TLDR
Most nonprofits run email through a standalone marketing tool that has no awareness of donor history, gift amounts, or grant restrictions. That creates duplicate data, manual syncs, and communication that misses the relationship context your donors expect. The right tool depends on whether you need a broadcast email platform or communication that lives inside your donor data.
Best overall
GrantPipe
Donor CRM and grant compliance platform with communication features built into donor records - acknowledgments, stewardship emails, and segmentation tied directly to giving history.
Pros
- ✓ Communication tied to real donor data - no export/import cycle
- ✓ Acknowledgment automation triggered directly on gift receipt
- ✓ Segmentation based on actual giving history, fund preferences, and retention risk
Cons
- × Not a broadcast email platform for high-volume newsletters to audiences beyond your donor base
- × For organizations sending weekly editorial newsletters to 50,000+ subscribers, a dedicated broadcast tool is still needed alongside GrantPipe
Pricing: starting at $199/month
Verdict: Best for organizations wanting donor acknowledgment and stewardship communication to come from the same system managing donor data.
Mailchimp
Most widely used email marketing platform with nonprofit discount, strong template library, and CRM integrations for broadcast communication.
Pros
- ✓ Large template library and familiar interface
- ✓ Audience segmentation based on engagement behavior
- ✓ Integrates with Salesforce, Bloomerang, and other CRMs
Cons
- × No awareness of donor giving history or gift restrictions
- × Every segmentation decision requires manual data export from another system
- × No native gift acknowledgment or IRS receipt generation
Pricing: Free (500 contacts); $13+/month for paid tiers
Verdict: Best for organizations needing a full-featured broadcast platform and managing donor data separately in a CRM.
Constant Contact
Guided email platform with event management tools and nonprofit pricing - designed for ease of use for non-marketing staff.
Pros
- ✓ Event management and registration tools alongside email
- ✓ Phone support included - valuable for staff who are not marketing specialists
- ✓ Nonprofit discount of 20-30%
Cons
- × Less sophisticated segmentation than Mailchimp or Klaviyo
- × No donor data awareness or gift acknowledgment automation
Pricing: Core plan at $12/month; Standard at $35/month
Verdict: Best for small-to-mid-sized nonprofits under $2M budget that need a no-fuss platform with event tools and human support.
Klaviyo
E-commerce-origin email platform with advanced behavioral segmentation and flow automation - adaptable for sophisticated donor communication.
Pros
- ✓ Advanced behavioral segmentation adaptable to giving data
- ✓ Predictive analytics for retention and churn risk
- ✓ A/B testing on subject lines, content, and timing
Cons
- × Steep learning curve - over-engineered for basic nonprofit newsletter needs
- × No specific nonprofit features or gift acknowledgment
- × No nonprofit discount
Pricing: Free (250 contacts); $45+/month for 1,001-1,500 contacts
Verdict: Best for nonprofits with a technical staff member or agency partner who can manage integrations and build giving-data-based flows.
MailerLite
Simple, affordable email platform with landing page builder and basic automation - lowest cost in this category for the basics.
Pros
- ✓ Lowest pricing for organizations under 10,000 contacts
- ✓ Clean editor easy for non-marketing staff
- ✓ Landing page builder included for campaign donation pages
Cons
- × Simpler segmentation and automation than Mailchimp or Klaviyo
- × No donor data integration or giving-based segments
Pricing: Free (1,000 subscribers); Growing Business from $9/month
Verdict: Best for budget-conscious organizations under $1M budget that need the basics done well at minimal cost.
Bloomerang Built-In Email
Email communication tools built into Bloomerang donor CRM - communication history automatically logged to donor records.
Pros
- ✓ Communication history logged directly to constituent timeline
- ✓ Segmentation based on Bloomerang's donor data - no export needed
- ✓ Mass email sending from within the CRM
Cons
- × Template library is small; automation less sophisticated than dedicated email tools
- × High-volume appeals or complex nurture sequences may still require a dedicated tool
Pricing: Included with Bloomerang donor CRM plans; pricing depends on the selected package
Verdict: Best for organizations already using Bloomerang who want communication history in one place without adding a separate email subscription.
Nonprofit email is not the same problem as e-commerce email. You are not trying to recover abandoned carts. You are stewarding relationships with donors who give on trust, reporting to funders who expect accuracy, and managing a contact list that spans major gift prospects, recurring donors, board members, and lapsed supporters - all with different communication needs.
Most email marketing software was built for retail or B2B SaaS. Some have nonprofit discount programs. That does not make them purpose-built for development work. This guide covers six tools, what they actually do well for nonprofits, where they fall short, and who each one fits.
