Intuitive & Affordable

FundRaiser Software offers 3 powerful programs designed to fit any budget and any installation requirements

FundRaiser experience gained over 30 Years

With more than 30 years of experience in the nonprofit community and a customer retention rate of higher than 90%, our suite of donor management software is the right choice for affordable, intuitive donor management software that will fit your needs now and for years to come.

"I am happy to recommend your software. In the interests of appearing non-partisan, I keep trying to find a software program that is as good as yours, but I can't. I have NEVER heard a complaint about your technical support. I cannot say that about ANY other software company.!" Kim Klein (fundraising consultant, author) Berkeley, CA
Why FundRaiser Software? Features
Multiple Installation Options

Whether you need online access to your data, or wish to have your database installed on your local network, FundRaiser has an installation option built for you.
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Integrated Growth Path

FundRaiser is designed with your success and growth in mind; start with the perfect solution for your needs right now, and know that the software is ready to grow when you are.
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Extensive Standard Features

FundRaiser contains an impressive array of standard features: unlimited donors, customizable interface, and built-in letter templates, to name a few.
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Unrivaled Customer Service

As a small company, we know that the key to customer retention is excellent customer service and we dedicate every minute of our working day to providing outstanding support.
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Best Donor Management Practices: Recording Donations

by Gene Weinbeck

Let's assume you have a stack (a BIG stack) of contributions in front of you. It is your job to record each one, print receipts or thank you letters, and then make a deposit at your bank. Remember, "Thank before you bank."

Regardless of which FundRaiser program you are using, there are 4 basic steps (and an optional 5th for users of the FundRaiser QuickBooks® integration module) to follow that will ensure that everything goes smoothly:

  1. Enter Contributions and add new donors as needed
  2. Check your Work
  3. Print Thank You's
  4. Mark Thank You's as Done
  5. Optional- Post to QuickBooks®

1. Enter contributions and add new donors as needed

  • Add new donors, or for an existing donor make any necessary changes to name, address, or phone number. Compare the return address on the envelope with the address on the check. If there are any discrepancies, make a note of them in Donor Notes.
  • Enter Gifts. Enter the amount of the contribution and the date of the contribution. In the US, the IRS uses the postmark on the envelope for the contribution date. This is most important at the end of the tax year, when the donor may write a check in January that is dated December 31, hoping to have it included on last year's tax return. (As you might expect, many nonprofits give the benefit of the doubt to their donors.)
  • Optionally, enter a Source Code (in Basic) or Motivation Code (Select/Pro) to indicate what activity (if any) prompted the donor to give this donation.
  • Check "Send a Thank You Letter or Receipt" if you want to print a thank you letter or receipt (highly recommended -- in order to help build a relationship with the donor).

2. Check your work

  • Run a deposit report (called donation report in Basic) to make sure that the total recorded on the computer matches the total when you added up the checks. This report lists donations entered during the specified date range, typically the current day.
  • There are some differences in how dates are recorded in FundRaiser Basic and in FundRaiser Select and Pro, which have an impact on checking your work on the deposit report. For Basic you will use Date of Entry to create your deposit report. For Select and Pro you will probably want to use Date of Deposit. For more information on that, see Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Your Daily Routine. In Select and Professional, you can designate a batch number when entering big batches of checks. This allows you to have more than one person entering checks on a batch and still run a single deposit report. (Go to Options > Contributions > General to activate batches).
  • Next, manually add up the amounts on the checks. The total given by the report should equal your total. If it doesn't, find your error on the report and make corrections in the Donor's Screen. Then print another Donation Report for your files, or to hand to your bookkeeper.

3. Print Thank You Letters or Receipts, and matching labels or envelopes as desired.

Once you've determined that the checks have all been entered accurately, it's time to print your thank you letter.

  • All three FundRaiser programs run the same way, as far as printing thank you letters. There is a check box for whether to print a thank you letter or not. Every gift that has a check mark on the gift for printing will be printed.
  • In Basic, everyone in the batch must receive the same letter. In Select and Pro you can designate different letters for each gift and even have 2 thank you letters per gift. Select and Pro can also keep track of the date and time the letter was printed.
  • If you need to reprint a single letter or envelope, that is easily done. In Basic, simply choose "current donor" instead of "marked gifts." In Select and Pro, just click on the "Print Now" button on the Gifts page to reprint the letter, then click on the label or envelope button on the toolbar.

4. Finally, Mark Thank You's Done in the Print Menu and deposit the contributions in the bank.

  • Once the thank you letters all look good, and you have printed the labels or envelopes, the next step is to "mark the thank you letters done" (do so in the same place where you batch-printed the letters). That removes the check mark from each gift so that it is not there the next time that you print letters.
  • After your thank you letters are ready to go, deposit the donations, following the often repeated fundraising advice: thank before you bank. Timely thank you letters, sent within a few days of receiving a check, are one of the single most important ways you can encourage donors to continue donating and at higher levels. See yourself dropping your thank you letters at the post office on the way to making your deposit at the bank.

