A Guide To Using Project Management Tools For Nonprofits

Nonprofits are doing incredible, impactful work all over the world. By definition, nonprofits are organizations that is organized for collective social or public benefit, as opposed to an organization operating to make money. Their work is so important that having one central place to streamline and keep track of projects and progress is essential. Did you know that there are over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States alone, and are responsible for roughly 10% of national employment. Considering their impact and importance, understanding the importance of project management tools for nonprofits is critical.

What Is Project Management?

The concept of project management has been around since the early 20th century with the introduction of Henry Gantt’s Gantt charts. But over the last decade however, project management technology has brought this concept to the forefront like never before. So what actually is project management? A “project” is defined by the Project Management Institute as a temporary, unique undertaking that has “specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal,” and often involves diverse groups working together.

The project is then “managed” through the “application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.” The project management life cycle is divided into 5 phases: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, and closing. The main goal of this entire process is efficient, quality completion.

Benefits of Project Management for Nonprofits

When you’re thinking of ways to increase productivity and efficiency for these important organizations, it’s critical that you think about project management tools for nonprofits. Nonprofits often have tons of highly important work that makes its way through several teams before it is approved, therefore, there needs to be one place through which they can track everything succinctly. Enter project management tools for nonprofits. Not convinced yet? Here are a few reasons why they need project management tools:

Nonprofit organizations operate remotely

Two nonprofit Hive teams, Camp Kesem and Fight Colorectal Cancer, have always been fully remote, with employees all over the country powering their organization in different states and sectors. Because they operate in different time zones and have so much going on, having a tool where information on projects and progress can be stored is imperative. This ensures that, even when they’re not physically together or online at the same time, they can stay on the same page.

Gives leadership a macro-level view of projects

There are quite literally hundreds of moving parts at nonprofits, and the executive team or CEO needs a way to keep track of the initiatives. Project management solutions give them the access and transparency that they need to run their important projects with ease. By using a tool with views like portfolio view or summary views, nonprofit teams can greatly increase team-wide transparency and decrease unproductive back-and-forth. 

Tracking for past projects

Since nonprofits constantly have many initiatives, it’s useful for them to have a source to track and glance quickly at all past projects. With a project management tool, they’ve got a library of all past work they’ve done that they can reference.

This is especially helpful when they’re looking back at past calendar years, projects, or online fundraising campaigns that they want to duplicate. To easily do this, they can use something like project templates, which will store a pre-loaded format for every project.

Project management solutions are also great to use in tandem with all of the other tools an organization uses, whether that be volunteering platforms or free donation software for nonprofits. You can even integrate other tools to track all data in one place and make sure nothing falls through the tracks. 

Editing and proofing documents

Often there’s a ton of design, documents, or other assets that are produced for fundraisers, social media posts, or other efforts related to marketing for nonprofits. With a project management tool, nonprofits can easily review, proof, and organize their documents, providing real-time feedback and ensuring that the loop is always closed.

12 Great Project Management Tools For Nonprofits

1. Hive

Hive is a comprehensive, all-in-one project and campaign management tool — the only tool you need to open in the morning to get your work done. It’s one of the best project management tools for nonprofits because it takes project management to the next level with native chat, native email, over 1,000 integrations and flexible project views, which include Gantt, Kanban, calendar, portfolio and table view.

It’s one of our top project management tools for nonprofits because it has:

• Flexible project views that let every member of the team work differently
• Proofing and approvals that let you route entire documents or designs through Hive
• Chat and tagging functionalities that empower collaboration for distributed teams
• Portfolio and summary views for assessing progress across multiple campaigns and projects
• Resourcing functionality to better understand workload and diminish burnout

Hive also has a nonprofit discount at 10%, so your team can work together in Hive at a special nonprofit rate. If you want real-time insights into how Fight Colorectal Cancer, and incredible nonprofit organization, is using Hive, you can read our case study here.

2. Asana

Asana is a user-friendly project management tool that can easily manage small and larger projects, which is why it’s part of our list of best project management tools for nonprofits. The software is designed around tasks and subtasks arranged into different sections that can be assigned to either an individual or teams. 

It’s one of our top project management tools for nonprofits because it has:

• Flexible views with boards and timeline that let team members take a look at overall project scope
• Automation that limits busywork and autocompletes small tasks
• Forms to streamline requests from teammates
• Workload trackers to manage overall resourcing

To learn more, check out some other great alternatives to Asana.

3. Basecamp

Basecamp is a cloud-based tool with lots of features for individuals, project managers or even marketing teams that enables collaboration on tasks. It’s one of the best project management tools for nonprofits because it allows creation of to-do lists for tasks, which can be assigned to different users, and tasks that the system will automatically follow up on when the due date lapses. 

It’s one of our top project management tools for nonprofits because it enables:

• Shared schedules through which you can manage project due dates
• Ability to share documents, files and spreadsheets and sort into folders
• Automatic check-ins that automatically ask your team questions about progress

Check out our guide to the best Basecamp alternatives to compare it against other tools.

4. Notion

Notion is an all-in-one tool for your whole team and organization to stay organized and connected. With Notion, teams can work together in a team wiki, organize projects and tasks, as well as share notes and docs. It’s a true all-in-one workspace solution. 

It’s one of our top project management tools for nonprofits because it has:

• Ability to customize projects into different views like Kanban, tables, or list view
• Central source for all notes and documents pertaining to a specific initiative
• Real-time collaboration between teammates via chat and comments

Check out the best alternatives to Notion to learn about other similar tools on the market.