1. GrantPipe
GrantPipe is a donor CRM and grant compliance platform - not a standalone email tool. Its communication features are built into the donor record, which is a meaningfully different architecture than connecting a CRM to a separate email platform.
What it does for nonprofits
Donor communication in GrantPipe is tied directly to donor profiles, giving history, and fund restrictions. When you send an acknowledgment or a stewardship update, the system already knows the donor’s total giving, which campaigns they responded to, and whether their gifts are restricted to specific programs. You are not importing a segment from a CRM into an email tool and hoping the data is current.
Key communication capabilities:
- Donation acknowledgment emails triggered automatically on gift receipt
- Donor segmentation by giving level, recency, frequency, and fund preference - see donor segmentation for detail
- Stewardship communications tied to specific grants and restricted funds
- Funder reporting emails generated from grant data, not manually drafted
- Full audit trail on all donor communications - see audit trail and activity log
Who it’s for
Organizations that want donor communication to come from the same system managing donor data. If your development director is currently exporting CSVs from your CRM and importing them into Mailchimp every week, GrantPipe eliminates that workflow.
Pricing
GrantPipe pricing starts at $199/month. Explore GrantPipe.
What it does not do
GrantPipe is not a broadcast email platform for high-volume marketing campaigns, newsletter publishing, or e-commerce-style automation sequences. If your communications team sends weekly editorial newsletters to 50,000 subscribers, you need a dedicated broadcast tool alongside GrantPipe. For donor stewardship and acknowledgment communication, GrantPipe handles this natively.
2. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is the most widely used email marketing platform across all sectors, including nonprofits. It has name recognition, a large template library, and a nonprofit discount program through the TechSoup marketplace.
What it does for nonprofits
Mailchimp handles broadcast email well: newsletters, appeals, event announcements, and campaign updates. Its segmentation tools let you build audiences based on engagement behavior - opens, clicks, tags - which works for broad communication segments.
- Drag-and-drop email builder with nonprofit-appropriate templates
- Audience segmentation based on tags and engagement data
- Automation for welcome sequences and re-engagement campaigns
- Integrations with Salesforce, Bloomerang, and other CRMs via Zapier or native connectors
- Nonprofit discount: up to 15% through TechSoup
Who it’s for
Organizations that need a full-featured broadcast email platform and manage their donor data separately in a CRM. Works best when someone on staff has time to manage audience segments and keep the contact list clean.
Pricing
Free plan (up to 500 contacts). Essentials starts at $13/month; Standard is around twenty dollars per month. Pricing scales with contact count, which can get expensive for organizations with large inactive lists. Nonprofit discount available through TechSoup.
What it does not do
Mailchimp has no knowledge of donor giving history, gift restrictions, or grant compliance. Every segmentation decision has to be built manually from data you export from another system. There is no native acknowledgment or IRS receipt generation. The integration between Mailchimp and your CRM is only as good as how often you sync it.
3. Constant Contact
Constant Contact has served small nonprofits for years and has built specific features for the sector, including event management and nonprofit pricing tiers. It is a reasonable choice for organizations that want something more guided than Mailchimp.
What it does for nonprofits
- Email templates designed for nonprofit appeals and announcements
- Event management and registration tools - useful for galas, cultivation events, and volunteer days
- Contact management with tagging and list segmentation
- Social media scheduling alongside email
- Nonprofit discount: 20-30% off standard pricing through the nonprofit program
- Phone support included on most plans - an advantage for staff who are not marketing specialists
Who it’s for
Small-to-mid-sized nonprofits (under $2M budget) that need a no-fuss email platform with event tools included and want human support available. Good for organizations where the executive director or a generalist staff member manages communications without a dedicated marketing person.
Pricing
Core plan starts at $12/month; Standard at $35/month. Pricing scales with contact count. Nonprofit discount requires verification.
What it does not do
Constant Contact’s segmentation is less sophisticated than Mailchimp or Klaviyo. No donor data awareness, no gift acknowledgment automation, no grant-related communication tools. The platform is built for broadcast communication, not relationship management.
4. Klaviyo
Klaviyo is primarily known as an e-commerce email platform, but its segmentation engine is genuinely powerful - and that power translates to nonprofits that have structured giving data and want to act on it.
What it does for nonprofits
Klaviyo’s strength is behavioral segmentation and flow automation based on data properties. If you can pass giving data into Klaviyo via API or integration, you can build sophisticated segments: donors who gave more than $1,000 last year but have not renewed, lapsed monthly donors, first-time donors who need a 90-day stewardship sequence.
