The tools a small nonprofit actually runs on. We list the free and donated programs to claim first, then the paid software worth paying for - with the honest math on pricing and how each one is verified. We recommend free and donated tools first, every time.
The free and heavily donated software every eligible nonprofit should claim before paying for anything: Google for Nonprofits, TechSoup, Microsoft, Canva, and the validation partners that unlock them. Claim these first and the rest of your budget goes further.
Up to $10,000/month (about $120,000/year) in in-kind Google Search advertising for eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Enormous value, but the ongoing compliance rules are strict.
Free. Up to $10,000/month (around $120,000/year) in in-kind Google Search ads for eligible 501(c)(3) organizations. It cannot be spent on anything but Search ads in the grant account.
Verified via Goodstack
A free bundle of Google products for verified nonprofits, including the $10,000/month Google Ad Grant, free Google Workspace, the YouTube Nonprofit Program, and Google Maps credits.
Free for eligible 501(c)(3) organizations. The Ad Grant provides up to $10,000/month in in-kind Google Search advertising.
Verified via Goodstack
Meta charges no platform fee on verified 501(c)(3) donations raised through Facebook and Instagram tools. A Social Impact ad credits program also exists, but it is apply-and-see, not a guaranteed grant.
0% platform fee on verified 501(c)(3) donations made through Facebook and Instagram fundraising tools. A separate Social Impact ad credits program offers up to around $10,000/year to some orgs, but is not guaranteed.
Direct application
Microsoft 365 Business Basic donated free for up to 300 users, Business Premium at around 75% off, and $2,000/year in Azure credits for eligible nonprofits.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic donated free for up to 300 users. Business Premium from around $5.50/user/mo (about 75% off). Plus $2,000/year in Azure credits.
Verified via TechSoup
The Power of Us program gives eligible nonprofits 10 free Salesforce licenses that do not expire, plus steep discounts on more. The dominant nonprofit CRM, but the real cost is implementation.
10 free Nonprofit Cloud or Sales/Service Enterprise licenses that do not expire. Additional seats are discounted up to around 75% off, bringing Enterprise pricing down from roughly $165/user/mo toward around $40/user/mo.
Direct application
A free upgrade to Slack's paid Pro plan for workspaces of up to 250 members, and 85% off for larger organizations. Verified through TechSoup.
Free upgrade to the paid Pro plan for workspaces with up to 250 members. Larger workspaces get 85% off Pro or Business+.
Verified via TechSoup
A nonprofit marketplace that provides donated and deeply discounted software and hardware to eligible organizations for small administrative fees, and validates nonprofit status for other programs.
Free to register. Individual product donations carry small administrative fees (often a fraction of retail); some products are fully free.
Direct application
Zoom Cares offers 50% off select Zoom products for nonprofits with an annual budget of $10 million or less. Now validated through Goodstack after leaving TechSoup in May 2025.
50% off select Zoom products for nonprofits with an annual operating budget of $10 million or less.
Verified via Goodstack
The system of record for your supporters: donor and constituent relationship managers that track gifts, communications, and relationships so no donor slips through the cracks. The right pick scales with your list without breaking a small budget.
A donor management system built around donor retention, with an approachable interface and pricing that scales by the size of your contact database.
Subscription priced by the number of contact records. Entry plans for small databases typically start around $100+/month; cost rises as your list grows.
A powerful open-source constituent CRM with no license fee. Free to download, but you pay in hosting and technical setup rather than a subscription.
Free and open source - $0 license fee. Real costs are hosting, setup, and maintenance: self-host for the price of a server, use a managed host, or pay a partner to implement it.
Direct application
A long-standing, full-featured donor management system priced by constituent count, starting around $99/month but with tier pricing you have to request.
Subscription priced by number of constituents, starting around $99-119/month at the entry level and scaling up. Core, Plus, and Pro tier prices are quote-based - you request a custom quote.
An easy-to-use donor CRM with built-in analytics, now part of Velora alongside Aplos and Raisely. Priced by contacts from around $134/month.
Subscription priced by number of contacts: from around $134/month billed annually (about $160/month month-to-month) for up to 1,000 contacts, rising to roughly $209/month at 2,500 contacts and up from there.
An affordable all-in-one donor management system for small nonprofits, from around $45/month at 2,500 records, with unlimited users on every plan.
Subscription priced by number of constituent records: from around $45/month at up to 2,500 records, rising to about $135/month at 50,000. Unlimited users on every plan. 10% off with annual prepayment; first 30 days free.
A nonprofit CRM from Neon One with unlimited users and records from around $99/month, though events and membership tools live on the pricier tier.
Three tiers billed monthly: Essentials from around $99/month, Impact around $209/month, and Empower around $409/month. Every tier includes unlimited users and records.
