum a certain solution falls.
After serving the DC nonprofit community for over two decades, you can imagine that we’ve heard a number of questions about which donor management software we’d recommend. Besides managing a number of software selection projects, we’ve also had the chance to hear quite a bit of feedback from our nonprofit clients about the software they use, what they like about it, and where it may fall short.
For this article, we’ve taken all of that experience and boiled it down to the key factors that differentiate these solutions, along with a few solid recommendations that we feel may serve your organization well.
What factors differentiate donor management software packages?
See this article for a more detailed breakdown of which features to look at when evaluating donor management software. In a nutshell, these are the key differentiating factors when it comes to these kinds of packages:
- Tracking capabilities. To what extent does the software track your constituent relationships, meeting notes, communications, donations, organizations, individual contacts, and events?
- Integration. To what extent does it integrate with your email, website, accounting, and mobile devices?
- Usability. How easy is it to navigate the dashboard and pull reports? Will your staff have training?
- Support. How will the vendor aid in implementation, and what are your options when you run into trouble?
- Cost. What is your investment going to look like, both in terms of amount and payment structure (subscription vs licenses)?
With these factors in mind, we’ll work through a few packages that either we have evaluated ourselves, or we have seen serve our clients well over the years.
Reviews of the best donor management software options
Here are three good software packages to consider when making your software selection:
1. Raiser’s Edge by Blackbaud. Our clients who use this package cannot stop singing its praises. The most compelling advantage here is that this software can be a truly “all-in-one” solution, from donor management to accounting to a full constituent relationship management (CRM) system. The catch is that you need to purchase the compatible software from Blackbaud, but if you’re able to do so, you’re left with a really robust, premier solution for your organization.
2. NeonCRM by Z2 Systems. We just recently helped a national nonprofit select Neon for their organization. This package features a solid CRM that is quite user-friendly—the system organizes information by record (single pane of glass), will allow them to consolidate vendors by setting up a store inside the software that integrates with their website (and includes merchant services), and has event registration capabilities. For our client, this package will help simplify and centralize their systems, thereby increasing overall efficiency.
3. DonorPerfect by SofterWare. Take a look at any donor management ranking list and you’re bound to find DonorPerfect mentioned. This solution is extremely prevalent, it is always one of the top-rated packages, and we know many organizations that have used it successfully for quite a long time. It is important to note that we have heard a few grumbles of a sub-par user experience from our nonprofit partners, but if you happen to place pricing and functionality over completely seamless use on your list of priorities, this is absolutely worth a look.
While these are certainly not the only good software options out there, they are a good place to start when you’re looking to implement a new solution.
As is always the case with software selection, it is critical that you take the time to figure out exactly what it is you want to use your solution for, and measure all of your options against the requirements you set forth. Talk to the vendors. Have them run a demonstration. Test the solution out before you commit.
And, if it all seems too much for your organization to handle in-house, don’t hesitate to engage an outside consultant to drive the selection process for you; when it comes to the livelihood of your core operations and the success of your mission, it couldn’t be more important to take the time to do it right.