Adopting HubSpot for Nonprofits: Building Your Mission Engine

The Case for HubSpot for Nonprofits

For nonprofits looking to evolve their digital experiences, HubSpot strikes the right balance of flexibility, affordability, and ease of use. Here's why it’s a standout:

• Flexibility and Customization: HubSpot adapts to the unique needs of nonprofits. Whether you’re building custom pipelines for donor journeys or creating workflows for specific programs, the platform grows with you.
• Cost-Effective Solutions: HubSpot offers a free CRM that covers essential needs, with tiered pricing and nonprofit discounts to help you scale without breaking the bank.
• Integrations Galore: Connect effortlessly with tools like Mailchimp, FundraiseUp, and QuickBooks, bringing all your work into one place.
• Ease of Use: No technical expertise is required. HubSpot’s intuitive design ensures smooth adoption by staff at all levels, so you can hit the ground running. 

While platforms like Blackbaud are tailored specifically for nonprofits, HubSpot is known for its adaptability, allowing your organization to define how you want to work in the technology, not being forced to adopt the processes the technology defines for you.

Getting Your Nonprofit Started With HubSpot

To make the most of HubSpot, it's important to set the stage before diving in. At a high level, here are the steps to get your nonprofit up and running:

Initial Setup & Onboarding: At its simplest, you can sign up for the free tools and go through the HubSpot Academy to get started. As a new HubSpot customer, you will be required to add HubSpot onboarding to any purchase Pro tier and above. This is helpful to get you started if you know what you need. If you would like more hands-on experience with the steps below, working with a solutions partner who understands nonprofits and how to tailor HubSpot to your needs might be the way to go.

Process Mapping: Take the time to understand your nonprofit’s workflows and goals before implementing new tech. Map out how donor information flows and identify areas where automation can save time and improve efficiency.

Seamless Data Migration: Transitioning from a system like Blackbaud? HubSpot’s import tools will help securely migrate your donor data. Alternatively, you can partner with a HubSpot solutions provider to ensure a smooth and organized transition.

Customizing Your CRM: Make the CRM your own by setting up custom contact properties (e.g., preferred communication method, past donations) and creating pipelines to track potential donors and sponsorships.

Integrating with Other Platforms: Connect existing tools your organization already uses, such as social media platforms or an event management platform, to centralize data and improve efficiency.

Donor Management

Donor management is the cornerstone of any nonprofit technology solution. While HubSpot wasn't built specifically for nonprofits, its robust capabilities can be adapted to create a powerful donor management system. The key is understanding how to translate nonprofit processes into HubSpot's business-oriented framework.

Bridging the Language Gap

HubSpot's industry-agnostic nature means its interface uses sales-oriented terminology that might feel unfamiliar to nonprofit professionals. Terms like "deals," "pipelines," and "lead status" replace familiar nonprofit concepts like "gifts," "donor journeys," and "constituent engagement levels." However, this initial language barrier often becomes an opportunity to reimagine and optimize donor management processes.

Aligning Your Processes With HubSpot

When helping nonprofits adopt HubSpot, we focus on two key areas:

1. Understanding Your Current Workflow: We begin by mapping your existing processes, identifying key touchpoints in your donor relationships, and understanding your reporting needs. This helps us determine which HubSpot features will best serve your mission.
2. Categorizing and Adapting Processes: We then categorize your processes into two groups:

1. Natural Alignments With HubSpot

Many nonprofit processes have direct parallels with HubSpot's standard features:

Constituent Management → Contacts and Companies

• Instead of a single "constituent" record, HubSpot's separate Contact and Company objects often provide better flexibility.
• Individual donors become Contacts.
• Organizational donors, foundations, and corporate partners become Companies.
• This separation enables more sophisticated relationship tracking and targeted engagement strategies.

Gift Management → Deals

• Gifts align naturally with HubSpot's deal object.
• Deal pipelines can track different types of gifts (one-time, recurring, planned giving).
• Deal stages can reflect your gift processing workflow.
• Automation can trigger based on gift milestones or patterns.
• Association labels can track soft and hard credits for reporting.

Campaigns → Marketing Campaigns

• Annual appeals, giving days, and fundraising events map directly to HubSpot campaigns.
• Built-in tools for email marketing, social media, and landing pages support multi-channel fundraising.

