Best Event Management Software for Nonprofits: Top Solutions Compared
11 Are you still using the same old pen, notebook, and spreadsheet to plan a big fundraising gala, charity walk, donor dinner, or awareness event? If you are, it means you are overstretching yourself and lagging behind your competitors who are using event management applications to seamlessly execute inspiring events quickly! With these tools, they are […] The post Best Event Management Software for Nonprofits: Top Solutions Compared appeared first on Eventtia.
Are you still using the same old pen, notebook, and spreadsheet to plan a big fundraising gala, charity walk, donor dinner, or awareness event?
If you are, it means you are overstretching yourself and lagging behind your competitors who are using event management applications to seamlessly execute inspiring events quickly!
With these tools, they are selling out tickets, maxing out venues, and getting donors to open their wallets.
The best event management software will help you streamline processes, such as registration, payments, ticketing, marketing, and post-event reporting.
However, the challenge for many nonprofits is finding the right solution for their specific needs. Pick the right solution, and you are on your way to efficiently executing a great event, effectively saving time, boosting participation, and raising more funds. Pick the wrong one, and all you get is chaos.
In this post, we have reviewed the 10 best event management software for nonprofits, discussing in detail what nonprofit event management software is, and highlighting the features you should prioritize.
What is Event Management Software for Nonprofits?
Event management software for nonprofits is any software used to plan, organize, and manage events for nonprofits. These events may include a fundraising gala, annual association conferences, charity walks, workshops, donor appreciation dinners, continuing education opportunities, or awareness campaigns.
An event management software can be either an all-in-one event management platform or a tool that assists with specific items on your event planning checklist.
The right event management software aids in every aspect of the entire event lifecycle, such as:
- Project management
- Event marketing
- Building a registration website
- Accepting registrations and payments
- Sending out invitations, updates, and other communications
- Managing RSVPs
- Managing information about guests
- Managing volunteers
- Managing relationships with past, current, and potential participants
- Managing relationships with vendors
- Organizing virtual and/or hybrid events
- Providing a virtual platform for participants to network
- Checking in participants at the event
- Managing budgets and more
What Features Should Nonprofits Look for in Event Management Software?
Several key features can help you streamline your event. To determine the right one for you, consider your specific needs and requirements.
For example, are you planning an in-person event, a hybrid event, or a virtual event? Are you looking for software to execute a single event or a comprehensive system to manage numerous events throughout the year?
Your needs define the right solution for you.
That said, let’s dive into the features nonprofits should look for in event management software.
Easy-to-Use Registration and Ticketing Process
This is probably the most essential feature to look out for as it contributes largely to the first impression you’ll make with your donors and participants.. By making the registration process seamless for your participants, you simplify the ticketing process.
Additionally, consider apps that enable you to create multiple sale dates and prices for online ticket sales, track RSVPs, and embed forms directly on your website.
A highly usable platform will make it easier for your team to onboard, utilize, and achieve success with your new nonprofit event software.
Payment Processing
Software that can handle multiple transactions should be prioritized, and not only that, but it should also be secure through technology like encryption, PCI DSS, secure payment gateways, and other protocols.
Also, be aware of hidden fees added by the software platform. These can either be a flat fee, a percentage of the transaction, or a combination of both.
Having a good understanding of these fees helps you understand what you will earn during each transaction.
Attendee Tracking and Management
Event management software for nonprofits makes it easy to track and manage event participants.
Most include a guest list tool that allows you to create a database of attendees and utilize integrated tools to maximize your fundraising efforts. An event check-in tool is also important for managing guests at the door.
An attendee tracking and management feature provides you with better insight into who is supporting your nonprofit and how to maximize your fundraising potential.
Event Planning Tools
Tools like event task management and shared calendars, as well as the ability to create timelines and schedules, detailed event budgets, and nonprofit event planning checklists, are critical features an event management software should have. These tools are regarded as the foundation of event planning.
If your nonprofit often organizes large events, then an event venue management system and a vendor management system are additional tools to consider, as they can make it easy to manage rooms and spaces in the venue you have booked and to keep track of all your vendors and their respective responsibilities.
Reporting and Dashboards
What is an event planning software without a reporting tool or dashboard? A comprehensive dashboard provides a detailed overview of your event plan, offering insight into your event efforts.
Look for a software solution with a user-friendly, mobile-friendly interface that allows you to specify the number of users you want to have as administrators, enabling them to log in and collaborate within the application itself.
