Selecting the right nonprofit fundraising software can make or break your donation outcomes. Nonprofits using effective fundraising software receive an average gift of $166—27% larger than the industry standard of $121.Yet here's what's concerning: while Americans donated a record $592.50 billion to charities in 2024, the total number of nonprofit donors has dropped steadily over the past five years.
What's causing this disconnect? Your fundraising success depends heavily on the tools you choose. The top-performing nonprofits using specialized CRM software achieve 64% donor retention rates, while the industry average sits at just 42%. With 63% of donors now preferring online giving and 56% regularly attending fundraising events, your software needs to handle multiple channels without creating headaches for your team.
Here's a startling fact: $4-$7 billion in matching gift revenue goes unclaimed every year. Even more telling, 84% of donors say they're more likely to give when their employer matches their contribution. Most nonprofits allocate 2-5% of their annual fundraising revenue to software and processing fees—making your choice crucial for both effectiveness and budget.
This guide examines the best nonprofit fundraising software options available in 2025. We'll look at essential features, real pricing structures, user experiences, and which solutions work best for different organization sizes. Our goal? Help you find a tool that actually delivers results for your specific fundraising needs.
Most nonprofits start with what they have on hand: Excel spreadsheets, Microsoft Access databases, or QuickBooks to track donor information and donations. These tools work well for their intended purposes, but they weren't built to handle the unique demands of fundraising. What begins as a practical solution eventually becomes a roadblock that limits your organization's potential.
Manual fundraising processes create more problems than they solve. When your team depends on spreadsheets and paper systems, mistakes aren't occasional hiccups—they're guaranteed. Paper-based donation tracking struggles to maintain accurate records, leading to missing information, duplicate entries, and hours spent trying to reconcile discrepancies.
Time becomes your biggest expense with manual systems. Your staff spends countless hours on administrative tasks instead of advancing your mission. Think about the reality: recording each gift, creating acknowledgment letters, updating donor records across different platforms. All this busywork pushes aside what really matters—building relationships with supporters and planning strategic initiatives.
Manual processes make timely donor communication nearly impossible to maintain consistently. When acknowledgments don't reach donors within 48 hours of their gift, you miss a critical opportunity. Research shows donors who receive prompt acknowledgments are far more likely to give again. Without automated systems, important follow-ups slip through the cracks, leaving supporters feeling forgotten.
The visibility problem compounds these issues. Without centralized data, tracking donor patterns becomes guesswork. You can't identify your most promising prospects or generate meaningful reports when valuable insights remain scattered across disconnected files.
Dedicated fundraising software creates immediate improvements throughout your organization. Automating routine tasks like data entry, gift processing, and follow-up emails saves your team hours weekly while eliminating costly errors. Studies reveal that nonprofits using automation report impressive results: 60% see increased productivity and 56% experience better overall efficiency.
Centralizing your fundraising data opens up powerful possibilities:
Complete donor insights – Build detailed donor profiles that give your entire team the full picture of each supporter's involvement, enabling strategic engagement decisions
Smart communication – Segment donors automatically and customize messages based on giving history and preferences without manual work
Effortless reporting – Generate accurate impact reports and financial statements without manual compilation
When automation handles routine tasks, your fundraising team can focus on the meaningful work. Instead of moving data between systems, your staff can invest their energy in donor relationships that actually drive engagement and giving.
Fundraising software ensures every supporter receives consistent, professional communication. Timely acknowledgments build trust and create lasting impressions. Your automated systems manage welcome messages, follow-ups, and donor recognition, keeping you connected without overwhelming your workload.
Financial benefits add up quickly. Consolidating multiple tools into one platform eliminates subscription costs and integration expenses. Better accuracy reduces time spent fixing errors, improving your return on technology investments.
A proper fundraising system connects donation processing, communication tools, and engagement tracking. This integration reveals patterns in giving behavior that inform future campaign strategies.
The right fundraising software does more than organize information—it empowers your team to raise more money while reclaiming valuable time. With automation managing the administrative load, your organization can focus completely on what drives your work: your mission.
Finding the right fundraising platform doesn't have to feel overwhelming. With so many options available, a systematic approach helps you identify what truly serves your organization's needs rather than getting caught up in flashy features you'll never use.
Start by identifying the core capabilities your organization actually needs. Every effective fundraising platform should include:
Mobile-friendly donation forms that create a smooth giving experience and capture crucial donor data
Event management capabilities for handling registration, ticketing, and checkout from a single location
Donor management tools that build comprehensive profiles showing each supporter's giving history and engagement level
Marketing automation features for streamlined communication and relationship building
Look for platforms with visual progress tracking through customizable dashboards—your team needs a unified view of fundraising progress without jumping between multiple screens. Better yet, find software offering detailed reporting options, ideally with unlimited custom reports, so you can make decisions based on real data rather than gut feelings.
