Overall Software Advice

Most of my clients are small nonprofits. An issue that has come up repeatedly is advice on what is the "best" software for their purposes. Often that has led to discussions of how that software works with other software they use.  What's on this page are suggestions, generated by Google Gemini in response to my description of the size and typical characteristics, of small nonprofits of three sizes. I do not claim knowledge of all the software mentioned, but everything that I do know fits with the Gemini recommendations. 

Characteristics

Here are the characteristics I gave to Gemini as a description of the nonprofit operations. Check that they generally match yours before looking at the software recommendations.

• Serves a specific population of individuals

• Funded by a mix of charges for service, individual donations, and grants from foundations.

  • If government grants are received, this changes the advice in most cases. See the follow-up in the recommendations.

The Big Issue

For smaller organizations, the biggest software-related issues are usually the demands on limited staff time and knowledge. Only when you reach more than 10 staff is it likely you can have a specialist in Information Technology (IT), yet you need the assistance that technology can provide. The recommendations below recognize this in their increasing capability with staff size, along with increasing demands for technical knowledge and staff time. 

Software Categories

The major categories of software that any nonprofit is likely to need are:

• CRM - Fundraising and Donor Management

• Accounting and Finance - Bookkeeping

• Program & Case Management

• Core Operations, Productivity & Collaboration

Sometimes these can be combined, but that typically leads to increased complexity and technical demands on staff.

Recommendations by Nonprofit Size

The following link to the output of my Google Gemini Gem on 10/27/2025. I emphasize that I am not proficient with all the software identified, but my experience aligns with Google's recommendations for the ones I do know.

Note that these recommendations include a follow-up on how they would change if governmental grants are received, which would make significant changes.

• 1-5 Fulltime Equivalent (FTE) staff - Gemini Recommendation

• 5-10 FTE staff - Gemini Recommendation

• 10-20 FTE staff - Gemini Recommendation

Update: 10/27/2025