Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are no longer a luxury. Whether you want to secure and analyze your data, track employee and volunteer hours, boost donations, or deepen relationships with donors, the right CRM is your trump card.
In this article, we look at CRM systems in a different light — how they do more than donor retention. We've also rounded up eight leading CRM options that work well for nonprofits to help you cut through the noise and find software that works for your organization.
Why Do Nonprofits Need CRM Software?
Busy nonprofits handle a ton of day-to-day administrative tasks that can take up a lot of time without automation and software support. If your organization feels bogged down by tedious repetitive tasks, disorganization, or lacks a clear picture of performance, there’s good news: CRM software can help.
Here’s how an effective CRM system can help your nonprofit stay ahead of the curve:
Enhancing Donor Relationships
Imagine getting an email from an organization, greeting you by name, thanking you for your recent donation, and explaining the impact of your support. That's the power of personalized messages — which are easier to create than ever before thanks to CRMs.
CRMs track donor behavior and donation history, which nonprofits could use to personalize messages, such as thank-you notes, updates, and unique invitations. These systems can give you insights into donation patterns, interests, and preferences, which can help inform your communications and outreach strategies.
More targeted, specific, and personal interactions with your donors can build stronger relationships, encourage repeat donations, and earn you long-term community supporters.
Improving Fundraising Campaigns
The right CRM comes with analytics and reporting features, meaning you're not guessing about which outreach tactics are working (and what aren't). This helps you keep donors engaged in your mission and optimize your fundraising campaigns all in one spot.
With access to your campaign's performance metrics in real time, you can change fundraising strategies.
Suppose your targeted email campaign is lagging while your social media push is bringing in donations — no problem. You can switch things up with confidence, redirect more resources to your social media campaign, and eliminate time-consuming trial and error in the process.
And even better? You can build on the success of each campaign using lessons from the previous one. A CRM gives you a roadmap to improve fundraising continuously over time!
Streamlining Operations
CRMs are like a one-stop shop for all nonprofit needs — think campaign tracking, automated analysis and reporting, donor management, time tracking, etc. Having all these tools together means you're not juggling multiple platforms. Besides, you reduce the risk of losing crucial data as you bounce between systems.
Automating administrative tasks — such as sending tailored messages to donors, data entry, and volunteer management — allows you to focus on mission-critical tasks.
CRMs also sync with other tools your nonprofit is using, like a payment processor, email marketing platforms, accounting software, and social media management platforms. These integrations streamline your operations and create a smooth workflow.
Archarina ArcCRM is a fantastic software that integrates several tools to meet the needs of nonprofit organizations:
ArcTime: A time-tracking solution that shows how your team members are spending their time. This tool makes it easier to allocate resources during campaigns.
ArcHRM: HR Management solution that streamlines your nonprofit's onboarding process. Whether you need volunteers or staff for an extensive campaign, ArcHRM does the hiring for you.
ArcPay: Archarina's payment solution for receiving funds. It offers benefits like lower transaction fees, easy reconciliation, and resolving kickbacks so you can focus on your mission.
Engagement Letter & Client Portal (ELCP): This tool helps you collaborate with clients more effectively by keeping all your back-and-forth activities organized and accessible.
ArcSign: Simplifies the process of getting your documents signed with secure digital signatures. With this tool, you get approvals without the hassle of paper documents.
The Top 8 Options for Nonprofit CRMs (and Their Best Use Cases)
There's no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to nonprofit CRM software. Many of them offer similar features (like donor management, automation, and reporting) but they're all built to meet different needs.
Let's explore eight leading CRMs and what makes each of them stick out.
Archarina
Archarina's CRM is designed with nonprofit needs in mind, like scalability, fund performance visibility, balance visibility, and value for every dollar. The CRM system is scalable — you won't worry about switching CRMs because your small nonprofit is blowing up. Archarina is made to grow with you!
Even more impressive is Archarina's CRM's integrations with essential tools, like email marketing platforms, payment processors, and event management systems. Archarina can sync seamlessly with other software, which means you have more time to dedicate to your mission.
Archarina's forecasting and predictive analytics tools give you a clear picture of your spending, needs, and utilization. And voilà — you're making informed decisions with the support of time-saving artificial intelligence.
Best for: Perfect for nonprofits of all sizes, Archarina is highly customizable. It's especially great if your nonprofit needs flexible donor management and reporting options.
DonorPerfect
DonorPerfect is an easy-to-use CRM with good donor management functionality. It offers comprehensive features to enhance fundraising campaigns (including online fundraising). The CRM also helps nonprofits maintain strong relationships with donors with its automated communication tools.
The CRM also keeps a detailed record of donor interactions and generates reports. You can use DonorPerfect's reporting tools to access real-time information about donations and campaign success. Better yet, this information can help you identify donor preferences and opportunities for targeted fundraising efforts.
Best case use: Nonprofits that prioritize building solid relationships with donors.
Virtuous
Virtuous differentiates itself with its donor segmentation capability. You group your donors depending on shared characteristics and create donor personas. By addressing the personas individually — acknowledging their contribution and cause affinity areas — you're more likely to get an emotional response. Tailoring communication and fundraising appeals to the needs of each donor segment and makes your interactions more meaningful.
Comprehensive CRMs like Virtuous have predictive analytics tools to help you make sense of your data. By analyzing donor behavior and a nonprofit's past activities, CRMs offer essential information to refine their strategies and target new donors with data. Virtuous integrations with multiple channels, including email, social media, and events in tandem with analytics, will boost your campaigns a ton.