2. Custom Adaptations Needed

Some nonprofit-specific processes require customization:

Grant Management (more on this below)

• Custom properties to track grant requirements
• Custom pipeline stages for grant application processes
• Automated task workflows for grant reporting deadlines

Volunteer Management (more on this below)

• Custom properties for volunteer skills and availability
• Custom objects or deal pipelines for volunteer opportunities
• Automated workflows for volunteer scheduling and communication

Donor Management HubSpot Implementation Best Practices

1. Start with Core Processes: Begin with essential functions like basic donor management and gift tracking before adding complexity.
2. Invest in Your Team: Ensure your team understands both the "why" and "how" of the new system.
3. Document Your Conventions: Create a guide for your organization's HubSpot terminology and processes.
4. Plan for Growth: Design your initial setup with future expansion in mind.

Managing Corporate Sponsorship 

Strong partnerships can take your nonprofit’s impact to the next level. HubSpot’s CRM tools make it easier to build, nurture, and manage relationships with corporate sponsors.

• Relationship Tracking: Log every interaction with corporate sponsors, from initial outreach to signed agreements, so no communication falls through the cracks.
• Task Automation: Save time by automating outreach, follow-ups, and meeting reminders with workflows tailored to your sponsorship goals.
• Forecasting: Use pipeline reporting to forecast sponsorship income, giving you clearer insights to align your budget and plan for future campaigns.

Program Management and Impact Reporting

For nonprofits, showcasing the direct impact of donor support is not just beneficial; it is essential in maintaining and nurturing strong, lasting relationships with those who contribute. Donors want to feel confident that their generosity is making a tangible difference, and HubSpot provides a seamless solution to achieve this. By integrating your programs and impact metrics directly into your CRM, HubSpot ensures that donors have a clear, transparent view of how their contributions are being utilized and the positive changes they are fostering.

With the use of custom objects, you can meticulously track key program elements—such as grant recipients, child sponsorships, or any other specific initiatives—right within the HubSpot platform. This level of detail allows for a comprehensive understanding of each program's progress and success, offering a robust framework for impact reporting.

Moreover, CRM-driven content empowers you to craft and send personalized updates that vividly highlight the real-world outcomes of donations. These updates serve to keep supporters not only engaged but also deeply informed about the transformative change they are helping to create. By consistently communicating these outcomes, you reinforce the value of their contributions, fostering a sense of partnership and shared mission in driving positive social impact.

Grants Management

While HubSpot isn’t specifically designed as a grant management tool, its remarkable flexibility allows it to be adapted for efficient grant tracking. This includes managing everything from submission deadlines to necessary follow-ups, ensuring that no detail is overlooked. By utilizing HubSpot's CRM capabilities, you can seamlessly link grants to specific programs, providing a comprehensive view of how each grant is contributing to your organization's goals. This not only aids in measuring the tangible impact of the grants but also empowers you to transparently demonstrate to donors the exact ways in which their generous contributions are being utilized. This transparency fosters trust and strengthens relationships with donors, as they can clearly see the positive outcomes of their support.

Multichannel Nonprofit Marketing 

Automating marketing efforts lets nonprofits focus more on their mission and less on repetitive tasks, helping them create more impact, faster.

• Email Campaigns: Use segmented donor lists to send personalized content, such as newsletters, event invitations, and fundraising appeals.
• Social Media Management: Plan, schedule, and track social media posts with built-in analytics to improve engagement.
• Automated Workflows: Streamline tasks like donor follow-ups and recurring donation reminders, ensuring no opportunity slips by.
• Donation Forms: Simplify online giving by creating user-friendly landing pages with embedded donation forms.

Nonprofit Event Management

Events are more than fundraisers—they’re opportunities to connect with donors and showcase your mission. HubSpot streamlines every step, so you can focus on making your events memorable.

• Planning and Promotion: Create event landing pages with easy RSVP forms and promote your events through automated emails and social media.
• Registration Management: Sync HubSpot with tools like Eventbrite to track attendees and simplify the registration process.
• Post-Event Engagement: Send thank-you emails and surveys to gather feedback. Use analytics to evaluate attendance and the overall success of your events.

Nonprofit Reporting

Informed decisions drive better outcomes. With HubSpot’s robust reporting tools, you can uncover actionable insights that propel your mission forward:

• Custom Reports: Track key metrics like donor acquisition, retention rates, and campaign ROI to measure success.
• Fundraising Effectiveness: Identify donation trends and optimize future campaigns for greater impact.
• Donor Insights: Highlight high-value donors and uncover opportunities for additional support or engagement.