đź“Š Pipedrive for Nonprofits
Losing track of major gift prospects as they move through your cultivation pipeline? Pipedrive transforms complex donor relationships into visual, manageable workflows with AI predictions that tell you which prospects are most likely to give—and when to reach out. Get the clarity your development team needs to close more gifts without drowning in spreadsheets.
What It Does
Your development director is juggling 40 major gift prospects in an Excel spreadsheet. She can't remember who to call next, which donors are warm, or which cultivation strategies are actually working. Meanwhile, your executive director asks "Where are we on that $50K pledge?" and the answer requires 20 minutes of detective work.
Pipedrive is a visual CRM built around pipeline management—turning your donor cultivation process into an intuitive drag-and-drop board where every prospect, pledge, and partnership moves through clear stages. Instead of hunting through spreadsheets, you see at a glance: Who's ready for a solicitation? Which prospects have gone cold? What's your projected revenue for the quarter?
The platform's AI Sales Assistant predicts which "deals" (in nonprofit terms: gifts or pledges) are most likely to close, recommends next actions for each donor relationship, and automates routine tasks so your team spends less time on data entry and more time building relationships. Think of it as a sales CRM reimagined for fundraising teams who need simplicity and speed over enterprise complexity.
Best For
Organization Size
Small to mid-sized nonprofits (5-50 users) focused on major gift fundraising, corporate partnerships, or grant pipeline management. Ideal for organizations with sales-oriented development teams who value visual simplicity over nonprofit-specific complexity.
Best Use Cases
- Managing major gift prospect cultivation (tracking touchpoints, predicting gift likelihood)
- Tracking fundraising campaigns with visual pipeline stages (prospects → cultivation → solicitation → stewardship)
- Corporate partnership development (sponsor prospects, proposal stages, contract management)
- Grant application tracking (deadlines, proposal stages, funder relationships)
- Planned giving pipeline management (identifying prospects, cultivation steps, pledge tracking)
- Event donor capture and follow-up (logging attendee interactions, scheduling cultivation calls)
Ideal For
Development Directors, Major Gift Officers, Executive Directors managing fundraising, Corporate Partnership Managers, Grant Writers tracking funder pipelines, and Capital Campaign teams managing complex multi-stage solicitations.
Key Features for Nonprofits
Visual Pipeline Management
See your entire donor cultivation process at a glance
Kanban-style boards show every prospect's stage in your fundraising process. Drag donors from "Identified" to "Cultivating" to "Solicited" to "Closed." No more hunting through spreadsheets—your pipeline is visible, organized, and actionable.
- Customizable pipelines for different fundraising strategies
- Unlimited contacts and deals on all plans
- Visual forecast of projected revenue by stage
AI Deal Predictions
Know which prospects will give—before they do
AI Sales Assistant analyzes your fundraising patterns and predicts which prospects are most likely to give, which are at risk of lapsing, and when to reach out. Stop guessing—let machine learning guide your cultivation priorities.
- Gift likelihood scores for prioritization
- Daily performance snapshots and insights
- Automated next-step recommendations
Workflow Automation
Automate repetitive fundraising tasks
Create rules that trigger automatically: send thank-you emails when donations are recorded, assign follow-up tasks after meetings, move prospects to the next stage when criteria are met. Free up your team for relationship-building, not data entry.
- Email templates for donor communications
- Automated task creation and assignment
- Smart notifications and reminders
Custom Dashboards & Reporting
Real-time insights for every stakeholder
Monitor fundraising pipeline health, campaign performance, and revenue forecasts with visual dashboards. Board members see high-level metrics, while gift officers track individual prospect activity—all from the same data.
- Revenue forecasting and trend analysis
- Custom reports for board presentations
- Campaign effectiveness tracking
Donor Segmentation
Organize donors by any criteria
Create custom fields to categorize donors by giving capacity, program interests, engagement level, acquisition source, or any variable that matters to your fundraising strategy. Run targeted campaigns and personalized outreach at scale.
- Unlimited custom fields for donor data
- Smart filters for targeted communications
- Bulk actions for efficiency
500+ Integrations
Connect your entire nonprofit tech stack
Sync donor data with QuickBooks for accounting automation, connect to Microsoft Teams for real-time notifications, integrate with Zapier to link 5,000+ additional apps. Pipedrive plays well with the tools you already use.
