Bloomerang vs Little Green Light for Nonprofits
Two donor CRMs designed for nonprofits, but with very different value propositions. Bloomerang invests in AI-powered retention prediction and engagement scoring to help you keep donors before they lapse—starting at $125/month. Little Green Light focuses on making professional donor management accessible to budget-conscious organizations—starting at just $45/month with unlimited users and no contracts. Your decision comes down to whether AI-driven retention insights justify a 3× price difference, or whether solid core functionality at an unbeatable price better serves your nonprofit's current stage.
Quick Verdict
Choose based on your nonprofit's priorities:
Choose Bloomerang if:
- •Donor retention is your strategic priority and you need AI to predict churn before it happens
- •You want engagement scores (0-100) that identify at-risk donors and suggest next-best actions
- •Built-in unlimited email marketing matters (avoid separate Mailchimp subscription)
- •Industry benchmarking against similar nonprofits is valuable for board reporting
- •You have $125-275/month budget and want best-in-class retention technology
Choose Little Green Light if:
- •Budget is your primary constraint—you need professional CRM under $75/month
- •You're transitioning from spreadsheets and want low-risk month-to-month pricing
- •Multiple team members need access without escalating per-seat costs
- •30-day free trial with no credit card is important for risk-free evaluation
- •You prioritize core donor management over AI features you may not fully utilize
At-a-Glance Comparison
| Feature | Bloomerang | Little Green Light | Winner / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $125/month (1,000 contacts) | $45/month (2,500 constituents) | 🏆 Little Green Light: 64% cheaper, 2.5× more records |
| Mid-Tier Pricing | $175/month (2,500 contacts) | $60/month (5,000 constituents) | 🏆 Little Green Light: $115/month savings at similar scale |
| Unlimited Users | Yes, all tiers | Yes, all tiers | ⚖️ Tie: Both include unlimited users |
| AI Features | Retention prediction, engagement scores, churn alerts | None | 🏆 Bloomerang: Major AI advantage |
| Donor Retention Focus | Core strength: AI predicts at-risk donors | Manual analysis via reports | 🏆 Bloomerang for retention |
| Email Marketing | Unlimited built-in (included) | Via Constant Contact/Mailchimp integration | 🏆 Bloomerang: No extra email cost |
| Free Trial | Available (demo required) | 30 days, no credit card required | 🏆 Little Green Light: Lower barrier |
| Contracts Required | Annual billing recommended | No contracts, month-to-month | 🏆 Little Green Light: More flexibility |
| Learning Curve | Beginner-friendly (2-3 weeks) | Beginner-friendly (reporting takes longer) | ⚖️ Tie: Both nonprofit-focused |
| Geographic Availability | US-focused, international available | Not available in EU, UK, Switzerland | 🏆 Bloomerang for international |
| Best For | Retention-focused orgs with $1,500+/year budget | Budget-conscious small nonprofits | ⚖️ Different priorities |
Last updated: January 5, 2026. Pricing and features subject to change; verify with vendors.
Head-to-Head Feature Breakdown
AI-Powered Donor Insights
Bloomerang:
This is Bloomerang's core differentiator. The AI calculates engagement scores (0-100) for every donor based on email opens, event attendance, giving frequency, and recency. It predicts which donors are at risk of lapsing 60-90 days before they churn and suggests specific next-best actions (call, email, send impact update). The system improves its accuracy over time as it learns your donor patterns.
Best use: Identifying donors whose engagement scores dropped from 75 to 35 and proactively re-engaging them before they lapse.
Little Green Light:
No AI or predictive analytics features. Donor analysis is manual—you'd run reports to identify lapsed donors, then determine outreach strategy yourself. The platform excels at organizing data, not analyzing patterns or predicting behavior.
Best use: Running "donors who gave last year but not this year" reports, then manually prioritizing outreach.
Verdict: Bloomerang wins decisively. If you want AI-driven retention insights, Little Green Light simply doesn't offer them. This is the biggest functional difference between the platforms.
Donor Retention & Engagement
Bloomerang:
Built by retention experts who believe improving retention is the fastest path to fundraising growth. Every feature ties back to keeping donors: engagement scores visible on every donor record, retention rate dashboards, industry benchmarking against similar nonprofits, automated stewardship workflows, and AI-suggested outreach timing.
Best use: An organization with 40% first-year donor retention wanting to reach 60%+ through systematic engagement.
Little Green Light:
Provides the data infrastructure to track donor relationships, but retention strategy is up to you. You can run reports to identify lapsed donors and track communication history, but there's no automated alerting or AI-driven prioritization. Think of it as a well-organized filing cabinet rather than an intelligent assistant.
