Donor management software

Jul 8 – Oct 26, 2026Updated Oct 26, 2026Reviewed by

How we measure

Which brands AI mentions

#BrandMentioned in
#1Bloomerang50%
#2tiedLittle Green Light31%
#2tiedSalesforce29%
#2tiedSalesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), a product of Salesforce26%
#2tiedBlackbaud24%

Mentioned in

ChatGPTChatGPTGoogle AI ModeGoogle AI Mode

Widest split: Bloomerang, 36% on ChatGPT and 65% on Google AI Mode.

Questions and answers

  • ChatGPTOct 26, 2026

    1. 1Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
    2. 2Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP)
    3. 3Bloomerang

    The standard way to track soft credits is to record the gift under the entity that actually made the donation (the family foundation) and then assign a soft credit to the individual donor whose philanthropy you want to recognize.

    This lets your organization recognize the individual's giving and track their fundraising relationship without creating a second gift or overstating the actual money received. Both Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT and Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) support this general approach.

    How to handle a family foundation gift

    1. Record the hard credit

    Enter the donation under the family foundation's constituent record, using the actual gift amount, date, fund, and payment details. The foundation is the legal giving entity shown in your records.

    2. Add a soft credit to the individual

    On that gift record, assign a soft credit to the family member who directed, influenced, or should receive recognition for the gift. Typically, this is for the full gift amount when one individual is being recognized.

    3. Report the two types of credit separately

    Use hard-credit reports for actual contributed revenue and soft-credit reports for individual donor recognition, relationship management, and giving history. Avoid adding both amounts together in your organization's revenue totals.

    Example: a $25,000 gift

    Record or metricAmount
    Family Foundation — hard credit$25,000
    Individual donor — soft credit$25,000
    Actual revenue received$25,000

    The individual's giving history can reflect $25,000 in soft credits, but your actual contributed revenue remains $25,000. Configure reports carefully so hard and soft credits are not double-counted.

    Can you automate this?

    Yes. If the same family foundation regularly makes gifts on behalf of the same individual, you may be able to link the foundation and individual records and automate soft-credit assignment. For example, Raiser's Edge NXT supports automatic soft credits through constituent relationships, and Salesforce NPSP supports affiliation-based soft credits.

    A quick question so I can give you the exact steps

    Which donor database does your organization use?

    Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

    Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP)

    Bloomerang

    Other / spreadsheet / not sure

    How should the individual be credited?

    Full gift amount

    Partial gift amount

    Depends on the situation

    [Show me the setup steps]

    Sources cited in this answer5

    Google AI ModeOct 26, 2026

    1. 1Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
    2. 2Bloomerang
    3. 3Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

    Tracking soft credits is essential for properly recognizing relationships where a donation originates from a family foundation, donor-advised fund (DAF), or corporate matching gift , but a specific individual should receive credit for the philanthropic relationship.

    Here is how to set up and track soft credits effectively in your fundraising workflow:

    • Definition: A soft credit attributes a gift to a secondary constituent (the individual family member) while the hard credit (the official tax receipt and financial record) goes to the legal entity that wrote the check (the family foundation).
    • Database Configuration: Ensure your CRM (such as Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, Raiser's Edge NXT, or Bloomerang) is configured with a Soft Credit relationship type (e.g., "Family Foundation Advisor" or "Associated Individual").
    • Gift Entry Process:
      1. Record the Hard Credit on the Family Foundation's organizational profile with the check amount, date, and designation.
      2. Add a Soft Credit allocation pointing to the individual donor's profile for the exact same amount.
    • Reporting & Segmentation: Build segmented reports that filter by soft credits so you can run mailing lists, donor reports, and stewardship metrics that honor the individual without messing up your official financial accounting (hard credits).
    • Stewardship & Cultivation: Acknowledge the foundation with an official tax-compliant receipt, and send a separate, warm stewardship note or impact report to the individual family members who directed the gift.

    If you'd like, let me know:

    • What fundraising CRM you are currently using
    • If you need a step-by-step for reporting on soft credits versus hard credits

    I can provide more tailored instructions for your setup.

  • ChatGPTOct 16, 2026

    1. 1Little Green Light
    2. 2DonorPerfect
    3. 3Bloomerang
    4. 4Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

    If your organization receives a check from a family foundation on behalf of an individual donor, you’ll want a donor management system that supports soft credits also called *recognition credits* or *honorary credits*. This lets you record the foundation as the legal or check-writing donor while also recognizing the individual who inspired or directed the gift.

    For a nonprofit, the key is to preserve three things:

    • Hard credit: The family foundation that actually issued the check.
    • Soft credit: The individual donor you want to recognize for fundraising, stewardship, and giving-history purposes.
    • Accurate reporting: The ability to report the gift without double-counting the same dollars in fundraising totals.

    I'll focus on nonprofit fundraising CRMs and look for systems that explicitly support this workflow, rather than just systems that let you add notes to a donation record.

    Recommended donor management systems

    • Gift entry: Soft credits and other related gifts - Little Green Light Knowledge Base

    1. Little Green Light

    (Best documented fit)

    Little Green Light explicitly documents your exact scenario: record the gift under the family foundation and assign a soft credit to the individual who influenced the gift. Related gifts are excluded from fundraising totals by default unless you deliberately include them in reports.

    Why consider it: A straightforward, clearly documented workflow for small and midsize nonprofits that want to recognize individual donors without duplicating revenue.