- Direct QuickBooks integration for payment reconciliation
- Two-way email sync (Gmail, Outlook)
- API access for custom integrations
How This Tool Uses AI
Nonprofit fundraisers are often skeptical of "AI-powered" claims—and rightfully so. Here's what AI actually does in Pipedrive, what it doesn't, and when it genuinely helps versus when it's just marketing.
What's Actually AI-Powered
AI Sales Assistant: Deal Win/Loss Predictions
- Type of AI:Machine learning algorithm trained on historical fundraising/sales data
- What it does:Analyzes your past gift closures (or deal wins) to identify patterns—factors like number of touchpoints, time in pipeline, donor engagement signals—then predicts which current prospects are most likely to give and which might lapse
- How it learns:Uses your organization's data over time. Predictions improve after 3-6 months of consistent usage as the AI learns your specific fundraising patterns
- Practical impact:Instead of relying on gut feeling about which prospects to prioritize, you get data-driven likelihood scores. The AI might flag that Prospect A with 8 touchpoints in 60 days has a 75% gift probability, while Prospect B with 3 touchpoints in 120 days is at 30%—helping you focus efforts strategically
Automated Activity Recommendations
- Type of AI:Recommendation engine analyzing engagement patterns
- What it does:Suggests next best actions for each donor relationship—"Schedule call with Prospect X (optimal time: Tuesday AM based on past responsiveness)" or "Send follow-up email to Prospect Y (engagement dropping, re-engagement needed)"
- How it learns:Tracks which actions historically led to successful gifts and recommends similar actions for current prospects
- Practical impact:Development officers get a daily "to-do" list prioritized by AI insights, reducing decision fatigue and ensuring no warm prospects slip through the cracks
AI Email Writer
- Type of AI:Generative AI (GPT-based) for drafting communications
- What it does:Generates email drafts for donor outreach based on prompts like "thank-you for first-time donor" or "follow-up after cultivation event"
- Practical impact:Speeds up email drafting, but requires human review to ensure personalization and mission alignment
Smart Contact Data Enrichment
- Type of AI:Data matching algorithms
- What it does:Automatically fills in missing contact information (company, job title, social profiles) by matching against public databases
- Practical impact:Reduces manual research time for prospect qualification—though accuracy varies and should be spot-checked
What's NOT AI (But Still Useful)
- Pipeline Management: Kanban boards and drag-and-drop stages are visual UI, not AI
- Basic Automation: "Send email 3 days after meeting" is rule-based automation (if/then logic), not AI-driven
- Standard Reporting: Revenue dashboards, pipeline metrics, and conversion rates are traditional analytics
- Custom Fields: Creating donor segments manually is database functionality, not AI segmentation
AI Transparency & Limitations
Data Requirements
- AI predictions work best with at least 3-6 months of historical fundraising data and 50+ closed gifts/deals
- With limited data, the AI uses industry benchmarks (less personalized to your nonprofit's unique patterns)
- Consistent data entry (logging touchpoints, updating pipeline stages) is critical—"garbage in, garbage out" applies
Human Oversight Still Required
- AI-generated email drafts should be reviewed for tone, accuracy, and personalization before sending
- Gift likelihood scores are probabilities, not certainties—don't ignore a low-scored prospect if your relationship intelligence says otherwise
- AI can't understand offline relationships, personal connections, or organizational context only your team knows
Known Limitations
- Predictive models are trained primarily on sales/commercial data; nonprofit fundraising has unique relationship dynamics AI may not fully capture
- AI focuses on engagement behavior; doesn't account for wealth capacity, philanthropic values, or passion for your mission
- Recommendations are based on past patterns—if your fundraising strategy changes, AI needs time to adapt
Data Privacy
- Your donor data is NOT used to train AI models for other organizations (as of current privacy policy—verify with Pipedrive)
- AI processes data on Pipedrive's servers; review Enterprise plan for advanced security options
- Full data export available via CSV and API access (Pro tier and above)—you own your data
When AI Adds Real Value vs. When It's Just Marketing
âś… Genuinely Useful AI
- • Predicting gift likelihood (saves hours of manual analysis)
- • Prioritizing outreach based on engagement patterns
- • Identifying at-risk prospects before they lapse
⚠️ AI That's Nice But Not Essential
- • AI email drafting (templates work fine too)
- • Contact data enrichment (accuracy varies)
- • Performance snapshots (could be done with standard dashboards)
❌ AI You Don't Need
- • If you have fewer than 20 active prospects, manual tracking works better
- • If you don't log touchpoints consistently, AI can't learn
- • If your fundraising is purely event-driven, pipeline stages may not fit
Bottom Line: Pipedrive uses AI where it genuinely saves time and improves fundraising decisions—gift likelihood predictions, activity prioritization, and performance insights. It's not using AI for every feature, which is actually a good sign: it means they're focused on AI applications that matter for sales/fundraising teams, not just AI for marketing purposes. The AI shines when you have consistent data entry and a pipeline-oriented fundraising approach.