Best use: Organizations that have time to manually analyze donor data and develop retention strategies themselves.
Verdict: Bloomerang is purpose-built for retention. Little Green Light tracks data but doesn't proactively help you improve retention rates.
Pricing & Value
Bloomerang:
Starts at $125/month for 1,000 contacts, scaling to $175/month for 2,500 and $275/month for 5,000. All tiers include unlimited users, unlimited email marketing, and full AI features. The 17% discount for annual billing brings year-one cost to approximately $1,245-2,739 depending on database size.
Value proposition: Premium pricing justified by AI retention features that can recover lapsed donations worth multiples of the subscription cost.
Little Green Light:
Starts at $45/month for 2,500 constituents, $60/month for 5,000, and $75/month for 10,000. No setup fees, no contracts, month-to-month billing. 10% discount for annual prepayment. Year-one cost ranges from $486-810 for most small-mid sized nonprofits.
Value proposition: Professional donor management at 64-74% less than Bloomerang, ideal for organizations that have outgrown spreadsheets but have limited technology budgets.
Verdict: Little Green Light wins on pure affordability. But if Bloomerang's AI helps you retain even 5-10 additional donors per year, it may pay for itself.
Email Marketing & Communications
Bloomerang:
Includes unlimited email marketing at no extra cost. Create and send newsletters, appeals, and automated sequences directly from the platform. Email engagement (opens, clicks) feeds directly into engagement scores, so your retention AI gets smarter with every send. No need for separate Mailchimp or Constant Contact subscriptions.
Best use: Sending monthly newsletters and year-end appeals while automatically tracking which donors engage.
Little Green Light:
Does not include built-in email marketing. Integrates with Constant Contact and Mailchimp to sync donor segments and send targeted communications. You'll need a separate email marketing subscription ($10-50/month depending on list size), adding to total cost.
Best use: Organizations already paying for email marketing who want to sync CRM segments to their existing platform.
Verdict: Bloomerang includes email marketing; Little Green Light requires separate subscription. Factor $120-600/year additional cost for Little Green Light's email marketing.
Integration Ecosystem
Bloomerang:
Strong native integrations with QuickBooks (Online and Desktop), Stripe, PayPal, Classy, Donorbox, GiveWP, Network for Good, Double the Donation, Eventbrite, Greater Giving, OneCause, WordPress, and Zapier. Particularly strong for donation platforms and event management tools.
Best use: Organizations using multiple donation platforms that all need to sync to one CRM.
Little Green Light:
Integrates with QuickBooks (Online, Pro, Premier), Stripe, PayPal, Constant Contact, Mailchimp, and Zapier. More limited native integrations than Bloomerang, but Zapier connection allows access to thousands of additional apps.
Best use: Organizations with straightforward tech stacks (QuickBooks, Stripe, email marketing) who don't need extensive native connections.
Verdict: Bloomerang has more native integrations, especially for donation and event platforms. Both connect with essential accounting and payment tools.
Reporting & Analytics
Bloomerang:
Retention-focused reporting with dashboards showing first-year donor retention, overall retention rates, and benchmarks against similar nonprofits. Cohort analysis tracks how donor groups perform over time. Engagement score trends visualize relationship health across your entire file. Standard reports for donations, donors, and campaigns.
Best use: Presenting board with quarterly retention metrics and showing improvement trends with industry context.
Little Green Light:
Smart reporting features for donor giving history, campaign performance, pledge management, event registration, and grant tracking. Custom report builder with filters for date ranges, donor segments, gift types. Users note reporting has a learning curve—recommend designating one team member as the reporting expert.
Best use: Generating board reports and funder analytics with custom filters once you've mastered the reporting system.
Verdict: Bloomerang for retention-specific analytics with industry benchmarks. Little Green Light for flexible custom reporting (with steeper learning curve).
Pricing Breakdown & Total Cost of Ownership
Bloomerang Pricing
- Starter (1,000 contacts): $125/month or $1,245/year
- Essential (2,500 contacts): $175/month or $1,743/year
- Plus (5,000 contacts): $275/month or $2,739/year
- Pro (10,000 contacts): $425/month or $4,233/year
What's Included:
Unlimited users, unlimited email marketing, AI retention predictions, engagement scoring, online donation forms, mobile apps. 17% annual discount. 30-day free trial.