No matter the size of your nonprofit, event software such as Eventtia comes with options to help you understand and manage your events.
Marketing and Communication Tools
Being able to contact or communicate with your planning committee members and potential attendees of your event is essential; hence, a marketing and communication feature is a crucial component.
Prioritize an event management platform that features a robust email marketing software system for sending and tracking email invitations, as well as sending reminders to registered guests.
The right online nonprofit event registration software tool should integrate seamlessly with your existing email communication platform.
Donor and Sponsor Management
Being able to collect donations online and track sponsor information is a great feature that any nonprofit event planning software should have.
With the right software in place to manage sponsors or donors, you will be able to track who your donors are, their total amounts, frequency, and build rapport with effective communication and acknowledgment of the support given to your nonprofit.
This helps strengthen your relationships with donors and ensures continued support.
Volunteer Management
Most nonprofit events rely on volunteers to staff day-of operations, such as staffing the registration check-in desk, running the silent auction, coordinating production, and providing food and refreshments.
As a result, your nonprofit event management software should allow you to efficiently handle volunteers’ contact information and assign tasks on the event day.
Integration
Besides having an easy-to-use registration and ticketing process, being able to integrate with your existing applications may be the most critical feature.
This is because most nonprofits utilize multiple software applications. If your data is spread too thin across all these applications without the ability to push and pull data from one another, this will cost you time and effort as you juggle multiple applications, and you will never get a complete picture of what is happening in your events.
Two ways to integrate are through integration platforms like Zapier or API Access, which allow you to connect with existing tools and scale as needed.
10 Best Event Management Software for Nonprofits
1. Eventtia
Eventtia is an all-in-one event management software designed to help nonprofits simplify every aspect of their event planning effort and elevate the attendee experience.
Used by major brands like Cartier and Nestlé, Eventtia is a powerful, scalable, and highly customizable app that enables nonprofit event teams to quickly customize event pages to meet specific needs, including branding, speakers, and agendas.
Users can quickly manage ticketing and RSVPs in minutes. They can automate email and SMS campaigns to keep participants informed at every step. They can also personalize emails and execute follow-ups quickly.
Do you need to organize a hybrid fundraiser or virtual donor meeting?
Eventtia’s flexible format support lets you host in-person, virtual, or hybrid events with zero hassle.
But that is not all you can do here. With dashboard features and reporting tools, nonprofit event planning teams can track registrations, engagement levels, and even patterns of donations. These insights are important and can help your planning team make informed, data-driven decisions.
Additionally, your teams can communicate seamlessly with one another, manage volunteers, streamline check-ins, and also integrate Eventtia with your existing CRM or fundraising tools, saving you time by keeping all your contacts and campaigns in sync.
And here’s the best part: Eventtia is designed for teams that need professional-grade tools without a steep learning curve.
Key Features
- Registration management
- Customizable event websites
- Attendee communication tools
- Real-time analytics
- Social promotion
- Email marketing
- Payment processing
- Calendar management
- Surveys & feedback
- Contact management
- Exhibit/vendor management
- Ticketing
- Gamification
- Attendee tracking
- On-site Check-in & Access Management
- Reporting/analytics
- Sponsorship management
- Integration-ready with a robust API
Pricing
Eventtia offers four plans for nonprofit event organizers, each with distinct features and varying user capacities. Each plan features a transparent and straightforward pricing model that adjusts according to the number of attendees. The most basic plan for 100 attendees for unlimited events starts at $1500.
2. Eventbrite
Eventbrite is a well-known global self-service event management and ticketing platform that enables anyone, including nonprofits, to create, share, and execute events they are passionate about, such as music festivals, marathons, conferences, community rallies, and fundraisers, as well as gaming competitions and air guitar contests.
With features such as Eventbrite ads, nonprofit organizations can promote their events and a map format that allows potential participants to find them by event type, city, or date.
Key Features
- Ticket reservations
- Event scheduling
- Online registration
- Barcode/ticket scanning
- Registration management
- Payment processing
- Eventbrite Ads
- Email campaigns
- AI event creation
- Integration with CRM and email communication tools
Pricing
Eventbrite is free for organizers if your event is free; otherwise, it offers a pro plan pricing package that helps increase the reach of your event campaigns.
For nonprofits interested in the Pro plan, qualifying organizers can receive a 50% discount, enabling more funds to be directed to your cause. To determine if you qualify, you have to fill out an application. If approved, the discount will be applied to future plan charges.