Real-World Nonprofit Use Case
A regional land conservancy with a 2-person development team was managing 60 major gift prospects in an Excel spreadsheet that hadn't been updated in weeks. Their executive director couldn't answer basic questions like "How many prospects are ready for solicitation?" or "What's our projected revenue for Q2?" without hours of manual analysis.
After implementing Pipedrive, they created a custom "Major Gifts Pipeline" with stages: Identified → Qualified → Cultivating → Solicited → Closed → Stewardship. Within their first month, the AI Sales Assistant flagged 8 prospects with 70%+ gift likelihood based on engagement patterns—all of whom had fallen off the team's radar.
The development director now starts each day with AI-recommended actions: "Call Prospect X (engagement dropping)" or "Send follow-up to Prospect Y (optimal time: Tuesday 10am based on past responsiveness)." The visual pipeline helped them discover that prospects stalled in the "Cultivating" stage for more than 90 days had only a 15% close rate—prompting them to shorten the cultivation cycle.
Within six months, they closed $280K in major gifts (up from $180K the previous year) with the same 2-person team. More importantly, their executive director could answer board questions in real-time: "We have 12 prospects in active cultivation, 5 solicitations pending, and $450K projected for Q3"—all visible at a glance on the pipeline dashboard.
Pricing
Pipedrive offers four main pricing tiers based on features and team size. Annual billing saves 20-30% compared to monthly payments. All plans include unlimited contacts, deals, and custom pipelines.
Essential Plan
$14.90/user/month
(Billed annually: $178.80/user/year)
- Unlimited contacts, deals, custom pipelines
- Basic CRM functionality
- Mobile apps (iOS/Android)
- Data import/export
Best for: Small nonprofits testing CRM for the first time
Advanced Plan
$24.90/user/month
(Billed annually: $298.80/user/year)
- All Essential features
- Email synchronization (Gmail, Outlook)
- Workflow automation
- Email templates
Best for: Nonprofits needing automation and email integration
Professional Plan
$49.90/user/month
(Billed annually: $598.80/user/year)
- All Advanced features
- Revenue forecasting
- Custom dashboards
- Deeper reporting tools
Best for: Development teams managing complex major gift campaigns
Power Plan
$64.90/user/month
(Billed annually: $778.80/user/year)
- All Professional features
- Enhanced team management
- Role-based permissions
- Stricter access controls
Best for: Larger nonprofits with multiple fundraising teams
Enterprise Plan
Custom pricing with all Power features plus dedicated support, advanced security options, and tailored onboarding. Contact Pipedrive sales for quote.
Add-On Costs
- Email Campaigns: From $16/month (scales with contact volume)
- LeadBooster (chatbot): $32.50/month
- Caller (telephony): $5/month per user
Free Trial
14-day free trial with no credit card required and full feature access. Test the platform with your donor data before committing.
Note: Prices may be outdated or inaccurate.
đź’° Nonprofit Discount/Special Offers
See section below for NGO pricing details.
NGO Pricing Available
Pipedrive offers NGO pricing for registered nonprofit organizations. The specific discount percentage is not publicly disclosed—you'll receive a custom quote after submitting your application.