Little Green Light Pricing
- Up to 2,500 constituents: $45/month or $486/year
- Up to 5,000 constituents: $60/month or $648/year
- Up to 10,000 constituents: $75/month or $810/year
- Scales to 200,000: $15 increments per 10,000 records
What's Included:
Unlimited users, smart reporting, online donation forms, all integrations. No setup fees, no contracts. 10% annual discount. 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
Total Cost of Ownership: 3 Scenarios
Scenario 1: Small Nonprofit (2,000 constituents)
Grassroots charity with 2-3 staff needing database access
Bloomerang
- • Essential tier (2,500 contacts): $175/month
- • Email marketing: Included
- • AI features: Included
- • Year 1 Total: $2,100
Best if: Retention is critical priority and AI insights justify 4× cost.
Little Green Light
- • 2,500 tier: $45/month ($540/year)
- • Email marketing (Mailchimp): ~$15/month ($180/year)
- • AI features: Not available
- • Year 1 Total: ~$720
Best if: Budget is primary constraint; willing to handle retention analysis manually.
Winner: Little Green Light saves $1,380/year (66% less). But if Bloomerang's AI helps retain even 10 additional $100 donors, it pays for itself.
Scenario 2: Mid-Sized Nonprofit (5,000 constituents)
Regional nonprofit with development team of 3-5 people
Bloomerang
- • Plus tier (5,000 contacts): $275/month
- • Email marketing: Included
- • AI features: Included
- • Year 1 Total: $3,300
Best if: Ready to invest in retention technology that scales with your growth.
Little Green Light
- • 5,000 tier: $60/month ($720/year)
- • Email marketing: ~$30/month ($360/year)
- • AI features: Not available
- • Year 1 Total: ~$1,080
Best if: Want to allocate savings toward staff time or other programs.
Winner: Little Green Light saves $2,220/year (67% less). At this scale, the savings could fund a part-time development assistant or donor stewardship program.
Scenario 3: Growing Nonprofit (10,000 constituents)
Established organization with dedicated development staff
Bloomerang
- • Pro tier (10,000 contacts): $425/month
- • Email marketing: Included
- • AI features: Full retention suite
- • Year 1 Total: $5,100
Best if: At this scale, even small retention improvements generate significant ROI.
Little Green Light
- • 10,000 tier: $75/month ($900/year)
- • Email marketing: ~$50/month ($600/year)
- • AI features: Not available
- • Year 1 Total: ~$1,500
Best if: Have staff capacity to manually analyze data and develop retention strategies.
Winner: Depends on your retention challenges. Little Green Light saves $3,600/year. But with 10,000 constituents, Bloomerang's AI identifying 50 at-risk major donors could recover $25,000+ in gifts.
Hidden Costs to Consider
Bloomerang
- • $500 implementation fee (waived with annual billing)
- • Training time: 2-3 weeks to proficiency
- • All core features included—no surprise add-ons
- • Email marketing included saves $120-600/year
Little Green Light
- • No setup fees or implementation charges
- • Email marketing: $120-600/year additional
- • Online donations: 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction
- • Training time: 2-4 weeks (reporting takes longer)
Use Case Scenarios
Bloomerang: Best Use Cases
Fixing a Donor Retention Crisis
Organization: Animal shelter with 2,800 donors
Challenge: First-year donor retention at 23%. Losing supporters faster than acquiring them. No system to identify who's disengaging.
Solution: Bloomerang's engagement scores flagged 340 donors with declining engagement. Automated workflows sent re-engagement emails. Staff prioritized personal calls to top 50 at-risk major donors.
Result: First-year retention jumped to 47% within 12 months. Overall donor base grew 28% as retention gains exceeded acquisition losses.
ROI: $2,100/year investment retained estimated $35,000 in annual giving. 17× return.
Major Donor Stewardship System
Organization: Education foundation with 200 major donors ($1,000+/year)
Challenge: Development director couldn't track who needed personal attention. Major donors felt forgotten. Renewal rates declining.
Solution: Set Bloomerang rules to alert when major donors drop below engagement score of 70 or haven't been contacted in 45 days. Created personalized cultivation tasks for each flagged donor.
Result: Major donor retention increased from 72% to 89%. Two donors upgraded from $5,000 to $25,000 after consistent personalized attention.
ROI: $175/month investment; gained $45,000 in upgrades and prevented $50,000 in lapsed major gifts.
Little Green Light: Best Use Cases
Escaping Spreadsheet Chaos
Organization: Community arts nonprofit with 3,500 donors
Challenge: Managing donors across Excel spreadsheets, Gmail, and manual QuickBooks entries. Development Director spending 10+ hours weekly on data maintenance instead of fundraising.
