CharityEngine vs. DonorPerfect vs. Bloomerang

Not all nonprofits are the same, and there’s no one-size-fits-all technology option. There are a lot of nonprofit CRMs, and the best one for your nonprofit is determined by the features that will make donor management and fundraising easier for you. Different nonprofits need different CRMs. 

This article will show you the similarities and differences between CharityEngine, DonorPerfect, and Bloomerang. If you are interested in how we match up to Blackbaud and EveryAction or Salesforce and Virtuous, you can read previously published articles. 

Our table below denotes whether a specific functionality or feature is native to the platform, third-party integration, or available through acquisition. While there are pros and cons to each, here’s what you should know:

• Natively built tools streamline the flow of donor data, offering the most holistic view of your donors while informing smart decision-making. You’ll never have to merge data again! Moreover, navigating one user interface is often more user-friendly than managing multiple interfaces. However, native tools may not always match the robustness of specialized products.
• Third-party tools enable platforms to connect with top-notch products, but integration limitations often create donor data silos or, in some cases, contribute to data hygiene issues. Users also deal with managing multiple logins.
• Acquired tools attempt to address challenges from the previous options, but merging conceptually different tools doesn't always yield optimal donor data flow. Also, while users may have a single login, they often still navigate diverse interfaces.

Best CRM For	Small to Midsize to Enterprise-Level Nonprofits that want a robust all-in-one CRM that also integrates seamlessly with third-party systems	Small to midsize nonprofits that want a network of integrated systems	Smaller nonprofits focused on donor management
Pricing	$$ to $$$	$ to $$$	$ to $$$
Differentiators
Support for Nonprofit Products	Yes	Yes	Yes
Email Configuration Options	Shared Pool or Dedicated IPs	Third-party	Third-party
PCI and SOC II status	PCI-certified and SOC II certified	Depends on third-party payment processor	Depends on third-party payment processor
In-House Payment Processor and Billing System	Yes	Third-party	Third-party integration with Stripe
Key Features
Email	Yes	Third-party integration with Constant Contact	Yes
Email Automation	Yes	Yes	Limited
Events	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auctions	Yes (native)	Third-party integration with ReadySetAction	Yes (Acquired Qgiv)
Text-to-Give	Yes	Yes	Yes
Advocacy	Yes (native)	Third-party integration with Congress Plus	No
Online Forms	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reporting and Dashboards	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sustainer/ Recurring Billing	Yes	Limited	Limited
Peer-to-Peer	Yes (native)	Third-party integration with Raisin	Yes (Acquired Qgiv)
CRM	Yes	Yes	Yes
CMS	Yes	Yes	Yes
Grants Management	Yes (native)	Yes	Yes (Acquired Kindful)
Volunteer Management	Yes (native)	Third-party integration with Point	Yes
Customers Say*
Pros	“CharityEngine is user-friendly, comes with full support, and allows all your business needs to be maintained and tracked in one location. It is truly a one-stop shop and more than just a management program.”	“It's easy to use and has many features and capabilities.”	“I like that Bloomerang has a very short learning curve: you do not need to have a member of your staff dedicated to learning the platform, like you do with other CRMs like Salesforce.”
Cons	“Customer support is great but can sometimes take a while to get a resolution. While they have extensive documentation in their help center, it’s a little cumbersome to navigate if you’re trying to find something very specific, and I’m sure it’s hard for them to keep it up-to-date due to new features.”	“Can't customize individual fundraising pages much, can't effectively show relationships between donors and orgs, and the site is clunky to use.”	"There are limitations in dashboard views and reporting. The dashboard cannot be customized per user, which I find very unfortunate. Their integrations with other platforms are iffy. I've used several and have continued issues with them.”

*Reviews from G2

Here’s a list of questions you can ask vendors to dive into some features that might matter to your nonprofit: 

• Is your payment processing in-house or outsourced? 
• What are your payment processing fees? 
• Which fundraising modules are native, and which are accomplished through integrations? If more of your data stays in one system, it's easier and faster to leverage and mine it. 
• You have text-to-give capabilities, but do you offer blast texting? 
• What does your support look like? Is there a help center, a dedicated account manager, an online academy? 
• Are you PCI-certified or compliant? Are you SOC 2 certified or compliant? 
• Do you offer advanced fraud protection? 

Your CRM is more than software. When it’s selected carefully, it’s the engine that runs your nonprofit. Shop around, consider the ROI over the cost, and don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to determine the best fit for your nonprofit. Changes in technology can sometimes be just what you need to breathe new life in your fundraising campaigns.

If you’ve seen anything that makes you think CharityEngine might be a good fit, give us a ring, and we can show you the software in action.