Now more than ever, charities need affordable, innovative, and free nonprofit software to help organize and streamline their efforts, making a greater impact. From donor management to team collaboration, technology enables growth, and free fundraising software makes it affordable.
In this blog, we’ll cover the best free fundraising software for nonprofit organizations (and nonprofit discounts!) to help save time and money, including the following categories:
Zeffy’s fundraising software is an excellent choice for small to mid-sized nonprofits seeking an all-in-one fundraising and free CRM platform. With a 4.8/5 overall rating on Capterra, it stands out for allowing customized emails to segmented donor lists, helping build stronger supporter relationships while easily running fundraising campaigns. With no fees or hidden costs, Zeffy is entirely free and ideal for growing organizations with limited budgets.
Donorbox is best suited for nonprofits that focus on recurring donations and require more advanced donor management tools. It features customizable donation forms but limits free users with fewer integrations and support options. Donorbox has a 4.8/5 rating on Capterra.
“Super easy to use. Clean design. Great interface. Easy to understand. Offers all the features we need and is comparable to paid services. Zeffy is truly awesome.” - Mark R.
Zeffy offers free AI-powered tools to find tailored fundraising ideas for your nonprofit, with personalized suggestions to match your goal and audience. Zeffy also brings AI to the table to surface tailored grant opportunities that match your organization in a quick search.
Einstein (Salesforce) is ideal to enhance an online fundraising platform with in-depth donor insights with AI-powered predictive and generative marketing tools, with a 4 /5 rating on Capterra. However, it only offers a free trial, which provides limited access to certain features, such as grant and program management. When you’re ready to scale, our paid plans range from $0.50 to $500 per month, depending on your needs.
Otter AI has a 4.4/ 5 rating on Capterra and is an excellent choice if you need help with note-taking, especially for writing follow-up emails and meeting notes. However, the free plan only supports one user and doesn’t include full admin access, support, or security features. Paid plans start at $8.33 per user per month.
If you're looking for something more creative for your online fundraising strategy, Runway is ideal for image editing and video creation. With a 4.5 /5 rating on Capterra, it even lets you turn images into videos. However, the free plan is quite limited, offering only a few editors and no AI model training capabilities. Paid plans range from $12 to $76 per user per month.
“It is customizable and has so many features that help make nonprofit fundraising and programs seamless.” - Non-Profit Organization Management
Wix is ideal for building e-commerce sites, particularly if you require a user-friendly platform to set up your online store. One of its standout features is the ability to quickly create an event site, which contributes to its 4.4/5 rating on Capterra. However, Wix only offers a free trial, so you’ll need to upgrade eventually.
Weebly has a 4.3 /5 rating on Capterra, and excels at helping you create an SEO-friendly website, which is perfect for improving search visibility. You can also easily create an online gallery. The free plan is quite limited, restricting features such as customer support, storage capacity, and the ability to use the site without ads.
For those requiring more advanced websites, Webflow is a fantastic choice, particularly with its animation builder for creating interactive designs and 4.5 /5 rating on Capterra. However, the free plan has its drawbacks, including limited content editors, fewer collaboration tools, and reduced support.
“We've been using Wix for our website for years now and can't imagine going back. We switched over from another popular website design company and Wix has been so much more user friendly. Some of our staff who are not tech savvy have even learned how to update the website without much additional training. The learning curve just wasn't as steep as the last platform we used.” - Bonnie M.
Google Suite has a 4.7 /5 rating on Capterra and is a top choice for nonprofits that require real-time collaboration on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Its strength lies in easy, real-time collaborative editing across teams. The free plan is suitable for basic use but comes with storage limitations, fewer meeting participants, and reduced security features.
Canva also boasts a 4.7/5 rating on Capterra and is ideal for creating social media graphics and marketing materials without requiring a design background. While the free version is generous, it does limit access to tools like the background remover, brand kits, and content scheduling.
Unsplash is a valuable resource for finding high-quality, royalty-free stock images suitable for websites, social media posts, or presentations. The free plan provides access to an extensive photo library, but does not include exclusive content or premium features.
"As a non-professional editor, I found Canva easier to use than other professional platforms and services. In particular, I really liked the charts app add-on which I use to create interactive charts and graphs that I later embed on my website. The Canva platform offers a lot of useful add-ons and sharing features as well as integrations with third-party apps like Mailchimp and LinkedIn.” - Hasan T.
Jotform is a solid choice for nonprofits that need automated volunteer applications or customizable forms, such as online donation forms with a 4.7/5 rating on Capterra. The free plan does come with limits on the number of forms you can create and the number of views each month.