Here's where many nonprofits get tripped up: integration capabilities. During your evaluation, ask vendors directly: "Does your platform currently integrate with other solutions my organization may use?" Don't assume they'll mention limitations unless you ask specifically.
Critical integrations to verify include:
Marketing solutions like email platforms
Customer relationship management systems
Analytics and reporting solutions
Accounting software like QuickBooks
Event tools for fundraising activities
Most nonprofits need seamless connections between their CRM, payment processing, and communications tools. A fragmented system creates more than just inconvenience—it introduces hidden costs that accumulate quickly. Focus on platforms with established integrations or well-designed APIs that actually simplify data management across your systems.
Pricing transparency should be non-negotiable when selecting fundraising software. Don't just look at upfront costs—calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO) over time. This includes setup fees, monthly subscriptions, training costs, and ongoing support.
Hidden fees plague the nonprofit sector more than most organizations realize. Many platforms advertise attractive rates while burying charges that significantly impact your budget. Watch for these common gotchas:
Platform fees on top of payment processing fees
Dynamic pricing that increases as your organization grows
Data migration costs when switching platforms
PCI non-compliance fees (typically $20-$50 monthly)
Extra charges for customer support or training
Some "free" platforms aren't actually free—they recover costs through high transaction fees or by restricting access to features you need. We've seen providers advertise a 1.5% platform fee while quietly adding a 2.9% payment processing fee, creating a total cost of 4.4%.
Ask two crucial questions during your evaluation: First, is pricing static or does it increase as your nonprofit grows? Second, what's your "effective rate"—the actual percentage your organization pays in total fees? This gives you real numbers to compare vendors accurately.
User reviews reveal how software actually performs in day-to-day operations. G2, the largest software marketplace, publishes quarterly rankings of fundraising solutions based on verified user reviews. These rankings consider implementation speed, usability, and how likely users are to recommend the platform.
Donorbox has held the #1 fundraising software position on G2 for four consecutive quarters, earning recognition across 55 reports and 26 badges in Spring 2025. But don't stop at overall ratings—dig into individual reviews to understand specific strengths and weaknesses that matter for your situation.
Pay special attention to feedback about:
How easy setup and implementation actually were
Quality and responsiveness of customer support
System reliability and uptime issues
Integration capabilities and limitations
Whether users feel they get good value for the cost
Keep in mind that only about 10% of vendors appear in G2's quarterly Market Reports, so these rankings help you identify established, well-regarded solutions worth considering seriously.
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Finding the right fundraising software means matching your organization's specific needs with tools that actually deliver results. After looking at dozens of platforms, here are the ones that consistently help nonprofits raise more money and build stronger donor relationships.
Want to keep your donors coming back? Bloomerang excels at helping nonprofits build lasting relationships with supporters. The platform's interactive dashboard shows you exactly how your campaigns are performing while tracking engagement and retention rates in real time.
Here's what stands out: nonprofits using Bloomerang achieve a 47% first-time donor retention rate, crushing the industry average of just 19%. Each donor profile creates a complete timeline showing past interactions with your campaigns, events, and fundraising efforts. The "Engagement Meter" and "Generosity Score" features give you instant visual feedback—you'll know immediately which supporters need attention and which might be ready for a larger ask.
Bloomerang prices based on the number of records in your database, making costs predictable as you grow.
Whether you're just starting out or managing thousands of donors, Donorbox makes fundraising straightforward. Over 100,000 nonprofits worldwide have collectively raised over $3 billion through the platform—and there's a good reason why.
The UltraSwift checkout process reduces donor drop-off by asking for less personal information, making donations about four times faster than traditional forms. Beyond basic online giving, you get text-to-give functionality, AI-driven CRM tools, and donor management that actually makes sense.
What sets Donorbox apart? Features like Live Kiosk for encouraging spontaneous giving at events, specialized tools for churches and museums, and recurring donation options that let returning donors give with just one click.
Looking to squeeze more donations from your website traffic? Fundraise Up applies e-commerce optimization techniques to nonprofit fundraising—and the results speak for themselves. The Greater Vancouver Food Bank saw a 42% increase in conversion rates within just one month of switching.
The platform's AI tools personalize ask amounts and intelligently suggest donation upgrades. Their "Elements" feature lets you place interactive components anywhere on your website without needing a developer. Sometimes small changes make big differences—Fundraise Up research shows that simply making mailing addresses optional can boost donation completion rates by 3.4%.
GoFundMe has built something special: a community of over 200 million potential donors who are already comfortable giving online. This community-driven approach works particularly well for collecting smaller donations from neighbors and community members rather than depending solely on major donors.
