Our Favorite Things: Must-Have Tools, Vendors, & Products for Nonprofits
- Lynne Wester
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
At the Donor Relations Group, we're constantly testing new tools, software, and vendors to make our work easier, smarter, and more impactful. And truth be told, we get asked about these tools a lot. So, we've decided to share our curated list of the platforms, products, and partners we absolutely love—the ones we turn to again and again—because they deliver results, save time, and elevate the way we engage with donors, manage data, and tell stories.
Whether you're part of a small nonprofit or a large advancement shop, this guide includes something for everyone—from high-tech data tools to low-lift design apps. These are our favorite things (and no, we're not being paid to say this—we're just big fans!).
Software That Makes a Difference
Awarded is revolutionizing how scholarships are awarded and tracked. It makes it easy to identify unspent funds, match students efficiently, and generate stunning donor impact reports. For stewardship professionals, it's a dream: sleek design, intuitive workflows, and real data to support donor conversations. It brings transparency and ease to a process that's often overly complex and frustrating.
Fundminer automates stewardship and ensures alignment with donor intent. It pulls financial and engagement data into real-time dashboards and alerts you to any fund usage inconsistencies. This means fewer headaches for your finance and stewardship teams and more transparency for donors. If your organization manages complex endowments or named funds, Fundminer is a smart investment.
If you're planning alumni or donor events, Almabase is a top-tier tool. It streamlines event registration, integrates with your CRM, and automates communications, so your team can focus on building relationships, not managing spreadsheets. Whether you're hosting a major campaign event or small alumni mixer, Almabase makes it smooth for everyone—team and attendees alike.
Project Planning & Collaboration Tools
It's our go-to for documentation, templates, project management, and more. Think of Notion as corporate Legos: you build the workspace you want using modular components like pages, databases, calendars, and checklists. It's clean, customizable, and collaborative—plus it makes onboarding new team members a breeze.
Basecamp has become a verb on our team. Need a task done? Basecamp it. This project management platform eliminates messy email chains, connects conversations to actual tasks, and provides powerful tools like the "card table" for organizing complex workflows. It's especially great for cross-functional teams who need clarity, not chaos.
We've tried a lot of project management tools, and Monday.com consistently comes out on top. It's intuitive, visual, and highly flexible. You can create templates, color-code tasks, and switch between board views, Gantt charts, and calendars. Plus, sending emails directly into Monday tasks? Game-changer.
Design & Communication Tools
Canva is our design lifesaver. It's approachable for beginners and powerful enough for pros. With hundreds of templates, brand kits, and drag-and-drop functionality, it allows you to create social graphics, presentations, reports, and more in minutes. Collaborate with teammates in real-time or create once and reuse forever.
Want your donor communications to sound polished and intentional? Grammarly is a must. Beyond grammar checks, it helps adjust tone, clarity, and style so your emails and letters sound professional but warm. We use the desktop plugin, so it works for everything we write.
Hootsuite keeps our social media organized across platforms. From scheduling posts and tracking engagement to collaborating on campaigns, it simplifies the entire content planning process. The calendar view lets you see everything at a glance, which is a huge plus for busy teams.
AI is no longer optional—it's essential. ChatGPT helps us brainstorm, write drafts, generate ideas, and even clean up messy HTML code. Paired with MaxAI.me (a Chrome extension), we can highlight any webpage, document, or video, and get an instant summary or ask questions without switching tabs. Efficiency at its finest.
Donor Experience Enhancers
Video content is king—and ThankView makes it easy to create personalized, meaningful videos for donor communication, whether you have production experience or not. You can upload slick, edited content, or hit record and speak from the heart. Our favorite feature? The ability to request videos from students, colleagues, or leadership. It's quick, personal, and impactful.
ODDER takes video delivery even further by digitizing your endowment reports in a customizable platform. You can build campaigns, personalize video content, and track engagement down to the individual donor level. Plus, if you make a mistake in a report (hey, it happens!), you can fix it quickly and reissue the digital version—no reprints required.
Looking to send a thoughtful gift at scale? Sugarwish makes it easy. You send a link, and the recipient picks their own treat box. No need to gather addresses or guess what they like. Branded packaging is available, too, so your organization stays at the top of mind and heart.
Storyraise turns your typical donor impact report into a web-based, interactive experience. Think visuals, embedded video, clickable data, and a format that actually keeps people engaged. It's especially powerful for end-of-year reports or large campaign updates. See an example here.
Data & CRM Tools
Data can feel overwhelming—Power BI makes it digestible. Dynamic dashboards and real-time reporting help you see what's working, where to improve, and how to serve donors better. Perfect for campaign analysis, gift trends, and board reporting.
Bloomerang is a donor management system designed with relationship building in mind. Its intuitive interface, focus on retention, and robust communication tools make it ideal for small to mid-sized shops (and the customer service is top-notch).
If you need a donation platform that does it all—and is free—GiveButter should be your first stop. From online giving and peer-to-peer fundraising to SMS giving and event ticketing, it's built for nonprofits that need flexibility and functionality. It even includes email receipts and annual summaries. Easy, fast, and budget-friendly.
Slate isn't just for admissions anymore. Its advancement platform is robust, customizable, and supported by a vibrant user community. You can build forms, send emails, manage events, and handle data entry all in one place. Sharing resources via the "briefcase" makes setup easier, and regular user groups help you keep learning.
GiveCampus is sleek and intuitive, with tools for donation pages, giving days, volunteer management, and peer-to-peer fundraising. It's easy for donors and admins alike, which increases both participation and impact.
Media & Direct Mail Solutions
When it comes to events and video, Wired Production Group is our go-to for professional, high-quality content creation. From concept development to execution, their team delivers with creativity and precision. Whether you need a live-streamed donor event or a polished video campaign, Wired helps you shine without stress.
MSP | Cultivate is our favorite partner for data-driven, customized direct-response fundraising. Their strength lies in blending smart strategy with tailored messaging, delivering communications that are not just seen—but felt. What makes them stand out is their ability to combine cutting-edge data with creative services and modern production methods to deliver truly personalized campaigns. Whether you're planning a large-scale annual appeal or a highly targeted acquisition effort, MSP | Cultivate offers both strategic and tactical solutions that are built to perform. We especially love their focus on relevancy and personalization. By using data to shape messaging and visuals, they help create donor communications that drive deeper engagement—and better results.
Storytelling is at the heart of donor engagement, and MemoryFox helps you collect stories straight from your community. Use it to request video clips, testimonials, or photos from students, beneficiaries, or alumni. It's easy to use and gives you authentic, compelling content you can plug into social, email, reports—you name it.
Why We Love This List
Each of these tools plays a unique role in helping us do what we do best: build better donor experiences, work more efficiently, and communicate more effectively. We're always on the lookout for platforms that make our jobs easier, our work better, and our results stronger—and these are the ones that deliver consistently.
Whether you're managing a team of 20 or a team of 2, the right tools can be a total game-changer.
What are your favorite tools or platforms? We'd love to hear what's working for your team—reach out and let us know!