How to Access NGO Pricing:
- 1.Apply via Pipedrive's NGO pricing form: pipedrive.typeform.com/to/TCYxG3
- 2.Submit your 501(c)(3) determination letter or nonprofit registration documents
- 3.Pipedrive will review your application and provide a custom nonprofit pricing quote
- 4.Discount applied to your account upon approval
What to Know:
- Discount percentage varies: Unlike some vendors with fixed nonprofit discounts (e.g., HubSpot's 40%), Pipedrive provides custom quotes on a case-by-case basis
- All plans eligible: NGO pricing typically applies to all tiers (Essential through Enterprise)
- Free trial first: Test Pipedrive with the 14-day free trial before applying for NGO pricing
- Compare with competitors: HubSpot offers 40% nonprofit discount; Mailchimp offers 15%—shop around to compare total costs
Pro Tip: When applying, clearly explain your organization's mission and size. Some vendors offer larger discounts to smaller nonprofits or those serving underserved communities.
Learning Curve
Rating: Beginner to Intermediate
Pipedrive is recognized as "the easiest sales tool to implement" by G2Crowd. The visual pipeline interface is intuitive for non-technical users, but customization and workflow automation require moderate learning. Sales terminology may require translation to nonprofit context (deals = gifts, leads = prospects).
Time to First Value:
- Initial setup: 2-3 hours (creating pipelines, importing donor data, connecting integrations)
- First pipeline created: 30-60 minutes
- Proficiency: 1-2 weeks of regular use
- Advanced workflows: 3-4 weeks with automation and custom integrations
Technical Requirements:
- Comfort with basic CRM concepts (contacts, deals, pipelines)
- Basic understanding of sales/fundraising terminology and processes
- Ability to export/import CSV files for data migration
- No coding required (API access optional for advanced integrations)
Support Available:
- Video tutorial library and knowledge base
- Live chat and email support (varies by plan tier)
- Active community forum for peer support
- Phone support available on Enterprise plan
- Nonprofit-specific best practices available via community discussions
Integration & Compatibility
Pipedrive offers 500+ integrations through its Marketplace, connecting with the tools nonprofits already use for accounting, email, communication, automation, and analytics.
Connects With:
Accounting & Finance:
- QuickBooks (direct integration for payment reconciliation)
- Xero
Email:
- Gmail (two-way sync, up to 5 accounts)
- Outlook (two-way sync)
Communication:
- Slack (real-time notifications)
- Microsoft Teams (file sharing, notifications)
- Zoom, Google Meet (meeting scheduling)
Automation:
- Zapier (enables 5,000+ additional integrations)
- Make (formerly Integromat)
CRM/Donor Platforms:
- HubSpot (via Zapier)
- Salesforce (via Zapier)
Calendar:
- Google Calendar
- Microsoft Outlook Calendar
Platform Availability:
- Web-based: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge (full functionality)
- Mobile apps: iOS 14+ and Android 10+ (native apps with offline access)
- Desktop: No desktop app required (web-based)
Data Portability:
- Full CSV export: All contact data, deals, pipeline stages, and custom fields exportable
- API access: Pro tier and above for custom data extraction and integrations
- Performance reports: Export as PDF or Excel
- Email templates: Not exportable (vendor lock-in consideration—you'd need to recreate templates if switching platforms)
Integration Setup Complexity
- Easy (30 min or less): Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar sync
- Moderate (1-3 hours): QuickBooks, Zapier workflows, Microsoft Teams
- Complex (4+ hours or consider hiring help): Custom API integrations, complex Zapier multi-step workflows
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Industry-leading ease of use: G2 recognition as easiest sales CRM to implement; visual pipeline is intuitive for non-technical fundraisers
- Strong AI capabilities: Gift likelihood predictions and activity recommendations actually save time and improve prioritization
- Affordable entry point: Starting at $14.90/month (annual) makes it accessible for small nonprofits testing CRM for the first time
- 500+ integrations: Connects with QuickBooks, Zapier, Gmail/Outlook, Teams—critical for nonprofit tech stacks
- Unlimited contacts and deals: No artificial limits on your database size; scales with your fundraising growth
- NGO pricing available: Though percentage varies, nonprofits can apply for discounted rates
- 14-day free trial: No credit card required; test with your donor data before committing
- Mobile apps: Native iOS/Android apps for on-the-go fundraising
Cons
- Not purpose-built for nonprofits: Sales-focused terminology (deals, leads, pipelines) requires mental translation; lacks nonprofit-specific features like volunteer management or program tracking
