Best CRM for non-profit organizations

As a non-profit organization, your mission is at the heart of everything you do. Managing donor relationships, tracking volunteer activities, and organizing fundraising efforts are crucial to your success—but can be challenging without the right tools. A dedicated CRM for non-profits can help you streamline these tasks, allowing you to focus more on making an impact and less on administrative details.
In this blog post, we'll explore the best CRM solutions tailored for non-profit organizations like yours, highlighting those that offer essential features, ease of use, and affordability to help you build stronger connections, maximize resources, and drive your mission forward.

Why you need a CRM

Managing a non-profit organization can be overwhelming without the right tech stack. Implementing a CRM can help you streamline operations and drive better outcomes.

1. Challenges without a CRM

Below are some challenges non-profit organizations often face without a CRM that aligns with their goals.

• Disorganization: Scattered donor and volunteer information can lead to confusion and inefficiencies.
• Missed opportunities: Without a CRM, tracking potential donors and volunteers can be difficult, leading to missed engagement opportunities.
• Inefficient processes: Manual data entry and tracking can consume valuable time and resources.
• Lack of insight: Limited access to data analytics makes it challenging to measure the impact and effectiveness of initiatives.
• Inconsistent communication: Without centralized communication tools, maintaining consistent and timely contact with stakeholders is challenging.

2. Benefits of a CRM

A CRM can improve your business performance and provide the following direct benefits, making it a worthwhile investment.

• Centralized information: A CRM helps you create one source of truth so all donor and volunteer data is stored in one place, reducing confusion and streamlining access.
• Enhanced efficiency: A CRM can help you automate repetitive tasks frees up time for strategic activities.
• Improved customer relationships: Better tracking and management of interactions lead to stronger relationships with donors and volunteers.
• Better decision-making: Access to comprehensive data analytics helps in making informed decisions.
• Increased sales: Targeted fundraising efforts can lead to higher donation rates.
• Consistent communication: Integrated communication tools ensure timely and consistent outreach to stakeholders.
  

How to boost your non-profit organization's efficiency with a CRM

Wondering whether or not investing in a CRM is worth it? Below are a few ways a CRM can boost your efficiency.

1. Map your process

You can make the most of your CRM as a non-profit by using it to map out your donor and volunteer journey. Identify key stages such as initial contact, engagement, donation, and follow-up. Then, use your CRM to track these stages and automate reminders for each step to ensure no opportunity is missed.

2. Lead qualification

To improve your lead qualification, you can implement a scoring criteria within your CRM to rank potential donors and volunteers based on their engagement level, donation history, and interaction frequency. This helps prioritize efforts on high-potential leads, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently.

3. Outreach and follow-up

A CRM can also boost your outreach strategy with its automation features. Use it to set up email sequences and LinkedIn outreach campaigns. Personalize messages based on donor interests and past interactions. Schedule follow-ups automatically to maintain consistent communication and build stronger relationships.

4. Nurture Existing Leads

You can also leverage your CRM to segment your donor base and tailor communication strategies. Use data insights to identify opportunities for upselling, such as encouraging recurring donations, or cross-selling by promoting different fundraising events or volunteer opportunities that align with donor interests.

How to evaluate and choose a CRM platform

With a lot of CRM options to choose from, consider adding the following steps to your decision making process to make it less overwhelming.

1. Define your requirements

For non-profit organizations, identifying the key features needed in a CRM is crucial. Focus on functionalities such as donor management, volunteer tracking, event planning, and email marketing. Ensure the CRM can handle your specific needs, such as grant management and reporting capabilities. Customization options are also important to tailor the CRM to your organization's unique workflows.

Key features of a CRM for Non-Profit Organizations

• Automated processes: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows, allowing your team to focus more on mission-critical activities rather than administrative tasks.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds Leads email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency by reducing the time spent on manual data entry.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks Leads through defined stages, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness, which is crucial for managing donor relationships and volunteer engagement.
• Email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences, ensuring consistent and timely outreach to donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly imports Leads from LinkedIn and tracks conversations within the CRM, expanding your network and maintaining a comprehensive record of all interactions.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better planning, enabling your non-profit to make informed decisions and optimize fundraising strategies.
  

2. Budget considerations

Non-profits often operate on tight budgets, so balancing cost and return on investment is essential. Look for CRM solutions that offer special pricing or discounts for non-profit organizations. Consider the total cost of ownership, including setup, training, and ongoing maintenance. An affordable CRM for non-profits should provide robust features without breaking the bank.