5. Optional­ Posting to QuickBooks®

After you have checked your work, and made sure that everything is correct, post the donation information to QuickBooks®. That should always be done as final step, so that no editing is needed after the posting.

Resources

Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Your Daily Routine by Larry Weaver

Research Shows Importance of Saying 'Thanks'


Gene Weinbeck is founder, and CEO of FundRaiserSoftware. In his free time he enjoys drumming and geocaching.


FundRaiser SoftwareFundRaiser Software offers non-profit organizations intuitive donor management software that is easy to learn and easy to use. Three programs, ranging from simple to sophisticated, let you choose the features you need now, while guaranteeing a built-in growth path for the future. Software flexibilty, budget options, and superb technical support make FundRaiser Software uniquely adaptable to the needs of non-profit organizations whatever their mission.

  • FundRaiser Spark
  • Available Online or Installed
  • Includes:
  • Unlimited Donors
  • Unlimited Codes
  • Unlimited Email
  • Custom Letters
  • Memberships
  • More Details
  • Try Free
  • FundRaiser Select
  • Available Online or Installed
  • Plus:
  • Online Donations
  • Recurring Gifts
  • Households
  • Solicitor Tracking
  • Add-On Modules
  • More Details
  • Try Free
  • FundRaiser Professional
  • Available Online or Installed
  • Includes:
  • Rapid Gift Entry
  • Relationships
  • Event Management
  • Secure Fields
  • Unlimited Spares
  • More Details
  • Try Free

The FundRaiser Difference

  • Our Mission is You
  • Our Track Record
  • Support & Service
  • Budget-Friendly
A Better World through You
You believe in your mission, and you work very hard to see that mission come to fruition. We believe that it is our job to work just as hard to help you achieve it. Every day, we make it our mission to be right beside you helping you become more effective through better donor management practices. Our company is built on the belief that nonprofits are working for a better world, and we are working to achieve a better world through you. When you become a FundRaiser Customer, you become part of the FundRaiser Family. Meet the FundRaiser Family
Right Beside You
Simply stated, we've been doing this for a long time (since 1983!), and we'll be here for a long time to come. Our small company provides donor management software that is used by more than 5,000 nonprofits worldwide, and that means that we have a very strong commitment to staying in the game. We believe that we are helping the world through you, and we look forward to doing so for many more decades. FundRaiser History
Real Customer Service

Part of our mission is to provide excellence in service, and we are passionate about our mission. We believe that we must all work for a better world, and our part in it is to support you and your mission. We do that by pledging to be right beside you every step of the way with the best customer service you have ever experienced. Our customers use words like "refreshing", "informative", "patient", "unparalleled" and "tremendous" when they talk about the support they receive from us - but we think that providing the best service we can is our responsibility, so we just call it real customer service. Don't take our word for it, though: take a look at what our customers say about our support & service by checking out our Testimonials.

Affordable for all Nonprofits

Organizations of all types and sizes use FundRaiser, but our target customers are small, mid-sized, and growing organizations, so we work very hard to keep our software both powerful and affordable. All three of our programs can be purchased or leased, and we offer the most flexible interest-free payment plans in the industry. With our low prices and built-in growth path, FundRaiser Software is the ideal choice for organizations that are looking for an affordable option that will grow with them. View Pricing

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Features/Products

FundRaiser Spark

FundRaiser Select

FundRaiser Professional

Feature

Number of Donors
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited Gifts Per Donor
Custom Letters
Targeted Mailings
Built-in Reports
Integrated Word Processor
Canadian User Features
Import & Export Capabilities
Donor Segmentation
Email Correspondence
Membership Management

optional module
Donation Segmentation

(three codes per gift)
Duplicate Checking
Partial
Contact Management
Partial
Recurring Donations
Partial


User-Defined Spare Fields


(three)

(five)

(unlimited)
Event Tracking
Partial

limited
Multi-User Capability
Not Available
Custom Page
Not Available


Reminder System (Tickles)
Not Available


Households
Not Available
In-Kind Donations
Not Available


Bulk Mail Features
Not Available
Solicitor Tracking
Not Available
Pledge Tracking
Not Available

optional module
Volunteer Management
Not Available

optional module
Tributes Management
Not Available

optional module
QuickBooks Integration
Not Available

(optional, third-party integration)

(third-party integration)
Wintix Integration
Not Available

(third-party integration)

(third-party integration)
Premiums Management
Not Available

optional module
Phonathon Management
Not Available

optional module
Complete Campaign Management
Not Available
Not Available
Soft Credits
Not Available
Not Available
Split Donations
Not Available
Not Available
Relationship Tracking
Not Available
Not Available
Rapid Gift Entry
Not Available
Not Available
Online Donations

optional for Spark Online

optional module

optional module
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Pricing

FundRaiser Spark

FundRaiser Spark

FundRaiser Professional

Single-User Version
$649 installed
$69/mo online
$1400+ installed
$179/mo online
$3800+ installed
$349/mo online
optional modules
N/A
$300-$500
Included
Multiple Users
N/A
$250 each installed
+$25/mo online
+$400 each installed
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