How you actually take the money: online donation forms, recurring giving, peer-to-peer, and event fundraising platforms. Fees matter as much as features here, so we show the honest math on what each one keeps.
A popular donation platform with quick-to-embed forms, strong recurring giving, and transparent per-donation pricing. No monthly minimum to start.
No monthly minimum to start. Donorbox charges a platform fee of roughly 1.5-1.75% per donation on the entry plan, on top of card processing (about 2.2% + $0.30 at nonprofit rates). Paid monthly plans reduce the platform fee.
A donation platform run by a nonprofit itself: $0 platform fee, and bank transfers reach you completely free. Card gifts pay only standard processing.
$0 platform fee. Card donations pay only processing of about 2.2% + $0.30 at the nonprofit rate (a small distribution fee can apply in some cases). Bank/ACH transfers are covered by Every.org, so 100% reaches you. Funded by an optional donor contribution at checkout.
Direct application
A free, all-in-one fundraising platform (forms, pages, events, a light CRM) funded by optional donor tips. With tips on, you can pay 0% in platform and processing fees.
Free platform, funded by optional donor tips. With tips enabled you pay 0% platform fee and 0% processing (donors cover it, or the Givebutter Guarantee does). Turn tips off and it is a flat 3% platform fee plus processing of 2.9% + $0.30 (cards) or 1.9% + $0.30 (ACH).
The most-used WordPress donation plugin. Free core, a 0% platform fee, and you connect your own payment processor. Paid plans add recurring giving and reporting.
Free core plugin with a 0% platform fee - GiveWP never takes a cut of your donations. Paid plans (from Liquid Web) run from around $199/yr (Essentials) to $399/yr (Pro, adds recurring giving) and $599/yr (Elite), billed annually. You still pay your own payment processor.
The enterprise fundraising platform formerly known as Classy. Powerful campaigns and peer-to-peer, but sales-led custom pricing that is usually overkill for small orgs.
Sales-led, custom pricing (no public price list). An Essentials tier aimed at nonprofits under $1M in revenue advertises no subscription fee with processing around 2.2-2.5% + $0.30; higher tiers are quoted by sales and commonly start in the hundreds of dollars per month, plus add-ons.
The rare fundraising platform that is truly free: $0 platform fee AND $0 processing fee. Funded entirely by optional donor tips. Best-in-class for the smallest budgets.
100% free: $0 platform fee and $0 payment processing fee. When you raise $100 you keep $100. Zeffy covers all card and ACH costs itself, funded only by an optional tip donors are asked to add at checkout (roughly 60% choose to).
Direct application
Finding and winning grant funding: prospect research databases, deadline tracking, and reporting tools that turn a scattered grants effort into a repeatable pipeline. Powerful, but priced for organizations that are actively applying.
The most comprehensive US funder prospect database. Paid subscriptions run to a few hundred dollars a month, but small nonprofits can often get it FREE via a Candid Gold Seal.
Free Standard tier (limited results). Paid access (now under Candid, consolidating the former Foundation Directory) runs around $100/mo for Premium billed annually (about $1,199/yr), up to roughly $142/mo for Ultimate; month-to-month Premium is about $219/mo. Enterprise is custom.
Direct application
GrantHub was Foundant's grant-tracking tool for nonprofits. It was sunset on Jan 31, 2026; the successor is Foundant for Grantseekers, now sold by quote. Free alternatives exist.
The original GrantHub and GrantHub Pro were discontinued on January 31, 2026 (legacy GrantHub sat around $995/yr). The successor, Foundant for Grantseekers, is now quote-based with no public price. Budget for a low-hundreds-per-month subscription until you get a quote.
A funder-prospect database of 150,000+ foundations, corporations, clubs, and government programs. Solid coverage, but only good value at the discounted or association rate.
List price is steep - around $699/yr (regular) - but GrantStation almost always runs specials near $199/yr, and member rates through a state nonprofit association can be about $139/yr. Do not pay the list price.
A grant research and management platform that matches your organization to funders and tracks deadlines and reporting. Powerful, but priced for actively-applying teams.
Premium subscription; entry plans run in the low-to-mid hundreds of dollars per month, typically billed annually. A free trial is available.
A polished application-management platform used mostly by grantmakers, foundations, and corporate giving teams. Custom-quoted and aimed at the funder side, not small grant-seekers.
Custom, quote-based pricing across three product lines (Grants & Application Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Enterprise). No public price list; you book a call and buy individual products or a bundle.
Reaching supporters at scale: email marketing, newsletters, and automation that turn one-time donors into a warm, engaged list. Deliverability and per-contact pricing are what separate the good from the merely cheap.
