Analyzing Fundraising Software Costs
Costs
can vary substantially depending on the vendor you choose and the
size of your organization. Luckily, today there is a wide assortment
of choices.
There are several cost areas to consider, such as modularity vs. complete
package, long-term cost of ownership, ASP/SaaS vs. Purchase options, and the costs of
ancillary items such as training, support and data conversion.
The chart below provides a guide to what you can expect to pay for fundraising software.
| Donors |
Purchase Est. Cost Range |
ASP* (Monthly) |
Annual Support (Including Software Updates) |
Implementation Costs |
| < 5,000 |
$2,000-$5,000 |
$50-$100 |
$600-$1,500 |
$500-$1,000 |
| 5,000 - 50,000 |
$4,000-$20,000 |
$125-$365 |
$800-$3,500 |
$800-$2,000 |
| 50,000 + |
$10K-$100K |
$475-$800 |
$1,500-$10,000 |
$1,000-$5,000 |
|
*ASP vs. Purchase
An alternative to purchasing fundraising software is "subscribing" for
the use of a Web-based fundraising package. Vendors who offer this
are called Application Service Providers or ASPs. Another term for this type of software distribution is Software as a Service or SaaS. ASP's and SaaS's dramatically lower the upfront investment required of your nonprofit,
but can often be more expensive in the long term, since you don't own the software
and will be paying for use each month or year. See
ASP vs. Installed Fundraising Software for more information on this topic or download Online Access to Your Fundraising Data: Choosing the Right Approach for help weighing the pro's and con's of online access options.
Other Costs to Consider
- Training
- Updates
- Data Conversion
|
| Scaled Entry Level Pricing |
| A few software vendors offer special pricing for small non-profits (typically those with fewer than 1,000 donors). If you fall into this category, be sure to find out if your provider offers their high-end fundraising software to new and smaller nonprofits at reduced pricing |
|
|
|