5. Airtable

Airtable is a high-powered spreadsheet in which you can list tasks, projects, and store files. Within the spreadsheet, you can attach a variety of items, including images, links to other tasks, and assignees. Airtable also has other views aside from the spreadsheet/table view, which include calendar view, Kanban view, and gallery view. This tool is one of the best project management software if you’re primarily used to working in Excel or Google Sheets and prefer a spreadsheet-based platform.

It’s one of our top project management tools for nonprofits because it has:

• Familiar formats that takes after Sheets or Excel
• Ability to run custom code in the tool itself to power automations
• Ability to connect Airtable with over 50 prebuilt applications to power your productivity

For more spreadsheet-centric tools, check out these top Airtable alternatives.

6. Monday

Monday is a simple project management tool that helps teams visually organize tasks and projects. Projects are managed via one central board, which serves as the hub for each project and reflects changes made on a task-by-task basis. Boards are also customizable — you can add new columns to see data on hours spent, status, and location.

It’s one of our top project management tools for nonprofits because it has:

• A simple and cohesive layout
• Total customization that you can perfect yourself
• Ease of collaboration and communication

To learn more, check out these great alternatives to Monday.com on the market.

7. Trello

Trello is a great option for small nonprofit teams or individuals looking to utilize a simple project management tool. The tool is Kanban board-based, which is a project management methodology started by an industrial engineer in the 40s. Cards are the basics of Trello, which you can organize into different phases on the board.

It’s one of our top project management tools for nonprofits because it has:

• Easy-to-navigate visual layout
• Ability to collaborate with coworkers on a board
• Ability to use the program for free

If you want to learn more, read our guide to the best alternatives to Trello with similar functionality.

8. ClickUp

ClickUp’s generous free plan is one of the reasons why this project management software can be a great solution for nonprofit organizations. The platform’s free version offers features that you only get in the paid plans of several other softwares, such as goals, embedded emails, conditional automation, task checklists, custom task statuses, sprints, and 24/7 support. ClickUp also offers native email, several templates and free integrations. Nonprofit organizations can apply for a discount for ClickUp paid plans by submitting a form on their website. The form requires the worker submitting the claim to provide several information such as name, work email, nonprofit name, size of the team that would be utilizing the platform and a brief description of the nonprofit. If you’re still in doubt if ClickUp is the best solution for your nonprofit organization needs, check out our complete guide to Click Up alternatives.

It’s one of our top project management tools for nonprofits because it has:

• Workload view
• Team chat
• Smart Notification 
• Custom roles
• Dynamic Recurring Tasks
• Assigned Comments
• Docs & Notepad
• Customizable Board View
• Mind Maps

9. Smartsheet

If your nonprofit needs a solution that is customizable and offers a good cost-benefit, look at Smartsheet as your project management tool. Smartsheet lets you easily create Gantt charts and graphs, giving you many ways to view your projects as they progress. Collaborate with teams, automate tasks, manage portfolios and more in an easy-to-use and intuitive dashboard. Smartsheet also integrates with over 80 apps, so you can connect to your existing software without the need to start tasks from scratch.

It’s one of our top project management tools for nonprofits because it has:

• Grant application and donor relations — monitor application elements and expense records and increase transparency around spending, ensuring donor confidence.
• Program administration — increases communication on project progress with roll-up reporting. 
• Strategic planning — create visual charts to communicate your timelines. 
• Fundraising events — manage planning and logistics more efficiently, and track donor follow-ups in one place.
• Global operations — keep global department teams aligned on priorities and enable seamless status updates across devices.

Smartsheet lets you try their software free for 30 days and their subscription plans start at $7/user/month. If your nonprofit is not convinced that Smartsheet is the best alternative for your organization, here’s a round-up of the best Smartsheet alternatives, so you can check how this solution compares to others in the market.

10. Freedcamp

Freedcamp is a free project management software with a user-friendly interface and a good alternative to nonprofits. The software has a special program to assist nonprofits and students. If your organization has less than 30 employees, Freedcamp is able to grant your org access to their premium plan for free. Even on their basic plan, the tool lets you organize tasks by priority, delegate assignments, set up recurring tasks, and use Gantt charts for project scheduling. With a comprehensive overview of project timelines and team responsibilities, Freedcamp allows your organization to improve productivity by ensuring everyone knows what they need to do and when.

Freedcamp also supports file sharing and document collaboration to centralize necessary resources. The platform offers integrated communication tools, including discussion boards and comments within tasks, letting team members easily communicate and collaborate without leaving the platform. There’s even an inbuilt calendar for better schedule management and deadline tracking. All of these features are included in the free version of Freedcamp, making it an excellent choice for teams seeking a cost-effective way to improve their productivity. Review Freedcamp non-profit program to get special features and deals.

11. Virtuous

Virtuous is a tool that delivers a significant boost to marketing and email campaigns. This multi-channel engagement tool is key to effective communication with non-profit donors across all channels, inclusive of websites, inboxes, mailboxes, and smartphones.

Virtuous standout project management tools for nonprofits because of its ability to assist in crafting meaningful messages for comprehensive, omni-channel campaigns to keep constituents engaged with non-profits’ missions. The platform also helps to ensure relevant communication is sent to the right person at the right time, increasing response rates and return on investment (ROI). Virtuous, conveniently enables you to manage all communications from a single place, simplifying the process while maximizing effectiveness.

12. Keela

Keela is a PM tool designed specifically for nonprofits. Donor management, grant tracking, even fundraising and analytics – it’s all there, nestled alongside project management and seamless integrations with Google, Eventbrite, and your other trusty heroes. However, one of the downsides of Keela is that the platform can have a learning curve, and for complex projects or data mountains, it might feel a little cramped. Plus, it’s not the most affordable option either and their price range needs to be adjusted accordingly to your needs and team size. Keela’s project management tool is free with your regular Keela subscription, starting from $49 USD per month.