An enterprise nonprofit CRM with built-in email, digital advocacy, and fundraising in one database. Capable and unified, but sales-led pricing aimed at mid-size and larger organizations.
Custom, sales-led pricing based on organization size and the modules you choose. No public price list. Built for mid-size and larger nonprofits.
A long-running email marketing platform with an easy editor and nonprofit prepay discounts. Capable but not the cheapest, and priced by contact count.
Paid plans start around $12/month (Lite tier) and scale with the size of your contact list. Nonprofits can get a discount for paying 6 or 12 months up front.
HubSpot's all-in-one marketing, sales, and CRM platform at 40% off Professional and Enterprise tiers for eligible nonprofits. Genuinely powerful, but usually more than a small org needs.
40% off Professional and Enterprise tiers for eligible new nonprofit customers on an annual contract. The Starter tier, add-ons, and limit increases are excluded.
Direct application
A popular, easy-to-start email marketing platform with a modest 15% nonprofit discount. The discount is the smallest among peers, is not retroactive, and you pay for unsubscribed contacts.
Paid plans (Essentials, Standard, Premium) are priced by contact count. Verified 501(c)(3)s get 15% off the base plan. The discount is not retroactive and does not apply to your first paid month.
Direct application
Keeping the books clean and audit-ready: fund accounting, bookkeeping, and finance tools built for the way nonprofits track restricted funds, grants, and program budgets, not generic small-business ledgers.
A cloud accounting suite designed specifically for nonprofits and churches, with true fund accounting for tracking restricted funds and grants.
Subscription starting around $99/month for the core plan; intro discounts are common. Higher tiers add budgeting, reporting, and advanced features.
A world-class fund accounting platform built for large nonprofits with complex, compliance-heavy finances. Powerful and audit-friendly, but quote-only and priced for enterprise budgets.
Enterprise fund accounting; pricing is quote-only and not published. Realistically several thousand dollars a year at the low end, rising well into five figures once users, modules, and implementation are included.
The most widely used small-business accounting software, available to eligible nonprofits as a donated TechSoup subscription for a small yearly admin fee. Excellent value, but not true fund accounting.
Donated through TechSoup: QuickBooks Online Plus for about $80/year and Advanced for about $170/year (admin fee). One donated subscription per organization for the life of the organization; renew each year by paying the fee again. Eligibility: 501(c)(3) with an annual operating budget under $10 million.
Verified via TechSoup
A nonprofit-built CRM from Canada's Silent Partner Software, covering donors, case management, memberships, and grants, with quote-based pricing that scales by records and modules.
Quote-based, scaling with the number of records and the modules you choose. Third-party listings show entry pricing from roughly $49-179/month, with custom quotes above that.
Free cloud accounting and invoicing that costs $0 on the Starter plan. Great for tiny, all-volunteer nonprofits with simple books, but it is not nonprofit-specific and has no fund accounting.
Free Starter plan ($0) with unlimited invoicing and bookkeeping. Optional Pro plan at $19/month (or $190/year) adds automatic bank-feed imports and other automation. Not nonprofit-specific.
Direct application
The day-to-day operating system for a lean team: email, documents, project management, and collaboration tools, many with generous nonprofit tiers so a small staff can work like a much bigger one.
A 50% nonprofit discount on Airtable's Team plan, bringing it to around $12 per user per month. Verified directly by Airtable, with a broad list of excluded organization types.
50% off the Team plan: roughly $12 per user per month (from $24), billed to a credit card and auto-renewing with the discount applied. Airtable's free plan remains available to everyone.
Direct application
Asana's project-management platform at 50% off the Starter or Advanced plan for verified nonprofits, a discount that lasts for as long as you stay, validated through Goodstack.
50% off the Starter or Advanced plan, for as long as you remain a customer. Enterprise plans are handled through Asana's sales team. Asana's free Personal plan (for small teams) remains available to everyone.
Verified via Goodstack
monday.com's work-management platform for verified nonprofits: the first 10 seats free on the Pro tier and 70% off any seats beyond that, validated through Goodstack.
First 10 seats free on the Nonprofit (Pro) plan. Additional seats are 70% off, sold in blocks of 5. Annual billing only, and eligibility is reconfirmed each year. Enterprise plans get roughly 33% off.
Verified via Goodstack
A 50% discount on Notion's Plus plan for verified nonprofits, verified directly by Notion. The catch: your workspace must already be on the paid Plus plan to receive it.
50% off the Plus plan. The discount currently applies only to Plus (not the Business plan), and your workspace must already be on a paid Plus plan to qualify. Notion's free plan remains available to everyone.
Direct application
Looking professional without a design budget: graphic design, video, and brand tools, several donated free to nonprofits, that let a one-person comms team ship campaigns that look funded.