3. Cvent
Cvent is a powerful, all-in-one event management app, ideal for nonprofits that frequently host large events. Its extensive offering helps you simplify the management of each stage of the event lifecycle, featuring tools such as surveys, meeting schedulers, and event diagrams.
Cvent provides nonprofit event planners with everything needed to find suppliers, engage attendees, maximize sponsor value, and capture essential event data.
While it may not be the ideal fit for small or mid-sized organizations, larger and enterprise-level nonprofits should consider Cvent for their next workshop.
Key Features
- Attendee management
- Registration management
- Payment processing
- Data security & privacy
- Event reporting and insights
- Registration license
- Attendee hub license
- On-arrival license
- Task management
Pricing
Contact Cvent for pricing.
4. Handbid
Handbid is a fully automated mobile auction management software designed to help nonprofits organize fundraising events via bidding. Because of its auction management features, nonprofits can boost revenue, drive bid activity, and maximize ROI.
Eliminating the need for a paper bid, Handbid allows users to bid from anywhere using their smartphones, tablets, or the web.
Nonprofit auction organizers can sell tickets, invite, register, & enable people to connect to their auction without requiring them to register physically.
Bidders can enter bids remotely or in person, and the entire system operates in real-time, providing instant outbid notifications and real-time updates on products and pricing.
Key Features
- Bid management
- Billing & invoicing
- Payment processing
- Online auction
- Silent auction
- Mobile access
- Electronic payments
- Third-party integrations with CRMs
- Sales, games & drawings
- Ticketing, sponsorships, & registration with no ticket transaction fees
Pricing
Handbid has two pricing plans. The plan for nonprofits starts at $1,396 per year for single-event and multi-event packages. Note that the credit card processing fee of 3.5% plus $0.30 is included in the total.
5. WildApricot
WildApricot is a cloud-based membership management solution used by nonprofits, charities, clubs, and community organizations to run every aspect of their organization, including events. Utilizing its robust features, organizations are able to automate and streamline their membership tasks.
Users can quickly manage contacts, process payments, send out emails, register event participants, create a website, and more.
Key Features
- Registration management
- Dues management
- Attendees management
- Donation tracking
- Email marketing
- Payment processing
- Reporting/analytics
- Online giving
- Third-party integration
Pricing
WildApricot offers a 60-day free trial with the paid plan price starting at $63/month.
6. DonorPerfect
Seamlessly incorporating event management features, DonorPerfect is an all-in-one fundraising tool that helps nonprofit event management teams track donations, build relationships with donors, communicate effectively, and complete essential tasks such as sending receipts, all in one place.
Key Features
- Donation tracking
- Email marketing
- Payment processing
- Contact management
- Third-party integration
- Campaign management
- CRM
- Membership management
- Mobile giving
- Pledge management
Pricing
Contact DonorPerfect for pricing.
7. Regpack
Regpack is a web application that specializes in registration and event management. Using this software, nonprofits can create customizable registration forms, collect registrations, efficiently manage event attendees, and accept payments for various items, including memberships, trips, events, classes, and more.
With robust payment processes, automatic email communication built in, dynamic reporting and analytics, and more, organizations can streamline their workflow processes.
Regpack is an excellent solution for nonprofits that want to simplify registration and don’t require a comprehensive event management software solution.
Key Features
- Alerts/notifications
- Badge management
- Marketing automation
- Attendee tracking
- Calendar management
- Contact management
- Customizable forms
- Event management
- Event registration
- Group registration
- Payment processing
- Refund management
- Self-check-in/check-out
- Surveys & feedback
Pricing
Plans start at $125/month per admin, plus a 2.1% payment processing fee.
8. A2Z Events
A2Z Events is Personify’s event management platform. This platform enables organizations to effectively organize major events, such as conferences, expositions, and trade shows.
Built for event professionals by event professionals, A2Z Events offers networking tools, data integrations, simplified payment collection, multi-year, multi-event solutions, providing everything event organizers need to grow successful events year after year.
Key Features
- Agenda management
- Contact management
- Customizable branding
- Exhibit/vendor management
- Mobile access
- Reporting/analytics
- Speaker management
- Surveys & feedback
- Ticketing
- Venue management
Pricing
Contact A2Z Events for pricing. Free demo available.
9. Bizzabo
Bizzabo is a high-tech event software solution that enables you to manage every aspect of your largest and most complex events.
While not a direct fit for nonprofits, it does have features that may be of interest to your nonprofit.