Solution: Migrated to Little Green Light at $60/month. Imported spreadsheet data, connected PayPal/Stripe for automatic donation syncing, integrated QuickBooks to eliminate double-entry.
Result: Eliminated 10 hours of weekly data work. Reports that took days now generate in minutes. Identified 127 lapsed donors and recovered $18,000 through targeted re-engagement.
ROI: $720/year investment saved 500+ staff hours and recovered $18,000 in lapsed gifts.
Budget-Friendly CRM for Growing Nonprofit
Organization: Youth mentoring program with $350,000 annual budget
Challenge: Board wanted professional donor management but couldn't justify $3,000+/year for enterprise CRM. Per-user fees would add cost as staff grew.
Solution: Implemented Little Green Light at $45/month with unlimited users. Executive Director, Development Manager, Program Director, and three board members all have access without additional cost.
Result: Professional donor tracking at less than 0.2% of operating budget. Full team visibility into donor relationships. Scalable as organization grows.
ROI: $540/year for enterprise-level donor management that would cost $3,000-5,000 elsewhere.
First CRM for Startup Nonprofit
Organization: Newly formed environmental advocacy group
Challenge: Just received 501(c)(3) status. Need donor management but can't commit to long-term contracts or expensive software. Uncertain how quickly donor base will grow.
Solution: Started Little Green Light's 30-day free trial (no credit card). Month-to-month pricing means they can cancel if fundraising doesn't materialize. Started at $45/month tier.
Result: Professional donor management from day one. No financial risk during uncertain early stage. Can scale pricing tier as donor base grows.
ROI: Zero upfront risk. Professional foundation for donor relationships without enterprise costs.
Multi-User Access Without Per-Seat Fees
Organization: Food bank with 8 staff and 5 board members needing CRM access
Challenge: Other CRMs quoted $50-100/user/month, making 13 users cost $650-1,300/month just for access. Board treasurer and program staff need read access but don't justify individual licenses.
Solution: Little Green Light's unlimited users at $60/month (5,000 constituents). All 13 people have appropriate access levels—development staff can edit, board members can view reports.
Result: Full organizational visibility into donor relationships. Board engagement improved as members can see real-time fundraising data. $720/year vs potential $7,800-15,600/year elsewhere.
ROI: 90%+ savings compared to per-seat CRM pricing models.
Learning Curve & Implementation Timeline
Bloomerang Implementation
Beginner-friendly (4/5 difficulty rating)
Days 1-2: Initial Setup (6-10 hours)
- • Start free trial and schedule onboarding call
- • Clean existing donor data (remove duplicates, standardize formatting)
- • Import donor records via CSV using Bloomerang's field mapping
- • Configure payment processor connections (Stripe, PayPal)
Week 1: Basic Operations (3-5 hours)
- • Create email templates (thank-you, newsletter, appeal)
- • Set up user accounts with appropriate permissions
- • Learn engagement score dashboard and donor lookup
- • Send first communication to test email system
Weeks 2-4: AI and Automation
- • Configure automated thank-you workflows
- • Set up at-risk donor alerts based on engagement scores
- • Create task templates for donor stewardship
- • Team becomes comfortable with daily operations
Support Resources:
- • Dedicated onboarding specialist included
- • 500+ knowledge base articles and video tutorials
- • Weekly training webinars on specific features
Little Green Light Implementation
Beginner-friendly (4/5 difficulty rating)
Days 1-2: Initial Setup (4-8 hours)
- • Start 30-day free trial (no credit card required)
- • Import donor data via CSV with field mapping wizard
- • Connect Stripe/PayPal for payment processing
- • Set up QuickBooks integration
Week 1: Core Features (3-5 hours)
- • Configure online donation forms
- • Set up user accounts with permission levels
- • Connect email marketing (Constant Contact/Mailchimp)
- • Learn donor record management and searching
Weeks 2-4: Reporting Mastery
- • Learn smart reporting system (steeper learning curve)
- • Create custom reports for board and funders
- • Designate one team member as reporting expert
- • Refine workflows based on actual usage
Support Resources:
- • Extensive help documentation and training materials
- • Responsive customer support team
- • Full 30 days to learn before any payment required
Which is Easier to Learn?
Both are designed for nonprofit staff, not database administrators. Neither requires technical expertise. The interfaces are intuitive, and both companies provide strong support.
Bloomerang's engagement scores are immediately intuitive—a score of 75 vs 35 clearly tells you who needs attention. The AI handles the analysis; you just respond to its recommendations.