- NGO discount percentage undisclosed: Must apply for custom quote; unclear savings compared to competitors' transparent discounts (e.g., HubSpot 40%)
- No permanent free plan: Unlike HubSpot or Mailchimp, no free tier for budget-constrained nonprofits
- Add-ons add cost: Email campaigns ($16+/month), LeadBooster ($32.50/month), Caller ($5/user/month) can significantly increase total price
- Advanced features locked to higher tiers: Revenue forecasting and custom dashboards require Professional plan ($49.90/user/month)
- May require customization: Out-of-the-box, pipelines are sales-oriented; adapting to fundraising workflows takes initial setup time
- Less comprehensive donor management: Compared to nonprofit-specific CRMs like DonorPerfect or Bloomerang, lacks features like gift acknowledgment letters, donor retention reports, and fundraising event management
- Pricing can escalate: Small teams may start affordable, but costs scale quickly with users and add-ons
Alternatives to Consider
If Pipedrive doesn't feel like the right fit, consider these alternatives based on your specific needs:
HubSpot for Nonprofits
All-in-one CRM with 40% nonprofit discount and free tier
More comprehensive platform combining CRM, marketing automation, and donor engagement tools. Steeper learning curve than Pipedrive but offers free tier and transparent 40% nonprofit discount. Best if you need an all-in-one solution and have time to learn a more complex system.
Why choose Pipedrive instead: Superior visual pipeline management, easier to learn, and better AI predictions for sales/fundraising workflows.
Bloomerang
Nonprofit-specific CRM focused on donor retention
Purpose-built donor management system with AI-driven retention predictions and automated engagement recommendations. Native nonprofit terminology and reporting. Starts at $125/month. Best if you prioritize donor retention and nonprofit-specific features over pipeline visualization.
Why choose Pipedrive instead: Lower entry price ($14.90/month), more intuitive visual pipeline, and better for corporate partnership/grant tracking alongside donor management.
DonorPerfect
All-in-one donor management with predictive analytics
Comprehensive donor management system with 70+ report templates, predictive analytics, and built-in Constant Contact email marketing. Starts at $99/month. Best if you need robust donor reporting and integrated email marketing rather than pipeline-focused sales workflows.
Why choose Pipedrive instead: Simpler interface, stronger AI predictions for major gift pipelines, and better suited for development teams familiar with sales-oriented CRMs.
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
Enterprise CRM with 10 free licenses via Power of Us program
Industry-leading CRM with extensive customization, nonprofit-specific features (program management, volunteer tracking), and Einstein AI for fundraising insights. Free for up to 10 users through Power of Us program. Best for larger nonprofits needing comprehensive, customizable platform and willing to invest in implementation.
Why choose Pipedrive instead: Dramatically easier to implement (weeks vs. months), lower learning curve, and better for small teams who need simplicity over enterprise customization.
Why You Might Choose Pipedrive Instead:
Pipedrive excels at visual pipeline management and AI-powered gift predictions, making it ideal for development teams focused on major gifts, corporate partnerships, and grant tracking. If you prioritize intuitive visual workflows over nonprofit-specific features, and your team thinks in terms of cultivation pipelines rather than donor databases, Pipedrive is the stronger choice.
Getting Started
Ready to implement Pipedrive for your nonprofit's fundraising efforts? Follow these steps to get up and running in your first 48 hours:
1Sign Up for Free Trial (15 minutes)
Start your 14-day free trial at pipedrive.com (no credit card required). Choose the plan tier you want to test—Essential for basics, Advanced for automation, Professional for forecasting.
Pro tip: Start with Advanced plan trial to test email sync and workflow automation—you can downgrade after trial if needed.
2Create Your First Fundraising Pipeline (1-2 hours)
Set up a "Major Gifts Pipeline" with stages that match your cultivation process. Example stages: Identified → Qualified → Cultivating → Solicited → Committed → Closed → Stewardship. Customize field names to use nonprofit terminology instead of sales language.
Pro tip: Before importing data, spend 1 hour cleaning your donor list in Excel/Google Sheets—remove duplicates, standardize formatting, fill in missing information. AI predictions are only as good as your data quality.