The platform offers free nonprofit page claiming with verified status badges that increase donor trust. Your supporters can even launch fundraisers on your behalf using pre-built templates, helping you reach new audiences. GoFundMe puts communities at the heart of campaigns, focusing on shared goals rather than individual donors.
Beautiful donation forms that actually convert—that's Donately's specialty. Their multi-step forms convert up to 8 times better than leading platforms. The donation pages can be embedded directly into your website without awkward redirects, keeping your brand experience consistent throughout the giving process.
Beyond standard donation forms, Donately offers peer-to-peer fundraising with leaderboards, team fundraising capabilities, and detailed tracking analytics. Pricing ranges from a 4% platform fee to flat monthly rates depending on your organization's size.
Whether you're hosting an online auction or an in-person event, BiddingOwl gives you the tools to make your fundraiser successful. You can auction items virtually or traditionally, sell admission tickets, and raise money through paddle raises and fund-a-need offers.
The platform's intuitive bidding experience lets guests browse items, add favorites to their watch list, and place bids directly from their phones or computers. Automated bidding functionality allows participants to set maximum bid amounts—the system automatically places bids for them in configurable increments.
The results can be remarkable. One organization reported raising 20 times as much money after switching to BiddingOwl's online auction platform. That's the kind of improvement that can truly change what your nonprofit can accomplish.
Finding fundraising software that actually works means matching your organization's current needs with the right solution. What works for a small community nonprofit won't serve a large hospital foundation effectively. Here's how to choose based on where you are today.
Organizations with annual revenue under $500,000 need straightforward solutions that won't break the budget. Many small nonprofits start with spreadsheets before moving to dedicated fundraising tools. Look for platforms that charge per transaction rather than hefty monthly fees.
Several providers focus specifically on smaller organizations:
Zeffy runs on an optional donor tip system, making it completely free for tight budgets
Givebutter offers free plans supported by donor tips, including all core fundraising features
Little Green Light provides tiered pricing starting at just $45/month for up to 2,500 contacts
Small nonprofits should focus on tools that work immediately without requiring technical expertise. Fundly offers a solid option for organizations exploring crowdfunding without expensive software investments.
Whether you're managing $1 million to $50 million in annual revenue, your software needs grow more complex. Mid-sized nonprofits require automation, detailed reporting, and smooth connections between different systems.
Most mid-sized nonprofits spend 2-5% of their annual fundraising revenue on software and processing fees. That investment should pay off through stronger donor relationships and streamlined operations. Strong options include:
Bloomerang for donor management with engagement tracking
DonorPerfect for customizable solutions across different sectors
Neon CRM for centralizing all your constituent data
Integration capabilities matter most at this stage—your fundraising platform should connect seamlessly with accounting, email marketing, and other essential tools.
Organizations exceeding $50 million in annual revenue face sophisticated challenges that demand enterprise-level solutions. You need powerful analytics, extensive customization, and scalable systems that support complex operations.
Large nonprofits typically choose:
Blackbaud CRM for comprehensive fundraising management
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud with extensive customization options
Bonterra EveryAction for enterprise tools covering fundraising, advocacy, and events
These platforms require significant investment but deliver advanced capabilities like predictive analytics, complex workflow automation, and sophisticated donor segmentation. Large organizations often need dedicated staff or IT teams to maximize these powerful systems.
Organizations that depend heavily on fundraising events need specialized software for auction management, mobile bidding, and ticketing. Without the right tools, planning successful events becomes far more complicated than necessary.
BiddingOwl provides a straightforward approach—you pay only a 5% fee when items sell, with no upfront costs or monthly subscriptions.
Even when you do your homework on fundraising software options, certain pitfalls can turn your investment into a costly headache. These four mistakes trip up nonprofits more than any others—avoiding them can save you months of frustration and thousands of dollars.
Too many organizations fall in love with a platform's features without checking if it plays nice with their existing tools. When your new fundraising software can't talk to your CRM, accounting system, or email platform, you end up with data scattered across multiple systems. Before signing anything, confirm the platform connects seamlessly with your current CRM, online fundraising tools, and accounting software.
Watch out for vendors who claim to offer "integrated" solutions that are really just separate products they've acquired and rebranded. True integration means data flows smoothly between systems without manual exports and imports.
Here's what happens: either nonprofits buy the cheapest option and get stuck with limitations, or they go overboard with enterprise-level features their team will never use. Choosing expensive software loaded with advanced features you can't actually implement is like buying a Ferrari when you need a reliable pickup truck.
On the flip side, selecting software based purely on price often leads to surprise charges for essential add-ons down the road. Find the sweet spot between your actual needs and your team's capabilities.