    Soft-credit instructions ·

    • Nonprofit CRM Batch Gift Entry Factsheet

    2. DonorPerfect

    DonorPerfect explicitly supports soft credits linking donor records and lets organizations track family, employer, and other relationships. Its published examples include people involved in a gift who did not write the check.

    Why consider it: A candidate if you want donor relationship tracking, gift history, acknowledgments, and reporting in a traditional fundraising CRM.

    Verify with the vendor: Whether you can automate soft credits for gifts from a linked family foundation, and how soft-credit amounts affect each of your reports.

    Official website and features

    3. Bloomerang CRM

    Bloomerang supports soft credits, including indirect gifts from third parties such as donor-advised funds and foundations. Its documentation explains how soft credits can be applied to pledges while keeping raised and revenue totals accurate.

    Why consider it: A strong candidate if you want donor engagement tracking alongside gift management, particularly when third-party gifts fulfill existing pledges.

    Verify with the vendor: Whether the foundation-to-individual relationship can automatically create the soft credit for your specific gift-entry process.

    Official website

    • What's New(er): Recognition In Giving With Soft Credits And Pledges - Blackbaud Community

    4. Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT

    Raiser’s Edge NXT supports soft credits on gifts, relationship-based automatic soft crediting, and detailed fundraising data management. Its gift-entry interface includes an option to add a soft credit.

    Why consider it: Worth evaluating for a larger development operation with complex gift processing, constituent relationships, and reporting needs.

    Trade-off: It may be more system than a smaller organization needs. Ask for a demonstration of the exact foundation-check workflow and the reports your team uses.

    Official product page

    At-a-glance comparison

    SystemFoundation gift + individual soft creditAutomatic soft creditingBest fit
    Little Green LightExplicitly documentedSupported for configured relationshipsSimple, transparent workflow
    DonorPerfectSoft credits supportedConfirm foundation-specific automationGeneral-purpose fundraising
    Bloomerang CRMSoft credits and indirect gifts supportedRelationship automation should be verified for this caseDonor engagement and pledge tracking
    Raiser’s Edge NXTSoft credits supportedSupported for configured relationshipsComplex fundraising operations

    The comparison is based on published vendor documentation; pricing and exact feature availability should be confirmed directly with each vendor.

    Questions to ask during a demo

    Use the same test case with each vendor:

    Our nonprofit receives a $25,000 check from the Smith Family Foundation. The gift was made at the direction of Jane Smith, who should receive recognition and have the gift reflected in her donor history. Can we record the foundation as the hard-credit donor and Jane as the soft-credit donor, without counting the $25,000 twice?

    Then ask the vendor to demonstrate these four things:

    1. Gift entry: Can the foundation be the legal/check-writing donor and Jane the soft-credit recipient on one gift record?
    2. Automation: Can the system apply the soft credit automatically when the foundation and Jane have a defined relationship?
    3. Reporting: Can you report both on the foundation's actual contributions and Jane's recognized giving without double-counting revenue?
    4. Acknowledgments: Can you acknowledge the foundation appropriately while separately stewarding Jane?

    One important distinction: a soft credit is a recognition and fundraising-tracking mechanism, not proof that the individual personally made a tax-deductible contribution. Make sure gift receipts and financial reports follow your organization's accounting and acknowledgment policies.

    My practical starting shortlist would be Little Green Light, DonorPerfect, and Bloomerang CRM. Little Green Light has the clearest published documentation for your precise family-foundation scenario; the other two are worth comparing for their broader CRM capabilities.

    One question that would help narrow this down: Approximately how many donor records does your organization manage?

    Sources cited in this answer15

    Google AI ModeOct 16, 2026

    1. 1Bloomerang
    2. 2Neon CRM
    3. 3Virtuous
    4. 4Salesforce Trailhead

    Recording hard credit to the family foundation (the check issuer) while soft-crediting the individual family members who directed the gift is a best practice . It ensures your financial accounting aligns with the tax receipt while your stewardship reflects the real human relationship.

    Several leading donor management systems and CRMs handle this workflow seamlessly:

    • Bloomerang : Highly rated for small-to-midsize nonprofits, Bloomerang makes it straightforward to assign a hard credit to the organization (the family foundation) and a soft credit to the constituent (the individual donor) on the same transaction. It also includes reporting and acknowledgement letter workflows tailored to separate the tax-receipt recipient from the soft-credited influencer.
    • Salesforce (Nonprofit Success Pack / NPSP or Nonprofit Cloud) : The industry standard for customizable, enterprise-grade soft crediting. Through account/contact soft credits and customized opportunity contact roles, you can set up explicit linkages between organizational donors (the foundation) and affiliated contacts (the family members) so that gifts roll up correctly to individual lifetime giving histories.
    • Neon CRM : Neon allows you to link household and organizational profiles easily and attribute soft credits to individual constituents when an institutional check or DAF/foundation grant is processed. It supports separate tracking for cultivation reporting versus revenue reporting.
    • Virtuous CRM : Built heavily around responsive fundraising and relationship mapping, Virtuous lets you track organizational giving and tie individual stakeholders or family members to those gifts via soft credits to preserve relational context without double-counting revenue.

    If you'd like to narrow this down, tell me:

    • What is your approximate database size (number of records)?
    • What is your budget range or organization size?

    I can help you select the best fit for your workflow.

    Sources cited in this answer7

Also asked as

  • I'm looking for donor management software that handles soft credits, specifically for linking donations from family foundations back to the individual donor. What options do you recommend?