3. Selection process

When choosing a CRM vendor, start by researching vendors that specialize in non-profit CRM software. Read reviews, request demos, and ask for references from other non-profits. Evaluate the vendor's experience in the non-profit sector and their customer support capabilities. A vendor familiar with non-profit needs can offer better guidance and support.

4. Get a demo

Trial and compare different CRM platforms by taking advantage of free trials and demos. Involve key stakeholders in the evaluation process to gather diverse perspectives. Create a checklist of must-have features and compare how each platform meets these criteria. Ultimately, choose a CRM that aligns with your organization's goals and can scale as your non-profit grows. Start by looking at how folk CRM can benefit your organization, and get a demo here.

3 tips for implementing a CRM

At this stage, your focus should be on understanding exactly how a CRM can help you save time by automating repetitive tasks, and customize it according to your workflow.

1. Import your data in your new CRM

Transitioning to a new CRM can be seamless if you start by importing your existing data. Most CRMs allow you to export your current data as a CSV file. Once exported, you can easily import this data into your new CRM, ensuring all your donor and volunteer information is readily available.

2. Create your first pipeline

Setting up your first pipeline is crucial for managing your non-profit's activities efficiently. Create a pipeline with stages that reflect your organization's specific processes, such as "New Donor," "Engaged Donor," "Recurring Donor," and "Lapsed Donor." This will help you track the progress of your donor relationships and ensure no one falls through the cracks.

3. Onboard your team

Effective CRM implementation requires your entire team to be on board. Conduct training sessions to familiarize your staff with the new system. This will ensure that everyone understands how to use the CRM to its full potential, from tracking donor interactions to managing fundraising events. A well-trained team can significantly enhance your non-profit's operational efficiency and donor engagement.

The 5 best CRMs for non-profit organizations

1. folk

folk is a modern CRM platform for managing contacts, workflows, and relationships, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting.

Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding emails and LinkedIn URLs, enabling efficient outreach without manual data entry or additional costs for email services.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within Folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Mail merge: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• AI-powered features: AI tools assist in managing contacts and relationships, automating routine tasks, and suggesting actions to improve productivity.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Pros

• Ease of use: folk is praised for its intuitive interface, making it accessible even to non-technical users with quick onboarding and a minimal learning curve.
• All-in-one: folk streamlines your workflow by allowing you to import contacts from LinkedIn, automatically find their emails, reach out through customizable email sequences, and track interactions in a pipeline, eliminating the need for multiple tools and saving time and money.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within Folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Customizability: Custom fields, pipelines, and workflows enable non-profits to tailor the CRM to their specific needs.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Cons

• Reporting: Currently lacks reporting features, but there are plans for future implementation.
  

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14-day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month
• Premium: $40 per user, per month
• Custom: Starts from $60 per user, per month

2. HubSpot

Hubspot CRM is a user-friendly, scalable platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations efficiently.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Includes email marketing, ad tracking, landing pages, and lead generation tools, crucial for non-profits to engage donors and volunteers effectively.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, sales automation, and reporting, helping non-profits manage donor relationships and fundraising campaigns.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing, live chat, and knowledge bases, essential for addressing donor inquiries and volunteer support.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems, streamlining operations and ensuring data consistency.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring to improve outreach efficiency and focus on high-potential donors and supporters.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: HubSpot's intuitive interface makes it accessible for non-profit teams of all skill levels, ensuring quick adoption and ease of use.
• Comprehensive free plan: Offers a robust free version that includes essential CRM features, making it ideal for non-profits with limited budgets.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: Integrates smoothly with marketing, sales, and service hubs, providing a unified platform for donor and volunteer management.
• Automation capabilities: Provides powerful automation tools for tasks like email marketing and lead nurturing, helping non-profits save time and improve efficiency.
• Extensive learning resources: HubSpot Academy offers a wealth of free courses and resources, helping non-profits maximize the platform's potential.

Cons

• High cost at higher tiers: HubSpot’s pricing can become expensive at higher tiers, which may be prohibitive for non-profits as they grow.
• Limited customization in free plan: The free plan has limited customization options, which can restrict flexibility for non-profits with specific needs.
• Complexity in advanced features: Some advanced features have a steep learning curve and may require additional training.
• Email marketing limits: Email marketing functionality in the free plan is restricted, which can be a drawback for non-profits with larger donor lists.
• Limited reporting capabilities in lower tiers: Detailed reporting features are often locked behind higher-priced plans, limiting insights for non-profits on lower tiers.
  