Little Green Light's reporting has a steeper learning curve. Users consistently recommend designating one team member to become the reporting expert. Once mastered, the system is powerful and flexible—but expect 1-3 months before advanced reporting feels comfortable.
Data Privacy, Security & Geographic Availability
Bloomerang Security
- Encryption: Data encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256)
- Compliance: SOC 2 Type II certified, PCI compliant for payments
- Data Location: Hosted in secure US data centers
- Geographic Availability: US-focused but serves international organizations
- Data Export: Full CSV export of all donor data anytime
Little Green Light Security
- Encryption: Data encrypted in transit and at rest
- Cloud Security: Automatic backups and security updates
- Access Controls: Role-based permissions for different user levels
- Geographic Restrictions: NOT available in EU, UK, or Switzerland
- Data Export: Full export in CSV/Excel formats anytime
Geographic Availability Note
Important: Little Green Light is not available in the European Union, United Kingdom, or Switzerland due to data privacy regulations (GDPR compliance).
- •If your nonprofit operates in EU/UK/Switzerland, Bloomerang is the better choice between these two options.
- •Little Green Light works well for US, Canadian, Australian, and other non-EU organizations.
- •Both platforms allow full data export if you need to migrate in the future.
Pros & Cons for Nonprofits
Bloomerang
Pros
- +Best-in-class retention AI — Predicts donor churn before it happens. Engagement scores make prioritizing stewardship intuitive.
- +Unlimited email marketing included — No separate Mailchimp costs. Email engagement feeds retention AI.
- +Industry benchmarking — Compare your retention rates to similar nonprofits. Valuable for board reporting.
- +Strong integration ecosystem — Native connections to major donation platforms, event tools, and accounting software.
- +International availability — Can serve organizations in EU/UK regions where Little Green Light isn't available.
Cons
- −3× more expensive — $125-425/month vs $45-75/month. Significant budget impact for small nonprofits.
- −Annual billing preferred — Less flexible than Little Green Light's month-to-month model.
- −AI features require scale to matter — Organizations under 1,000 donors may not see enough AI-driven insights to justify cost.
- −Overkill for simple needs — If you just need basic donor tracking, you're paying for AI you won't fully utilize.
Little Green Light
Pros
- +Exceptional affordability — $45-75/month for professional CRM when competitors charge $125-500+. 64-74% savings.
- +Unlimited users included — No per-seat fees means your entire team can access donor data without cost escalation.
- +No contracts or setup fees — Month-to-month pricing with no financial commitment. Cancel anytime.
- +30-day risk-free trial — No credit card required. Full month to evaluate before any financial commitment.
- +Excellent customer support — Responsive help team and extensive training materials despite low price.
Cons
- −No AI or predictive features — Cannot predict which donors will lapse. All analysis is manual.
- −No built-in email marketing — Need separate Constant Contact or Mailchimp subscription ($120-600/year).
- −Reporting learning curve — Advanced reports require training. Recommend designating one team expert.
- −Not available in EU/UK/Switzerland — Geographic restrictions due to data privacy regulations.
- −Interface feels dated — Some users report UI is less modern than newer platforms.
Final Recommendation & Decision Framework
The Bottom Line
This comparison isn't about which platform is "better"—it's about which is better for your specific situation. Bloomerang and Little Green Light serve different nonprofit profiles with different priorities.
- Choose Bloomerang if: Donor retention is your strategic priority, you have $1,500+/year CRM budget, and you want AI to proactively identify at-risk donors. The retention insights can generate ROI that exceeds the higher cost.
- Choose Little Green Light if: Budget is your primary constraint, you're transitioning from spreadsheets, you need low-risk month-to-month pricing, or you prioritize solid core functionality over AI features you may not fully utilize.
Quick Decision Checklist
Count how many statements apply to your nonprofit:
Bloomerang Points:
- ☐Donor retention is our biggest challenge
- ☐We have $1,500+/year budget for CRM
- ☐We want AI to predict which donors will lapse
- ☐Built-in email marketing is important
- ☐We operate in EU/UK/Switzerland
Little Green Light Points:
- ☐Budget is our primary constraint
- ☐We're transitioning from spreadsheets
- ☐No-contract month-to-month pricing matters
- ☐Multiple team members need access without per-seat fees
- ☐We prioritize core functionality over AI features
Count your checkmarks: The column with more checks indicates your best fit. If tied, consider: Do you have staff capacity to manually analyze retention data? If yes, Little Green Light. If you need AI to do the analysis, Bloomerang.
Still Deciding?
Book a free consultation and we'll help you evaluate which CRM best fits your nonprofit's fundraising strategy, donor base, and budget constraints.