The full Adobe Creative Cloud suite at around 60% off the first year and 40% off after, for eligible nonprofit staff, administered through TechSoup.
Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps at around 60% off the first year and 40% off every year after, on annual memberships through TechSoup.
Verified via TechSoup
Canva's paid design plan, donated free to eligible nonprofits, giving a small comms team premium templates, brand kits, and background removal without a design budget.
Free for approved nonprofits. Includes the features of Canva's paid team tier at no cost.
Verified via Goodstack
The plumbing and protection: hosting, cloud credits, password management, and security tools, much of it donated or credited to nonprofits, that keep your data and your supporters safe.
1Password offers nonprofits support toward its team password manager - a credit or discounted accounts, amount varies - applied for directly. Strong password hygiene is high-value security for any small nonprofit.
1Password offers eligible nonprofits support in the form of a one-time credit, discounted accounts, or similar help. The exact amount is not published and is handled case by case. Standard team pricing otherwise runs a few dollars per user per month.
Direct application
Up to $5,000 a year in AWS promotional credits for eligible nonprofits, granted through TechSoup. Valuable if you run infrastructure on AWS, easy to waste if you do not.
Up to $5,000 in AWS promotional credits per fiscal year, granted in tiers of $1,000, $2,000, or $5,000 depending on eligibility. Requested through TechSoup, which charges a small administrative fee. Credits are valid for at least a year and expire if unused.
Verified via TechSoup
Bitwarden has no special nonprofit program, and it barely needs one: an open-source password manager with a genuinely usable free tier and low-cost paid plans that fit a nonprofit budget.
Free tier covers individual and basic use at no cost. Paid team plans are inexpensive: Teams around $4 per user per month and Enterprise around $6 per user per month, billed annually. There is no published nonprofit-specific discount.
Free Business-plan-level Cloudflare protection - DDoS mitigation, WAF, bot management, and more - for at-risk civil society, journalism, and human rights organizations that would otherwise be knocked offline.
Free. Participants receive the benefits of Cloudflare's Business plan at no cost, including unmetered DDoS mitigation, WAF, CDN, DNS, SSL, bot management, and Zero Trust access.
Direct application
A one-time $2,500 infrastructure credit and 20% off Cloudways managed hosting for eligible nonprofits and social enterprises. Genuinely useful, but only if you actually run your own cloud infrastructure.
$2,500 in DigitalOcean infrastructure credits as a one-time grant, valid for one year. Plus 20% off Cloudways managed hosting. After the credit is used or expires, you pay standard usage-based pricing.
Verified via Goodstack
Free GitHub Team - unlimited private repositories and collaborators - for qualifying nonprofits, or 25% off GitHub Enterprise. Applied for directly through GitHub.
Free GitHub Team for qualifying nonprofits: unlimited private repositories, unlimited collaborators, and the full Team feature set at no cost. Alternatively, 25% off GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
Direct application
50 free Okta Workforce Identity licenses (SSO, MFA, directory) plus 50% off Customer Identity and Auth0 for eligible nonprofits. Powerful enterprise identity, but likely more than a small team needs.
50 free Workforce Identity licenses (single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, Universal Directory, light Identity Governance). 50% off additional Workforce licenses, and 50% off Customer Identity / Auth0 plans.
Verified via Goodstack
Recruiting, scheduling, and thanking the people who show up: volunteer management and engagement tools that reduce the coordination load on your staff and keep volunteers coming back.
Galaxy Digital's volunteer management platform, built for volunteer centers and community hubs. Capable, but pricing is quote-only with no public numbers.
Quote-based - no pricing published on the site. You request a demo and receive a custom quote based on your organization's size and needs.
Volunteer recruiting, scheduling, and tracking with a free plan that includes unlimited volunteers. Paid Pro adds CRM integrations from around $100/month.
Free plan with unlimited volunteers and up to 5 admins. Pro around $100/month billed annually (about $110 month-to-month) adds unlimited admins and CRM integrations. Enterprise is custom.
An easy tool for volunteer sign-up sheets and event scheduling, with a genuinely usable free tier and cheap paid plans from around $12/month.
Free Basic plan (ad-supported). Paid plans remove ads and add features: Silver around $11.99/month, Gold around $29.99/month, Platinum around $59.99/month. A larger Enterprise plan runs around $1,299/year.
A capable event-focused volunteer management platform, but priced from around $143/month plus a setup fee, which puts it out of reach for many small nonprofits.
Subscription with no free tier. Plus from around $143/month and Pro from around $288/month, both billed annually and with a setup fee. Enterprise is custom. Inactive volunteers are unlimited and do not count toward plan limits.
Our team activates the free programs, wires up the tools, and runs the marketing for you - paid mostly from the revenue we generate.
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