The best donor management software for nonprofits: features, benefits and how to choose

Why does my charity need donor management software?

If your charity is finding it harder to keep up with fundraising admin or stay connected with supporters, you’re not alone. Many teams reach a point where spreadsheets and separate tools just don’t cut it anymore. Maybe you're:

• Struggling to keep track of donations, campaigns and supporter interactions across spreadsheets or multiple tools.
• Spending too much time on admin instead of fundraising.
• Missing opportunities to personalise communications or steward loyal donors.

A donor management system (also known as donor management software or a charity CRM) helps you bring everything together, so you can build stronger relationships, work more efficiently and make better decisions based on data.

Before choosing the best donor management software for your nonprofit, it’s worth identifying the specific challenges you’re trying to solve. For most charities, donor management forms part of a bigger CRM project to manage all supporter data in one place - but here, we’re focusing on donor management specifically, because it’s often where the biggest transformation happens.

Below are some common challenges charities face, and how the right software can help.

Dipping donor engagement 

You might have noticed fewer sign-ups or donations coming through your website, even though you’re putting effort into your campaigns.

Scattered supporter data can contribute to this, as it's hard for you to see the full picture of your supporters. Without knowing who your donors are, including how they first engaged or where they are in their journey, it’s almost impossible to personalise your outreach.

That means you can’t easily tailor your messaging, target the right donors or share the impact stories that resonate. In some cases, you might not even know whether supporters want to hear from you at all!

The struggle with donor fatigue

According to the Charities Aid Foundation, fewer Brits are donating to charities than 5 years ago - a big manifestation of donor fatigue.

Often, this happens when communications feel too frequent, too similar or not clearly connected to the impact their donations make. Without the right data and insights, it’s difficult to strike the right balance between staying in touch and over-communicating.

That’s where the best donor management software for nonprofits can make a real difference. In 2025, donor fatigue isn’t just about sending fewer messages, it’s about sending better ones. With the right CRM and data-driven insights, your charity can keep supporters inspired, not overwhelmed.

Dive deeper: read the guide to beating donor fatigue

Campaign results aren't clear

If you’re not sure which campaigns are performing well or where donations are coming from, you’re missing opportunities to learn and grow.

A lack of reporting tools or analytics makes it difficult to track donor behaviour, from website visits and email opens to donation frequency. Without that visibility, it’s hard to know what’s working, what’s not and where to invest your limited time and budget.

Modern donor software gives you real-time insights into campaign performance, donor journeys and giving patterns. They can even surface trends using AI-driven analytics, helping you understand not just what happened but why, so you can make smarter decisions moving forward.

Wasting precious time on admin

Manual data entry, cross-checking donations and reconciling reports can eat up hours each week - I know, I’ve been there during my time at a small charity! That’s all time that could be better spent building relationships or planning your next big appeal.

When your systems don’t talk to each other, you end up duplicating work without even realising it. The real transformation happens once your tools are connected. You don’t quite notice how much time you’re losing until the integrations are in place - a bit like thinking your eyesight’s fine, then getting that first pair of glasses!

That’s where donor management software really shines. It helps you automate repetitive tasks and connect your fundraising, finance and marketing data, saving valuable hours every week. The result? More time spent doing what truly matters.

Take Snow Camp, for example. They've dramatically increased team capacity by automating manual processes using integrations. From JustGiving to Gift Aid, you name it, they've integrated it! And they're seeing and feeling the benefits.

"We get a lot of income through events and fundraising pages, and it would easily be a full time job for someone to manage that. Using Donorfy to automate admin saves countless hours."

- Rachel Cruz, Development Director

Read their story

What features should the best donor management software for nonprofits include?

Once you’ve identified the challenges your charity is facing, the next step is finding the right tools to solve them. That’s where choosing the best donor management software for nonprofits really makes a difference.

The right system doesn’t just store information, it helps you understand your supporters, strengthen relationships and make confident, data-driven decisions. But with so many options available, how do you know what to look for?

Below, we’ve outlined the key features of the best donor database for nonprofits, covering four essential areas: fundraising management, donor management, reporting and analytics and automation tools.

Fundraising management that keeps everything connected

Fundraising sits at the heart of every charity, but juggling multiple campaigns, income streams and supporter touchpoints can easily become overwhelming. A good fundraising management tool helps you keep everything in one place, so you can see how each campaign contributes to your goals.

It gives you a clear view of progress, helps you spot trends, and frees up time for what matters most: building relationships and growing support.

Look for fundraising features that help you to:

• Manage one-off, regular, and major gifts alongside events and appeals.
• Track progress towards income targets in real time.
• Understand which campaigns and channels bring the best results.
• Coordinate all fundraising activities, from campaigns to events and major donors

Explore fundraising management

Donor management that puts relationships first

At its best, donor management is about people, not just data. The right system gives you one place to keep everything you know about your supporters, including their contact details, giving history, communication preferences and the small personal touches that make your relationship stronger.

Having all that information together means you can connect more personally and make every interaction count.

Look for donor management features that help you:

• Build detailed constituent profiles with full interaction histories.
• Group supporters by interests, giving patterns or engagement level.
• Automatically send thank-yous or updates after key actions.
• Track each donor’s journey from first gift to long-term supporter.

Explore donor management

Clear and useful analytics and reporting

To make the best decisions, you need to see what’s really happening. The best donor management software gives you the visibility to measure campaign success, understand donor behaviour and share results easily with colleagues or funders.

Simple, visual dashboards help you see patterns and identify where things can improve (without needing to be a data expert.)

Look for reporting features that help you:

• View real-time dashboards showing key fundraising and engagement metrics.
• Compare performance across campaigns or donor segments.
• Track engagement, retention and income over time.
• Create custom reports for boards, funders or teams.

Explore reporting and analytics

Automation tools that save time and keep things moving

Automation takes care of the repetitive jobs that can eat up your day, like sending thank-you emails, updating records or assigning follow-ups. It keeps your supporter experience consistent and frees up your team to focus on the personal touches that can’t be automated.

Look for automation features that help you:

• Send timely thank-yous or updates triggered by donations or signups.
• Set up email journeys that nurture relationships over time.
• Keep supporter data in sync between your CRM and marketing tools.
• Automatically assign follow-up tasks or reminders for your team.

Explore automation tools

Final thought

Simply put, the best donor management software for nonprofits helps your charity spend less time managing data and more time making an impact. With the right mix of donor insight, automation, analytics and fundraising tools, you can build stronger relationships, work more efficiently, and grow your cause with confidence.

If you’d benefit from talking to experts about how donor management software can support your work, we’d love to hear from you.