Price and plans

Prices and plans on the CRM suite for an annual subscription are as follows.

• Starter: $15 per user, per month.
• Professional: $450 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $1,500 per user, per month.

3. Zoho

Zoho is a CRM system with a strong sales focus. Its got features such as journey orchestration, sales process management and workflow automation. There's also something for marketing teams, including lead hurting, event management and customer segmentation.

Key features

• Lead and contact management: Manages donor information, tracks interactions, and segments contacts for targeted campaigns.
• Customizable dashboards and reports: Allows non-profits to create and customize dashboards and reports for in-depth analytics on donor engagement and fundraising efforts.
• Multi-channel communication: Integrates with email, phone, social media, and live chat to manage donor interactions seamlessly.
• Workflow automation: Automates routine tasks and processes, such as sending thank-you emails to donors, to improve efficiency and reduce manual effort.
• AI-powered sales assistant (Zia): Provides predictive analytics, task automation, and intelligent suggestions to enhance donor management and fundraising performance.

Pros

• Affordability: Zoho CRM offers competitive pricing with various tiers, making it accessible to non-profits of all sizes.
• Customization: Extensive customization options allow non-profits to tailor the CRM to their specific needs, including custom fields, modules, and workflows.
• Integration with Zoho Suite: Seamless integration with other Zoho products (like Zoho Books, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Campaigns) creates a comprehensive ecosystem for managing different organizational functions.
• Multi-channel communication: Zoho CRM supports email, phone, social media, and live chat, enabling non-profits to manage all donor interactions from a single platform.
• AI-powered features: Zia, the AI assistant, provides intelligent insights, predictive analytics, and task automation, helping to improve donor engagement and fundraising efficiency.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: The extensive customization options can be overwhelming for new users, requiring a significant time investment to master the platform.
• Complex setup: Initial setup and configuration can be complex, particularly for non-profits without technical expertise or dedicated IT resources.
• Performance issues: Occasional reports of slow performance, especially with large datasets or complex operations, can hinder productivity.
• Limited third-party integrations: While Zoho integrates well with its own suite of products, integration with third-party applications can be limited or require additional effort.
• Data migration challenges: Migrating data from other CRMs to Zoho can be difficult and time-consuming, often requiring manual adjustments.
  
  

Price and plans

Zoho has a free plan limited to three users suitable for small non-profits. After that, an annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month
• Professional: $35 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $50 per user, per month

4. Streak

Streak is a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that integrates directly with Gmail, allowing users to manage their sales pipeline and customer interactions from within their email inbox. Designed to simplify CRM tasks, Streak offers features such as email tracking, mail merge, task management, and pipeline visualization, all seamlessly embedded in Gmail’s interface.

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Key features

• Advanced CRM: Offers comprehensive features tailored to managing donor relationships and tracking volunteer activities.
• Shared pipelines: Enables teams to collaborate on fundraising campaigns and event planning with real-time updates.
• Email tracking and snippets: Allows non-profits to monitor donor engagement and streamline communication.
• Google Workspace integrations: Seamlessly integrates with Google tools, enhancing productivity and coordination.
• Mobile access: Provides on-the-go access to CRM data, crucial for fieldwork and remote collaboration.

Pros

• Seamless Gmail integration: Streak is directly integrated into Gmail, allowing users to manage CRM activities without leaving their email inbox. This integration simplifies the user experience, especially for those already familiar with Gmail.
• User-friendly and intuitive: Because it operates within Gmail, Streak is easy to use and requires minimal training. The familiar interface makes it accessible even to those new to CRM software.
• Customizable pipelines: Streak allows users to create and customize pipelines to fit various workflows, such as donor management, volunteer coordination, and event planning, offering flexibility across different non-profit processes.
• Email tracking and automation: Streak includes useful features like email tracking, mail merge, and automated follow-ups, which help users manage communication more effectively and improve response rates.
• Collaboration features: Streak enables real-time collaboration, allowing team members to share pipelines, emails, and notes, improving teamwork and visibility across fundraising or project management efforts.