SurveyMonkey has a 4.6/5 rating on Capterra and is ideal for organizations seeking to streamline award submissions, applications, or feedback collection. It’s easy to use, but the free version is pretty limited—you can only create surveys with up to 10 questions, and there’s a cap on the number of responses.
“Jotform is an extremely flexible platform with the ability to integrate multiple business functions into one place with relatively limited need for technical knowledge. It is robust, trustworthy and has great customer support. Jotform are easy to work with and reasonably priced and feature rich vs competitors.” - Tom B.
Wave is an excellent choice for nonprofits that require simple and reliable invoicing tools, with a 4.4 /5 rating on Capterra. You can easily send bills and automated invoice reminders, making it perfect for small teams managing donations or service fees. The free plan is solid, but doesn’t include mobile receipt scanning or payroll tools.
Zoho Books also has a 4.4 /5 rating on Capterra and is ideal for nonprofits that want to stay on top of cash flow and financial reporting. You can send payment receipts and manage accounts efficiently, but the free plan is limited to one user and is only available to organizations with an annual revenue of under $ 50,000. Once you require additional features or users, paid plans start at $20 per month per organization.
“I’ve been using Zoho books for over a year successfully. I was able to easily migrate after a bad experience with quickbooks and from there been able to slightly customize it for my needs. I enjoy how it integrates with their expense tracker and with PayPal.” - Alfredo
Zeffy is ideal for nonprofits seeking a free, all-in-one solution to collect online donations, manage events, register participants, host auctions, run raffles, and facilitate peer-to-peer fundraising. With features like a Tap to Pay app for seamless in-person transactions on event day, it makes coordinating your event both easy and affordable.
GoFundMe is best known for its crowdfunding capabilities and ability to quickly reach a global audience, with a 4.3 /5 rating on Capterra. The platform is widely used for individual fundraising, but it also offers nonprofit capabilities. While there’s no platform fee, you’ll still pay up to 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction in processing fees.
“It's is very intuitive! Easy to use, easy to edit. A real time saver, especially for last minute projects. You run it, it doesn't run you. I like that you can insert your own art work or photos. I love the link and QR code generator. AND, I used the Clone tool for the first time today and was able to generate a form with 5 minutes notice from my boss.” -Marlette W.
Zeffy is an excellent fit for nonprofits that want an all-in-one, free marketing and fundraising platform. It even includes automated reminder emails, making it easy to stay connected with donors. Best of all, Zeffy is 100% free with no hidden costs—perfect for budget-conscious organizations.
VerticalResponse is ideal if you’re focused on tracking campaign performance and want to design and distribute surveys alongside your emails. The platform has a 3.9/5 rating on Capterra, and nonprofits can send up to 10,000 emails per month for free.
Mailchimp touts a 4.5 /5 rating on Capterra, and is a strong choice for nonprofits seeking omnichannel marketing tools and features, such as A/B testing, to optimize results. The free plan comes with limitations, including fewer emails, smaller contact lists, and restricted access to support and advanced tools.
“As a new program within our first year of operation, Zeffy has been a Game Changer and I would recommend it to anyone. The platform and creating forms has been easy to use. Donors have also been happy with their donation documents and emails. We've been grateful for the fee structure. Customer support has been responsive and helpful in the initial set up.” - Stacey H.
Buffer has a 4.5/ 5 rating on Capterra and is an excellent option for nonprofits looking to stay organized with a content calendar and easily repurpose content across social media platforms. The free plan lets you schedule up to 10 posts at a time, but limits access to analytics and engagement tools.
Hootsuite’s 4.4 /5 rating on Capterra showcases the platform as ideal for teams that want to manage both paid and organic content in one place, with added features such as social listening to track engagement and trends that help you raise funds and manage campaigns. This can help promote your mobile-friendly donation pages.
LinkedIn for Nonprofits excels in building brand awareness and leveraging its hiring tools to attract mission-aligned talent that enable nonprofits to raise money. While free accounts are available, the tools designed specifically for nonprofits have limited access at the free level.
“In the past, we spent hours every day doing content creation and working on engagements that required us to use multiple platforms for our social media tasks. Hootsuite enables us to manage all of this on a single platform. Within Hootsuite, at a glance, we can grab an overview of all of our social media channels and best of all, we are able to engage with our customers directly within Hootsuite - no more logging into multiple platforms.” - Justin B.