Best case use: Personalized donor engagement; data-driven strategies to optimize fundraising campaigns across multiple channels.
CharityEngine
CharityEngine has an email marketing tool that manages your campaigns full service — creating messages, pointing them to the right audience, and testing their success. Even better, you do all these without leaving the site. Integrating email within a CRM positively impacts efficiency, productivity, and work quality.
CharityEngine's event management, in tandem with email automation, manages your events, from event registration and ticketing to post-event follow-ups.
Best use case: All-in-one solution that combines fundraising, marketing, and event management.
DonorDock
DonorDock is a donor management software designed for small nonprofits upgrading from Excel spreadsheets. Its mission is to help nonprofits engage and retain donors.
This easy-to-use platform tracks your meetings, phone calls, and other communications between your team and your contacts. It also sees data regarding past donations, ticket purchases, volunteer hours, emails, and literally every piece of information concerning your nonprofit to optimize your campaigns and appeals.
DonorDock's integrations with different software solutions are impressive. The platform syncs with email marketing tools like AWeber, MailChimp, and Campaign Monitor to allow you to send targeted messages and track the results of your campaigns.
Best case use: Small or medium-sized nonprofits seeking an affordable, easy-to-use CRM that covers essential donor management and email marketing.
Salesforce
Salesforce offers the Nonprofit Success Pack that allows organizations to customize their dashboards, giving them a personalized view of their metrics. You set up your Salesforce depending on what matters most to your nonprofit — it could be volunteer hours, donations history, campaign performance, or other metrics.
On top of that, Salesforce's advanced analytics features give you insights to maximize your impact. Salesforce is also full service — you get many tools — including email marketing and event management — without leaving the platform. And this means you have more time to strategize and run your organization.
It’s important to note that Bonterra has grown into this all-encompassing solution through acquisition, gobbling up numerous smaller CRM tools (including EveryAction, Salsa, and Network for Good). This approach to growth can lead to confusion as the parent company sunsets various tools, merges features, and so on.
Best case use: Large nonprofits with complex operational needs that need a CRM capable of integrating with a wide range of tools and handling extensive data.
Neon One
Neon One has an extensive product suite of integrated systems (including event management, fundraising software, and payment processing) to help nonprofits grow and increase supporter engagement. The CRM software also comes with donor segmentation, donor tracking, and scheduling solutions to help you avoid losing donors.
Something that sets Neon One apart from the CRMs on this list is that it makes peer-to-peer fundraising a breeze. Your supporters are encouraged to tell their stories on their fundraising pages to engage their networks, enabling your nonprofit to reach potential donors. Neon One's customized onboarding feature makes it easy for supporters to get involved and start fundraising effectively.
Best use case: Nonprofits that frequently host events and need a CRM with strong event management capabilities and integrated peer-to-peer fundraising tools.
Keela
Keela is a Canadian-based CRM solution that uses AI to streamline workflow in nonprofits. First, Keela uses your data about your initiatives to create a picture of your donors. Then, with the help of automation tools, your nonprofit gets actionable insights to improve your donor engagement efforts and fundraising strategies.
The platform has robust donor management tools to track interactions and donations, which help nonprofits maintain connections with their donors. Keela's capabilities for managing communication across multiple channels with donors are crucial, too.
Best use case: Nonprofits focused on leveraging AI and data-driven insights to optimize fundraising strategies and donor engagement.
Why Archarina Is the Best CRM Software for Your Nonprofit
Archarina stands out as the best CRM for your nonprofit because it's designed with the unique challenges of nonprofits in mind. Here's how ArcCRM tackles the common pain points many organizations face.
Customization To Fit Any Nonprofit Organization
Whether you're managing a small charity or medium nonprofit, Archarina allows you to set up donor profiles, track campaigns, and report in a manner that meets your unique needs. With Archarina, you get a quote based on the nonprofit CRM features you want — no dealing with extra tools you'll never use or getting stuck with pricey packages.
Scalability for Growing Nonprofits
Archarina's scalability allows the CRM to adapt to your nonprofit’s specific needs. Features like modular add-ons and customizable dashboards ensure your CRM is as robust as you need it to be. Besides, Archarina's seamless integration capabilities mean you can connect with your existing tools.
The true magic lies in Archarina’s scalability and flexibility. It smoothly adapts to your organization's unique requirements, ensuring a hassle-free implementation, no matter the size or complexity. With Archarina, you get a CRM that grows with you and fits your needs perfectly from day one.
Exceptional User Experience
Archarina's user-friendly design enables nonprofit teams to navigate and use its features easily. So then, you focus on the mission rather than dealing with complex software.
In contrast with a CRM like Salesforce, it’s easy to get started with the onboarding process on Archarina. The platform is easy to navigate without extensive technical expertise.
Help Your Nonprofit Make a Bigger Impact With ArcCRM
Nonprofit CRMs are the backbone of the activities of nonprofits — they collect, store, and organize crucial information, such as donor behavior and donor trends, to enhance your fundraising efforts. So, choosing a CRM that fits the needs of your nonprofit is crucial.
ArcCRM is a scalable platform built for small nonprofits that dream about growing. The system uses predictive and analytics tools to help nonprofits achieve fund visibility, manage donors, and optimize campaigns. To top it off, ArcCRM has an easy-to-use interface, so your team doesn't have to be tech-savvy.