3Import Donor Data & Connect Integrations (1-2 hours)
Import your prospect/donor list via CSV or connect your existing CRM. Set up email sync (Gmail or Outlook) so all donor communications are automatically logged. Connect QuickBooks if you use it for accounting.
Pro tip: Start with 20-30 active prospects for your first import, not your entire 5,000-contact database. Test workflows and data structure on a small set before scaling.
4Set Up Automation & Test AI Features (1 hour)
Create your first workflow automation: "When deal moves to 'Closed,' send thank-you email and create follow-up task for stewardship call." Test the AI Sales Assistant's gift likelihood predictions—do the scores align with your team's intuition?
Pro tip: Let AI run for 2-4 weeks logging touchpoints before relying heavily on predictions. The algorithm needs data to learn your specific fundraising patterns.
5Apply for NGO Pricing (If Satisfied with Trial)
If you decide to continue after the 14-day trial, submit your NGO pricing application at pipedrive.typeform.com/to/TCYxG3 with your 501(c)(3) documentation. You'll receive a custom discount quote within a few business days.
Quick Win: Your First 24 Hours
Want to see immediate value? Try this:
- 1.Import your top 10 major gift prospects (30 minutes)
- 2.Move each prospect to the correct pipeline stage based on where they are in cultivation (15 minutes)
- 3.Log past touchpoints (emails, calls, meetings) for each prospect (1 hour)
- 4.Review AI Sales Assistant's gift likelihood scores and recommended actions (10 minutes)
What you'll learn: Whether the visual pipeline helps you prioritize prospects better than your current spreadsheet. Most development officers immediately see which donors need attention and which are progressing smoothly.
Time invested: 2 hours | Potential insight: Clear visibility into your gift pipeline and AI-powered next steps
Need Help with Implementation?
Setting up Pipedrive for nonprofit fundraising can feel overwhelming, especially when you're adapting sales-oriented features to donor cultivation workflows. If you'd like expert guidance on pipeline design, data migration, workflow automation, or team training, we're here to help.
One Hundred Nights offers Pipedrive implementation support—from quick setup consultation to full-service onboarding, customization, and staff training tailored to your fundraising strategy.
Contact Us to Learn MoreFrequently Asked Questions
Does Pipedrive offer a nonprofit discount?
Yes, Pipedrive offers NGO pricing. Nonprofits must apply via https://pipedrive.typeform.com/to/TCYxG3. The specific discount percentage is not publicly disclosed—you'll receive a custom quote after submitting your application with 501(c)(3) verification.
Is there a free plan for Pipedrive?
No, Pipedrive does not offer a permanent free plan. However, a 14-day free trial with full feature access is available without requiring a credit card. This gives nonprofits time to test whether the platform fits their needs before committing to a paid plan.
Can Pipedrive be used for donor management?
Yes, while Pipedrive is sales-focused, it can be adapted for donor management. Nonprofits can create custom pipelines for donor cultivation, track gift commitments as "deals," segment donors using custom fields, and automate thank-you workflows. However, terminology requires translation (deals = gifts, leads = prospects).
What AI features does Pipedrive offer?
Pipedrive's AI Sales Assistant predicts deal/gift likelihood using machine learning, recommends next actions for fundraisers, provides daily performance snapshots, and includes an AI Email Writer for drafting donor communications. These features help nonprofits prioritize high-value prospects and automate routine tasks.
Does Pipedrive integrate with QuickBooks?
Yes, Pipedrive offers direct QuickBooks integration to automate donor payment reconciliation and bookkeeping—critical for nonprofit accounting workflows. This integration syncs transaction data in real-time, reducing manual data entry and accounting errors.
How does Pipedrive compare to nonprofit-specific CRMs?
Pipedrive excels at visual pipeline management and AI predictions, making it ideal for major gift fundraising. However, it lacks nonprofit-specific features like volunteer management and program tracking found in platforms like DonorPerfect or Bloomerang. Choose Pipedrive if you prioritize sales-oriented pipeline visualization; choose nonprofit-specific CRMs if you need comprehensive donor management and reporting.
Ready to Visualize Your Fundraising Pipeline?
Start your 14-day free trial today and see how AI-powered pipeline management transforms your donor cultivation strategy. No credit card required.