Zeffy is ideal for nonprofits seeking a free, all-in-one solution to collect online donations, manage events, register participants, host auctions, run raffles, and facilitate peer-to-peer fundraising. With features like a Tap to Pay app for seamless in-person transactions on event day, it makes coordinating your event both easy and affordable. Zeffy also offers free resources with fundraising tips to take your fundraising opportunities and donor engagement to the next level.
Eventbrite has a 4.6/5 rating on Capterra, and is a great choice if you’re focused on building professional-looking event pages and need tools like the Eventbrite Organizer app to manage check-ins and sales. Nonprofits can access discounted pricing after applying their nonprofit discount.
“Zeffy provides an ideal platform form for event registrations for my non-profit organizations. Setting up events and managing registrations is quick and easy. Registration forms can include custom questions which is essential for our events. The ability to accept optional donations has proven helpful. The fee structure which ensures our non-profit receives 100% of the proceeds from registrations and donations is terrific.” - Cynthia L.
Trello has a 4.5 /5 rating on Capterra and is a great entry-level tool for visual thinkers who love collaborative to-do lists and want to begin automating workflows. It’s simple to use and perfect for smaller teams, but the free plan limits admin and security features, checklist volume, and file storage.
Monday.com’s 4.6/5 rating on Capterra highlights its ability to work well for nonprofits handling more complex projects, such as grant applications or event follow-up tasks, including post-event feedback forms. The free plan gives you the basics, but limits automation, integrations, and permissions.
Asana stands out for teams that need seamless task management and cross-team collaboration, with a 4.5/5 rating on Capterra. While the free version includes core features, you will miss out on advanced tools such as automation, reporting, and workflow customization.
“This is the perfect project management tool that transformed our traditional system management tool. From cross-platform to cotumizable user freindly interface is superb. Excellent TRELLO!” - Juan D.
Dropbox supports nonprofits by offering discounted plans through TechSoup, providing affordable access to secure file storage and collaboration tools. This helps nonprofit teams stay organized, work efficiently from anywhere, and focus more energy on their mission.
“I use Dropbox all day, every day. love how easy it is to find ANYTHING at all-- super quickly. All of our clients files going back years are easily accessible, sharable, and always there. And you can control the sharability and revoke it as needed when projects end.” - DF
Slack is a go-to choice for nonprofits, boasting a 4.7/5 rating on Capterra, and offering quick and easy instant messaging with their teams. It provides convenient tools like file sharing, but the free plan restricts the number of workflows and integrations you can utilize. You can create branded screen recordings, but the free plan caps you at 25 videos, each up to 5 minutes long.
Zoom remains a solid choice for virtual meetings and events, with a 4.6/5 rating on Capterra. It now includes an appointment scheduler, but free meetings are limited to 40 minutes and 100 participants.
Discord is an excellent fit for nonprofits looking to build private, topic-based channels—whether for volunteers, community members, or internal teams. While the free version includes most core features, access to more advanced tools is available with the $2.99 per month pla, which gains a 4.7 /5 rating on Capterra.
“This application is great! It’s simple to use and makes communication smooth and efficient. Sending messages is fast and reliable, and it’s perfect for keeping colleagues in the loop with the latest company updates and news. It really helps everyone stay connected and informed. Highly recommended for teams that need to stay organized and up to date.” - Jose Antonio P.
Zapier is a valuable nonprofit software tool that automates workflows and streamlines tasks, such as managing CRM data and facilitating donor connections. The free plan allows for up to 100 tasks, but if you require more tasks or advanced features, a paid plan starting at $19.99 per month is necessary, earning a 4.7/5 rating on Capterra.
Make (formerly Integromat) has a strong 4.8 /5 rating on Caperra and is perfect for automating real-time data and seamless onboarding processes. The free plan offers limited storage and fewer premium apps, but it’s a solid choice for small teams. Paid plans start at $9 per month, with additional features and storage.
“Every time we needed to move something from one place to another, it was a mess, until Zapier came along. We managed to create "Zaps" (automations) that make applications talk to each other without writing a single line of code. Now every time we receive an email with an attachment, Zapier automatically saves it and notifies us. It’s like having a personal assistant do the work for you! We can connect almost anything with anything else: CRM, spreadsheets, marketing tools, e-commerce... everything, and it’s done in the background without me moving a finger.” - Rohit A.
Your nonprofit's mission is supported by a plethora of free tools that store donor information, run strong fundraising pages, manage data on campaigns, create channels for engagement, enhance the donor experience, and so much more.
As you seek ways to reach a broader audience of potential donors who can support your goals, free tools are at your disposal.
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Looking for a platform for your next event? Check out the best event registration and management tools, including Zeffy, Eventbrite, and more.