5 Key Features to Look For in Your Charity CRM

At a Glance

A charity CRM helps you manage donors, volunteers, and fundraising in one place while keeping your data secure and compliant. KindLink’s UK-built CRM automates Gift Aid, enables contactless giving, and integrates donor engagement tools. It has helped over 4,000 charities simplify operations and build lasting relationships, maximising their impact without platform fees or admin complexity.

Charity CRM Systems in the UK

As a charity manager or trustee, you’ve probably reached a point where juggling spreadsheets and multiple free software to manage your charity operations just isn’t cutting it.

But what if you had a system to simplify all charity tasks, declutter, and organise them better? That’s exactly what a non-profit CRM does.

A charity or non-profit CRM has features to collect donor information, monitor donations, manage volunteers, and much more to keep you and your mission on track.

That said, not all CRMs are equal, and the success you’ll have depends on what charity CRM systems your organisation chooses to use. Before you make your selection, keep reading to learn about the five key features to look for in your charity CRM in this guide.

Why Your Charity Needs a Dedicated CRM

Charity CRM systems in the UK can help charities identify what works for their audience and what doesn’t, so they can decide a direction for their organisation and their overall mission.

Nonprofit CRMs have features that support efficient operations, build donor relationships, retain volunteers, and ultimately help your charity or non-profit make a greater impact.

5 Essential Features Every Charity CRM Should Include

No matter where your charity is in its journey, selecting the right CRM starts with knowing what features really matter to your organisation, whether it’s managing donors or reporting Gift Aid.

Here’s what we think are the 5 core features that a non-profit CRM must have: 

1. Donor and Donation Management

Keeping track of every transaction and interaction you’ve had with your donors may seem easy at first, but it can quickly become cumbersome with multiple spreadsheets.

When you’re focusing on raising money for your mission, you need to select a CRM that helps you do just that. KindLink’s donation management and donor engagement tools not only collect all key data from various sources, including your donation forms, but also give insights on which donors will be more willing to participate in future fundraising events.

2. Communication Tools

You’ll find it easier to keep in touch with your donors and contributors when you’re working with the right tools. 

Whether you’re thanking your donors for their donations or informing them about the next fundraising event, timing your communication right can be a turning point for your next successful fundraiser.

With KindLink’s CRM, you’ll never miss the important step that most charities overlook: thanking donors. Automate sending customisable thank-you emails to your donors for their support and contributions. Use email templates and pre-made campaign links to build outreach and promote your fundraising campaigns for maximum impact.

3. Volunteer & Event Management

Organising and orchestrating an event is an uphill task when you don’t have the right people to support it. You want a set of tools that lowers the stress of managing an event, helping you plan everything from the number of volunteers you need to who manages the ticket sales.

Don’t let the stress of planning a fundraiser affect the success of your event. You need KindLink’s non-profit CRM with features to manage event hosting, volunteer management, and peer-to-peer fundraising essentials.

Whether you’re planning to host a charity auction or online webinar, our CRM allows you to create, view, and manage campaigns and ticket sales (general and VIP), with a dashboard displaying progress across all your campaigns. You’ll be able to attract volunteers through a user-friendly sign-up process and manage them through a simple UI.

4. Contactless Fundraising

The sharp decrease in giving is becoming concerning for most UK charities today. This makes every donation crucial, no matter how small or big. In a society driven by cashless transactions, your charity can’t be left behind, so it’s important to choose a non-profit CRM with a feature that supports cashless or contactless donations.

KindLink’s all-in-one CRM does just that and more with our Contactless Fundraising App, available with our Expert Plan. It “converts” your volunteer’s smartphone into a donation point, accepting payment through multiple modes via tap–to-pay. You’ll never miss a single donation with this powerful fundraising solution in your pocket.  

5. Secure Payment Processing, Compliance, and Reporting

To measure all the efforts you and your team put in, you’ll want to collect and collate the data. Good fundraisers know the importance of this data, but expert fundraisers know the importance of using a non-profit CRM with features like automated Gift Aid reporting and secure payment processing.

A good CRM will allow UK charities to generate their Gift Aid report in a single click and submit it easily. 

As well as being a fully certified HMRC Gift Aid Software vendor, KindLink is compliant with GDPR and registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, as well as adhering to the Data Protection Act 2018. Our payment processes are PCI-DSS compliant, and we also hold a UK government-approved Cyber Essentials certificate.

Ease Your Charity Workload with KindLink’s Charity CRM

Once you understand the essential features for your non-profit CRM, you’ll be able to end your search for the best CRM for your charity or non-profit. 

KindLink checks all boxes, offering non-profits a CRM solution in one neat, attractive package. We’ve helped thousands of UK non-profits with free access to the most important core CRM features without worrying about platform commissions or hidden charges. 

With our CRM, you can count on:

• 100% donations to your charity; no platform fees
• Robust donor management to track everything you need
• Easy volunteer management tools
• One-click automated Gift Aid reporting
• Easy fundraising and peer-to-peer fundraising tools
• PCI-DSS compliant payment processing

Get started with our free CRM for charities, packed with advanced features, and make your charity operations smoother and more streamlined. Sign up today.