- Predictive analytics for retention and churn risk (built for e-commerce, but adaptable)
- Advanced flow builder with conditional branches
- A/B testing on subject lines, content, and timing
- Deep integration with Shopify and WooCommerce - relevant for nonprofits with merchandise or ticketing
- Strong deliverability tools
Who it’s for
Nonprofits with a technical staff member or digital agency partner who can manage integrations and build data flows. Best for organizations that also run event ticketing, merchandise, or peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns that generate transaction data - see peer-to-peer fundraising platforms for context on the full picture.
Pricing
Free up to 250 contacts. Email plans start at $45/month for 1,001-1,500 contacts and scale up. No specific nonprofit discount.
What it does not do
Klaviyo has a steep learning curve and is over-engineered for organizations that just need to send newsletters and appeals. The e-commerce-first design means some concepts do not map cleanly to donor relationships. No native nonprofit features, no gift acknowledgment, no grant management.
5. MailerLite
MailerLite is a simpler, more affordable email platform that has grown its feature set considerably in recent years. It is a credible option for small nonprofits watching their software budget.
What it does for nonprofits
- Clean drag-and-drop editor that is genuinely easy to use
- Landing page builder included - useful for campaign-specific donation pages
- Automation workflows for welcome and re-engagement sequences
- Survey tool and pop-up builder included on paid plans
- Nonprofit discount: 30% off annual plans
Who it’s for
Budget-conscious organizations (under $1M budget) that need the basics done well and want to avoid paying Mailchimp’s scaling costs. Good for organizations with contact lists under 10,000 where simplicity matters more than advanced segmentation.
Pricing
Free up to 1,000 subscribers (1 user, limited features). Growing Business starts at $9/month. Nonprofit discount available. Pricing is among the lowest in this category.
What it does not do
MailerLite’s segmentation and automation are simpler than Mailchimp or Klaviyo. No donor data integration, no giving-based segments, no gift acknowledgment. The analytics are basic. For organizations that need sophisticated automation or deep CRM integration, it is too lightweight.
6. Bloomerang’s Built-In Email
Bloomerang includes email communication tools directly in its donor CRM, which is the same architectural advantage GrantPipe provides - communication tied to donor records rather than managed separately.
What it does for nonprofits
Bloomerang’s communication tools are built around its constituent timeline model. Every email sent to a donor appears in their record, alongside gift history and engagement tracking.
- Email templates for acknowledgments, receipts, and appeals
- Communication history logged to the donor record automatically
- Segmentation based on Bloomerang’s donor data (giving frequency, recency, retention score)
- Mass email sending from within the CRM - no export/import cycle
- Retention-focused metrics built into the dashboard
Who it’s for
Organizations already using Bloomerang as their CRM who want to avoid adding a separate email marketing subscription. The main reason to use Bloomerang’s email tools is to keep communication history in one place.
Pricing
Bloomerang plans start at $99/month (up to 1,000 records). Email is included in the subscription. Pricing scales with the number of constituent records.
What it does not do
Bloomerang’s email tools are functional but not feature-rich by broadcast platform standards. The template library is small, automation is limited compared to dedicated email tools, and there is no sophisticated behavioral segmentation. For organizations running high-volume appeals or complex nurture sequences, a dedicated email tool alongside Bloomerang may still be necessary.
How to Choose
The most important decision is architecture: do you want email communication managed inside your donor data, or in a separate platform?
Choose CRM-native communication (GrantPipe or Bloomerang) if:
- Your team spends time syncing contacts between systems
- Donor acknowledgments and stewardship emails need to reflect giving history
- You want a single source of truth for donor communication history
- You are managing restricted funds and want communication tied to those fund records
Choose a standalone email platform (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Klaviyo, MailerLite) if:
- You send high-volume newsletters to a broad audience beyond your donor base
- You need advanced template design, A/B testing, or e-commerce integrations
- Your team has the bandwidth to manage a two-system workflow
If you are evaluating your full software stack, the nonprofit CRM evaluation scorecard helps structure that decision, and the grant software ROI calculator covers the full cost picture.
Most mid-sized nonprofits end up with a CRM that handles acknowledgments and stewardship communication, paired with a lightweight broadcast tool for newsletters and appeals. The goal is to avoid manual syncing between systems - that is where data quality problems compound.
Free resource
Get the Nonprofit CRM Evaluation Scorecard
A weighted scoring framework for comparing nonprofit CRMs across the 8 categories that matter most to mid-sized organizations: donor management, grant tracking, reporting, integrations, and total cost. Delivered by email.