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5 Best Fundraising Software Options For Your NPO

Author: Adie M.
Fundraising software

Virtual fundraising has evolved into a core part of how nonprofit and charity organizations. NPOs raise money funds digitally through crowdfunding campaigns, peer-to-peer fundraising, virtual auctions, etc. Each unique online fundraising method has special attributes and requirements. 

Fundraising software helps organizations manage specific online fundraising methods. The right software can help you structure your campaign, manage payments and donations, market your fundraiser, and much more. But how can you find the right option for your company?

First, you can read our article on ‘What To Look For In Nonprofit Software’. In it, we outline the basic features to prioritize when investing in any new nonprofit system.

Next, you can see which of the software solutions below meet your needs, budget, and goals. 

5 Top Fundraising Software Solutions For Nonprofits

We’ve compiled a list of five of the best fundraising software providers in the NPO industry, their costs, and unique features.

1. BiddingOwl For Fundraising Auctions

Auctions are an excellent way to raise money and engage donors. However, bids, payments, and other logistics can be tricky to manage.

BiddingOwl is a comprehensive system dedicated to making auctions easier for NPOs of all types and sizes. Our solution helps you oversee all the pieces of your fundraising auction events, whether in-person, hybrid, or completely online. 

From ticketing to email and SMS campaigns right through to auction sites and payments, BiddingOwl is there for the entire auction event process.

Pricing: Free from setup right through to the event coordination. You only get charged a 5% fee on actual bids.

Standout features:

  • Auction history and archiving for fundraising analysis
  • Bidder engagement features like paddle raises, live bidding notifications, watchlists, etc.
  • Custom, mobile-friendly nonprofit websites with custom URLs
  • Diverse payment and checkout support

2. OneCause For Fundraising Events

OneCause is a fundraising software that makes various fundraising types easier to organize from one dashboard. Their software supports NPOs with ticketing, donor management, mobile auctions, and more. 

They also have plans for different fundraising types including text-to-give, auctions and events, peer-to-peer, and online fundraising. Their primary focus, however, is event fundraising, helping you oversee the many details involved in event management.

Pricing: OneCause does not have a standard fee or plan package that includes their different fundraising types. You have to request a quote and pay for each plan separately. For example, text-to-give campaigns have their own separate plan from online fundraisers.

Standout features:

  • Educational resources and learning materials to enhance your fundraising campaign execution. This includes podcasts, case studies, webinars, and digital books.
  • Diverse fundraising support including mobile auctions, peer-to-peer campaigns, online donations, and text-to-give.

Young man sitting with a laptop

3. Donorbox For Diverse Fundraising Needs

Donorbox is a well-rounded fundraising tool, popular for its cost-effective fee structure and diverse features. It allows users to integrate their system with various content management platforms, a great feature for media and marketing campaigns. However, this and other features are only available on their pro and premium packages.

Pricing: Starts at $0 per month for their Standard plan with a 1.75% platform fee and payment processing costs. The Pro plan costs $139 per month plus a 1.5% platform fee and payment processing costs. The most expensive Premium option has a custom fee for everything in the Pro plan plus additional features you can select from. It also has a 1.5% platform fee and payment processing costs.

Standout features: 

  • Third-party integration with other tools like Wix, Zapier, Salesforce, Squarespace, WordPress, etc.
  • UltraSwift checkout capability for speedy donations with no requirements for inputting personal information.
  • Custom donation form templates.

4. Fundly For Crowdfunding

Fundly is a fundraising software that works well for smaller nonprofits. This is because it leverages a popular fundraising method, crowdfunding, without needing companies to spend on pricey software. With Fundly, you can customize your crowdfunding campaign page and connect with donors through video and visual media. Plus, you can link your Fundly page to your social media channels for easy content sharing.

Pricing: Zero monthly platform fee, however, they charge a 4.9% fee on every donation you receive. They also have credit card payment processing costs of 2.9%+ $0.30 on every donation. The combined costs (7.8% + $0.30 per gift) can add up and deduct a sizeable amount from funds donated.

Standout features:

  • Integrates to email platforms like Yahoo, Survey Monkey, and Gmail for easy donor email communication.
  • Mobile-friendly for accessibility and donor usability.
  • The app connects to social media platforms for simple marketing campaign management.

5. Double the Donation For Gift-Matching

If you’re looking for a gift-matching system, Double the Donation is a good option. This software provides an extensive matching gift database with over 20,000 companies and millions of individuals. Donors can check whether their companies will match their donations, helping nonprofits to double the donations they receive.  

Pricing: Their standard plan goes from $2,500 annually, although small organizations with an annual income of less than a million can pay $999. If your organization also has less than $10,000 in matching gifts revenue, you can also qualify for this discount. The MatchPro Enterprise Plan starts at around $30,000 per year. These are price estimates as each unique business must request a quote from the provider.

Standout features:

  • The industry leader in matching gift programs.
  • A large database of possible matching donors to choose from.
  • Easy integration with other digital fundraising software you may be using.

Two women talking in front of their laptops

Conclusion

Fundraising software can transform how you manage revenue-generating efforts for your nonprofit organization. With the right software solution that meets your company's needs and fundraising requirements, you can increase donations, improve donor engagement, and more. 

However, there are many things to consider, including the features you’re looking for. Budget is another key factor that determines which software you choose for sustainable and financially savvy use. We’ve shared our top picks to aid you no matter what kind of event or fundraiser you hope to run. And if you’re working on your next auction, try us for free today for specialist auction support!