Increasingly, fundraisers must offer both in-person and hybrid events to reach audiences that can’t all gather in one location. Bizzabo makes this possible.
Key Features
- Agenda management
- Contact management
- Customizable branding
- Exhibit/vendor management
- Mobile access
- Reporting/analytics
- Speaker management
- Surveys & feedback
- Ticketing
Pricing
Bizzabo is billed annually and priced at $499 per month per user.
10. Doubleknot
Doubleknot is an event registration application that provides easy registration and admission solutions for nonprofits, cultural attractions, and educational events.
This platform centralizes various functions, including registration, ticketing, reservations, donation, event management, membership management, and fundraising tools to manage event operations and enhance attendees’ experiences.
Key Features
- Member database
- Event management
Pricing
Contact Doubleknot for pricing details.
Advantages of Nonprofit Event Management Software
With the event management software market predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2% from 2025 to 2030, it’s clear that an increasing number of organizations acknowledge that the right event management solution can reduce the burden on event organizers, increase event ROI, and make scaling your programs as easy as pie.
Hence, the importance of event management software solutions to nonprofits that run multiple events annually cannot be overlooked.
With that said, here are some of the advantages of a nonprofit event management software platform:
- Saves time and reduces admin stress with tasks such as attendee registration, sending reminders, and check-in
- Increases fundraising potential
- Improves attendee experience
- Helps your team gather event insights via a comprehensive dashboard and reporting tool that enables you to measure event success and improve future planning
- Allows you to manage, organize, and respond to service requests from all participants.
- Facilitates efficient team collaboration
- Supports hybrid and virtual events
- Strengthens your brand presence via customizable event pages and email templates that reinforce your nonprofit’s message.
- Enables you to manage multiple teams of agents, including vendors, to support event success without compromising quality service using organizational features, automation, and third-party integrations.
With Eventtia, you get all these advantages in a single, streamlined platform designed to support growth and community engagement.
Takeaway: Empower Your Event with the Right Planning Technology
Event management software is essential for organizing a successful in-person, virtual, or hybrid event, with the expected outcome of facilitating nonprofit success.
However, determining the top event management software that best serves your organization can be tricky. Hopefully, this list has provided you with enough information to streamline your decision in identifying the right one for your needs.
While there are many excellent event management tools out there, Eventtia stands out for nonprofits, offering customizable and robust features, as well as expert support trusted by global brands.
If you have a local fundraiser coming up soon or a multi-city campaign event on the horizon, Eventtia provides you with everything you need to succeed. Book a free demo with Eventtia today.
FAQs
Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about event management software for nonprofits:
What's a good event registration solution for nonprofit organizations?
The best event registration solution for nonprofits will help you streamline the entire registration process, offering everything from customizable forms and registration processing to easy payment collection and CRM integration. Eventtia, Wild Apricot, and Eventbrite are popular options depending on your organization’s size and budget.
How can a nonprofit effectively plan an event?
To plan an event effectively, you need first to understand what your goals are for the event. When you’ve successfully established what your goals are, then take the following step:
- Create your guest list
- Set a budget
- Create fundraising plans to offset costs
- Use an event management software to organize logistics
- Promote early
- Engage your audience
- Bring the event to life
- Track data throughout the process
What's the typical cost of event registration software?
The cost of event registration software varies from platform to platform. While some platforms offer basic features at no cost, platforms with robust features that can help ensure your event planning success can charge anywhere from $0 to $ 500 or more per month, depending on your needs.
Additionally, some platforms with premium solutions quote and customize prices based on your needs.
What are the steps to successfully host a fundraising event?
To successfully host a fundraising event, follow these steps:
- Choose a goal
- Consult with others
- Set a goal and budget
- Know your audience
- Find a location
- Use the right event software for planning and a registration platform
- Set a schedule
- Promote the event through email and social media
- Partner with corporate sponsors
- Establish a way to accept donations
- Engage attendees during the event
- Track results and send post-event thank-you notes to attendants, sponsors, and volunteers
Which type of fundraising event generates the highest returns?
You need to consider your goals, including what is most important to you, and how much you want to raise when choosing a specific event.
That said, the following are popular fundraising events that have been known to pull in the most ROI for Nonprofits:
- A fitness challenge
- Host an A-thon
- Fundraising galas
- Benefit auctions
- Vacation Auction
- Peer-to-peer campaigns
Using event software like Eventtia can help you maximize results through better engagement and data tracking.
What's Your Reaction?