Software training isn't a one-and-done event—it's an ongoing investment in your team's success. Without proper training, your staff will struggle with basic functions, miss powerful features, and maybe even look for jobs elsewhere out of frustration.
Look for vendors who offer thorough onboarding support, ongoing consultation, and multiple ways to get help when you need it. The best software in the world won't help if your team doesn't know how to use it effectively.
Your fundraising team lives with the software every day, yet they're often left out of the selection process. This approach practically guarantees problems. Get input from different departments—fundraising staff who understand daily workflows, finance team members who handle reporting, IT folks who manage integrations, and leadership who set strategic direction.
Your fundraisers know which features matter most for building donor relationships, while executives can evaluate how the software supports broader organizational goals. The best software decisions happen when everyone has a voice in the process.
Choosing fundraising software comes down to one simple truth: the right tool should make your job easier, not harder. We've covered a lot of ground here, from understanding why manual systems hold you back to examining specific platforms that can help you raise more funds.
Your decision doesn't have to be perfect—it just needs to be right for where your organization stands today. Small nonprofits starting with basic online giving tools can always grow into more sophisticated systems. What matters most is taking that first step away from spreadsheets and toward organized, efficient fundraising.
The best fundraising software won't just organize your donor data. It'll free up your time so you can focus on what really matters: building relationships with supporters who believe in your mission. When you're spending less time on administrative tasks, you have more energy for the creative work that drives real impact.
Remember to involve your team in this decision. Your fundraisers know what daily challenges they face, and your finance team understands reporting requirements. Getting everyone's input upfront prevents headaches later.
Most importantly, don't get paralyzed by all the options out there. Pick a solution that fits your current needs and budget, then give it a fair chance to work. You can always adjust and upgrade as your organization grows.
The right fundraising software is waiting for you. Take the time to evaluate what you've learned here against your specific situation. Your future donors—and your mission—will benefit from the choice you make today.
Choosing the right fundraising software can transform your nonprofit's donation outcomes and operational efficiency. Here are the essential insights to guide your decision:
• Size determines software needs: Small nonprofits need affordable, simple tools, while large organizations require enterprise solutions like Blackbaud or Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud.
• Integration capabilities are crucial: Ensure your fundraising platform connects seamlessly with existing CRM, accounting, and email marketing systems to avoid costly data silos and duplicate work.
• Watch for hidden fees beyond advertised rates: Many platforms conceal charges like PCI compliance fees, data migration costs, and dynamic pricing that increases as you grow.
• Involve your entire team in the selection process: Include fundraisers, finance staff, IT, and leadership to ensure the chosen platform meets operational needs and strategic goals.
• Prioritize donor engagement features over flashy extras: Focus on mobile-friendly forms, comprehensive donor profiles, automated communications, and robust reporting rather than unused advanced features.
The most successful nonprofits using specialized fundraising software achieve 64% donor retention rates compared to the industry average of 42%. With proper software selection, training, and implementation, your organization can focus less on administrative tasks and more on advancing your mission while building stronger donor relationships.
Q1. What are the top fundraising software options for nonprofits in 2025? Some of the best fundraising software options for nonprofits in 2025 include Bloomerang for donor engagement tracking, Donorbox for small to mid-sized nonprofits, Fundraise Up for conversion optimization, GoFundMe for grassroots campaigns, and BiddingOwl for events and auctions. The right choice depends on your organization's specific needs and size.
Q2. How can nonprofits avoid common mistakes when selecting fundraising software? To avoid common mistakes, nonprofits should ensure the software integrates well with existing systems, avoid overpaying for unused features, invest in proper training and onboarding, and involve the fundraising team in the decision-making process. It's crucial to consider long-term needs and growth potential when selecting a platform.
Q3. What features should nonprofits prioritize in fundraising software? Nonprofits should prioritize features such as mobile-friendly donation forms, comprehensive donor management tools, marketing automation capabilities, and robust reporting options. Additionally, look for software that offers customizable dashboards, integration capabilities with other systems, and scalability to accommodate future growth.
Q4. How does fundraising software impact donor retention rates? Effective fundraising software can significantly improve donor retention rates. For example, nonprofits using specialized CRM software achieve donor retention rates of 64%, compared to the industry average of 42%. The right software enables personalized communication, timely acknowledgments, and better donor insights, all contributing to improved retention.
Q5. What should small nonprofits consider when choosing fundraising software? Small nonprofits should focus on affordable, user-friendly platforms that offer essential features without overwhelming complexity. Look for solutions with transaction-based pricing rather than heavy monthly fees. Options like Zeffy, Givebutter, or BiddingOwl can be good starting points, offering core fundraising features at accessible price points for organizations with limited budgets.
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