[GUEST POST] 4 Top Reasons to Invest in Nonprofit Fundraising Software
Adopting new fundraising software isn’t just about following trends (although you should pay attention to them!). Every nonprofit needs a unique tech stack that supports its priorities, whether you want to host engaging events or identify the best major donor prospects. If your technology isn’t effectively supporting your goals, it might be time to consider new investments.
But how do you know if your nonprofit really needs new fundraising tools? How do you determine if the effort and cost will be worthwhile?
If you’re in this position, we’re here to help! This guide will cover a few reasons why purchasing new software might be the right decision for your organization. If one or more of these statements apply to your nonprofit, you’ll likely benefit from investing in new tools.
1. You need more organized data.
Does your team struggle to track down details about a specific donor’s involvement or your last campaign’s fundraising results? Do you find yourself spending hours manually transferring data from one system to another?
If so, your organization may need new software to better organize data. Having centralized, clean, and accessible data unlocks plenty of impactful benefits, including:
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- Valuable donor insights: With comprehensive donor profiles, anyone on your team can get the full picture of an individual’s involvement and discover how to best engage them. Plus, you can use reports and dashboards to quickly analyze data and identify trends across your donor base, so you can take action.
- Improved personalization: Centralized data helps you create accurate, specific donor segments and send tailored communications. You can easily populate emails, text messages, and fundraising appeals with each donor’s preferred name and most recent gift amount to personalize them further.
- Streamlined, accurate reporting: Improve everything from impact reports to your organization’s bookkeeping. When your organization stores all of its fundraising, event, and program data in one place, you’ll save time and reduce errors in impact reports, bookkeeping, and more.
- Data-driven decision-making: All of the above benefits enable you to make better choices for your nonprofit that are grounded in data. For instance, analyzing fundraising metrics from the past several years can help you predict your revenue this year and set more realistic goals.
If these benefits sound appealing but out of reach for your organization, you may need to invest in a new database. Or, you might search for other fundraising tools (event software, online giving pages, marketing solutions, etc.) that integrate with your existing donor database. Either way, aim for all of your data to flow seamlessly between systems to improve organization and accessibility.
2. You want to expand your nonprofit’s reach.
If you want to introduce new audiences to your mission and grow the size of your supporter base, online fundraising software can help. Nonprofits with low donor acquisition rates, event attendance, or social media engagement can benefit from specialized tools designed to increase their reach.
Specifically, you might invest in solutions like:
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- Donation page software: These tools help you quickly set up branded, accessible giving forms on your nonprofit’s website. Look for a donation page solution that is PCI-compliant or -certified, offers recurring giving options, and lets you accept multiple payment options (like credit cards, ACH, and digital wallets).
- Peer-to-peer fundraising software: Hosting peer-to-peer campaigns is a great way to get your cause in front of new, interested audiences. With the right software, you can expand these fundraisers’ reach even further. Find a tool with customizable participant fundraising pages, social sharing, and recruitment features.
- Virtual event management tools: Many organizations host virtual and hybrid fundraisers to help more supporters participate in their events. Event software enables you to easily create, manage, and share online events that inspire engagement.
The right tools won’t just help you bring in new donors — they’ll also make it easier to build those relationships and boost retention.
For instance, online giving software should automatically add donation details to your database and trigger personalized thank-you messages. Additionally, to increase engagement and provide positive experiences for participants, the best peer-to-peer solutions include built-in recognition and gamification features.
3. Donor engagement is a top priority.
As of early 2025, 87% of nonprofits said donor engagement is a top challenge. Fortunately, many types of fundraising solutions can help you boost engagement, from constituent relationship management systems (CRMs) with automated communication tools to event platforms that streamline in-person and hybrid fundraisers.
Let’s explore how one type of event software — auction mobile bidding tools — can make a major difference in donor participation at your events. According to OneCause, the following features will boost guest engagement with any nonprofit auction:
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- Outbid notifications that alert auction participants when they’ve been outbid for an item, encouraging them to increase their bids and engage in friendly competition.
- Auction item catalogs in-person and virtual guests can browse at their own pace, making it easier to find and bid on the items they care about.
- AI-driven item recommendations to provide your supporters with a more personalized auction experience.
- Real-time scoreboards that highlight top bidders and live fundraising progress, encouraging further participation.
- QR code check-in to save guests’ time so they can start bidding on items as soon as possible (as shown in the example below).
This is just one example of fundraising software that helps you boost donor involvement. To determine what type of solution would benefit your nonprofit’s engagement goals most, evaluate the specific ways you need to improve your strategy.
For example, are donors not engaging with your events or donation appeals? Do new donors lapse quickly without opening any emails? Consider options like email marketing tools or an event solution with automated communication features.
4. You want to boost your team’s efficiency.
Does your team spend more time on administrative tasks than furthering your nonprofit’s mission? Automation tools, centralized databases, and other types of fundraising software can drastically improve your organization’s efficiency.
Here are just a few examples of how different solutions can help you make various areas of your nonprofit’s operations more efficient:
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- Comprehensive CRM systems can run detailed reports and automatically create custom dashboards to help you analyze fundraising data at a glance.
- Event solutions like auction software save you time by eliminating the need for creating bid sheets, tallying bids, and manually checking out winners.
- Giving tools with custom online donation forms speed up donor communication and appreciation by automating data entry and triggering follow-ups.
The more time your team saves on these tasks, the more energy they’ll be able to devote to the elements of fundraising that require their full attention, like relationship-building.
If your organization is facing any of these challenges, it’s worthwhile to consider a software change. Before making the switch, make sure to clean up the data in your existing systems and plan each step of the implementation process. A smooth transition will give your team a good impression of the new solution and help them get up and running quickly.
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Sarah Sebastian, Director of Corporate Communications, OneCause
Sarah Sebastian is the Director of Corporate Communications at OneCause. She’s a marketer and brand geek at heart with eight years of experience in the nonprofit tech space. Outside of work, Sarah can be found reading, hiking, kayaking, volunteering for Florida Access Network, or getting lost in the woods while photographing birds.