Cons

• Limited advanced CRM features: Compared to standalone CRM platforms, Streak lacks some advanced features like detailed analytics, advanced reporting, and marketing automation, which may not meet the needs of larger or more complex non-profits.
• Reliance on Gmail: As Streak is tied to Gmail, it may not be suitable for non-profits that use other email platforms. This dependency also means that any changes or issues with Gmail could directly impact Streak’s functionality.
• Basic mobile experience: While Streak has a mobile app, it offers a more limited experience compared to its desktop counterpart, which might be inconvenient for users who need comprehensive CRM access on the go.
• Integration limitations: Streak has fewer integrations with other software tools compared to more robust CRM systems, potentially limiting its effectiveness for non-profits that rely heavily on a variety of third-party applications.
• Potential email clutter: Since Streak operates within Gmail, managing a large volume of CRM data within an email interface can lead to clutter and make it harder to maintain a clear, organized inbox.
  

Price and plans

• Pro: Starts from $49 per user, per month.
• Pro +: Starts from $69 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: Starts from $129 per user, per month.

5. Less Annoying CRM

Less Annoying CRM is a customer relationship management (CRM) software designed to be simple. It focuses on simplicity and ease of use, providing a straightforward platform for managing contacts, tracking leads, and staying organized.

Key features

• Unlimited contacts and companies: Manage all your donors, volunteers, and partners without worrying about hitting a limit.
• Unlimited pipelines: Track various fundraising campaigns and volunteer recruitment efforts seamlessly.
• Email logging: Keep a record of all communications with donors and stakeholders for better relationship management.
• Task management: Assign and track tasks among your team to ensure smooth operations and follow-ups.
• Mobile access: Access your CRM data on-the-go, perfect for fieldwork and remote team members.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: Designed for ease of use, making it accessible for non-profit staff with varying levels of tech expertise.
• Affordable pricing: A flat monthly fee with no hidden costs, ideal for non-profits operating on a tight budget.
• Cloud-based access: Access your CRM from anywhere, ensuring your team can work flexibly and collaboratively.
• Excellent customer support: Benefit from responsive and friendly support, crucial for non-profits needing prompt assistance.
• Free trial: A 30-day free trial allows you to test all features and determine if it meets your organization's needs without financial commitment.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: May lack some advanced functionalities like marketing automation and in-depth analytics, which could be a limitation for more complex non-profit operations.
• No native mobile app: While accessible via mobile browsers, the absence of a dedicated app might be a drawback for some users.
• Basic reporting capabilities: Simple reporting features may not provide the detailed insights needed for comprehensive donor analysis and strategy planning.
• Limited integrations: Fewer third-party app integrations can be restrictive for non-profits using a variety of software tools.
• Customization constraints: Limited customization options might not fully cater to specific workflows and processes unique to your non-profit.
  

Price and plans

• $15 per user, per month.

Conclusion

Choosing the best CRM for your non-profit organization is a critical decision that can significantly impact your operations and fundraising success. The right CRM will streamline your processes, enhance donor and volunteer relationships, and provide valuable insights through data analytics. Platforms like Folk, HubSpot, Zoho, Streak, and Less Annoying CRM each offer unique features tailored to different needs and budgets. Folk stands out with its intuitive interface and robust LinkedIn integration, making it ideal for non-profits focused on relationship management. HubSpot offers comprehensive tools for marketing and donor engagement, while Zoho provides extensive customization options. Streak's seamless integration with Gmail is perfect for email-centric organizations, and Less Annoying CRM offers simplicity and affordability. Evaluate these options based on your organization's specific requirements, budget, and scalability needs. To see how folk can transform your non-profit's efficiency, try folk for free here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a non-profit organization use as a CRM?

Non-profit organizations often use CRMs like folk, Hubspot, Zoho, Streak, and Less Annoying CRM. Among these, folk stands out due to its tailored features for managing donor and volunteer relationshipss.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, depending on the complexity of your process. A CRM helps streamline donor and volunteer management, automate routine tasks, and provide valuable insights through data analytics. This is crucial for enhancing efficiency and ensuring no engagement opportunities are missed, ultimately driving better outcomes for your non-profit organization.

How much does a CRM cost?

CRM costs typically range from $15 to $150 per user per month. For example, folk offers plans starting at $20 per user per month, while HubSpot's plans can go up to $1,500 per user per month for enterprise features. Zoho and Less Annoying CRM offer more affordable options, starting at $20 and $15 per user per month respectively.

Does folk’s CRM respond to non-profit organizations needs?

Yes, folk’s CRM is well-suited for non-profit organizations. It offers an intuitive interface, customizable pipelines, and AI-driven tools that streamline donor and volunteer management. Features like contact enrichment, LinkedIn integration, and automated email sequences help non-profits enhance their outreach and relationship management efficiently, making it a valuable tool for achieving their mission.