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Analyzing Donor Management Software Costs
Costs can vary substantially depending on the features, the vendor you choose and the size of your organization. Luckily, today there is a wide assortment of choices in regards to donor management software.
There are several cost areas to consider, such as modularity vs. all-in-one package, long-term cost of ownership, ASP vs. up-front purchase, and the costs of services such as training, support and data conversion.
Also, be sure to avoid the "Good Buy - Good Bye" scenerio. If
the price of a product seems too good to be true, it probably
is. Wouldn't you be suspicious of someone selling you a Rolex
watch for the price of a Timex? Developing good software and
providing good support costs money. A "cheap and simple" system
won't do you a bit of good if you can't raise the additional
money you were hoping for, or save time and effort with your
donor management responsibilities. With an ASP product, it is
possible to get a quality solution for low price, since you generally
pay by the number of donor records. That same cannot usually
be said for a installed software solution. The chart below provides
a guide to what you can expect to pay for donor management 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 |
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Other Costs to Consider
- Training
- Updates
- Data Conversion
- Support
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| *SaaS vs. Purchase |
| An alternative to purchasing donor
software is "subscribing" for the use of
a Web-based fundraising package. Vendors who offer
this are called SaaS. This dramatically lowers the
upfront investment required, but can 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
SaaS vs. Installed Software for more information on
this topic. |
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