fundraising stack RECOMMENDATIONS
What software you need by the size of your operation.
A software "stack" is all the software you use to run your fundraising operation. Most nonprofits have a way to track donor information (CRM), find grants, process donations, plan events, find new donors, organize projects, and to collect information. This guide helps you understand the best software based on the size of your fundraising operation.
Written by a nonprofit professional with 15+ years in direct field fundraising and 10+ years in nonprofit leadership. We also run our own research: our annual survey of 100 US fundraising professionals reports what organizations at every size actually spend on software, so the advice here is grounded in real budgets rather than vendor marketing. We make real recommendations you can confidently take to your board and other decision makers.
Recommended stacks
Why organize by shop size?
The stack that fits a $400k shop and the stack that fits a $6M shop share almost no line items. A grassroots shop can run a completely credible operation for close to nothing; a $5M shop that skips prospect research is leaving major gifts on the table. Product-by-product “best CRM” lists can't tell you which of those you are. Your revenue can.
What's in a stack
Six categories, in rough order of return on the dollar for most shops: grant research, prospect and wealth screening, donation processing, donor CRM, forms and operations, and events. The pages under each stack walk the line items one at a time: what it costs, why it's on the list, and when you've outgrown it.