Finding the Best Donor Management Software: Neon One vs. MonkeyPod

Donor management is critical to the success of most nonprofits. And while many organizations have relied on Neon One CRM in the past, is that truly the best donor management software for you? What about all of the other areas of your organization that need management?

Nonprofits also need to manage their accounting, grants, memberships, fundraising, email marketing, and more. Purchasing a separate tool for each of those areas can be a huge headache.

Solving that problem is why we created MonkeyPod. MonkeyPod is your all-in-one nonprofit software system. Built from the ground-up to be a single, integrated platform, MonkeyPod includes CRM, donor management, email marketing, online fundraising, grant management, nonprofit fund accounting, memberships, and more.

With MonkeyPod, your nonprofit has all the software it needs — and all of your data — in a single place. That makes MonkeyPod an exceptional alternative to Neon One CRM. Read on to see how MonkeyPod compares to Neon One CRM.

Nonprofit employees using the best donor management software, MonkeyPod

Comparing Neon One CRM and MonkeyPod

Designed for Nonprofits

MonkeyPod and Neon One are both designed specifically for nonprofits. That's good because nonprofits are complicated and have unique challenges. Tracking restricted grants, stewarding donors, reporting on functional expenses — these are all things that nonprofits need to do accurately and efficiently. Make sure your software works with you, not against you.

All-In-One Solution

Whereas Neon One offers solutions focused on CRM and fundraising, MonkeyPod offers solutions for your entire organization. MonkeyPod is a true all-in-one platform.

With MonkeyPod you can manage your finances, donors, volunteers, members, grants, fundraising, communications, board, events, and more. And MonkeyPod was not cobbled together through mergers or combining different products. It was designed from the ground-up to be a single system that you can use to manage your entire organization.

All of the features in MonkeyPod communicate with each other and work together seamlessly. Neon One was not designed in the same way, resulting in a patchwork of tools and features, often with different prices and conditions, creating confusion for you and your organization. All of MonkeyPod's subscriptions include unlimited data, so you know exactly what you're getting and can be sure it will meet your needs.

Automation

Because MonkeyPod is a true all-in-one solution, it can automate a ton of busywork for you and your team.

Want to sell tickets to an event and have those sales automatically recorded in your CRM and books? No problem.
Want to streamline your online fundraising operations? MonkeyPod will automatically send donors receipts and thank you emails, automatically add donors to your CRM, and automatically record donations on your books and budgets.
How about automating your email communications? Have MonkeyPod automatically send emails based on specifics actions, like when someone fills out a form, donates to a campaign, or signs up to volunteer.

MonkeyPod does all that and more. Neon One offers limited automation, focusing on deduplication and payment processing. (By the way, MonkeyPod does that too.)

Features & Services Comparison

	MonkeyPod Enterprise Built from the ground up to be an all-in-one solution	Neon One Features and services offered separately
Data Migration	✅ Full service data migration included	⚠️ Required one-time fees start at $300
Training	✅ 5 hours of customized training included MonkeyPod Academy: free advanced trainings from industry leaders and consultants Welcome Wednesdays: free weekly drop-in hours with MonkeyPod Certified Trainer Free monthly webinars	⚠️ $600 for 4 hours
Support	✅ Unlimited email support Scheduled 1:1 Zoom meetings Dedicated Client Success Representative Quarterly Business Review	⚠️ Live chat and phone No video chat for screen sharing
CRM / Donor Management	✅ Unlimited CRM records Unlimited custom data fields Connect records through householding and/or customizable connections Track and report on constituent interactions Advanced search capabilities using all of your data (CRM, accounting, location, events, etc.) Donor portal login	✅ Neon One Empower: $399/month
Online Fundraising	✅ Unlimited fundraising pages Unlimited embedded donation forms that can be embedded into any website 100% automated data entry	⚠️ Pricing starts at $1,900/year, which includes implementation
Email Marketing	✅ Unlimited email lists, subscribers, campaigns, and templates Unlimited automated email campaigns with configurable triggers Email subscription forms that can be embedded into any website	✅ Neon CRM Email Builder
Grant Proposal Tracking	✅ Track unlimited proposals, deadlines, and documents Calendar Sync with your personal calendar so you never miss a deadline Dashboard reports and visualizations on success rates and deadlines	✅
Grant Management	✅ Expense tracking for unrestricted and restricted grants Single and multi-year grant budgets Activity metrics tracking Outcomes tracking and reporting	⛔
Nonprofit Accounting	✅ Comprehensive nonprofit fund accounting Three dimensions for tracking and reporting: accounts, classes, and tags Nonprofit financial statements Standard, advanced, and custom reports Auto-updating budgets that sync with accounting records	⛔
Payment Processing	✅ 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction (with nonprofit discount offered by Stripe) 1% fee to MonkeyPod	⚠️ 2.99% + $0.30 per transaction for processing fees 2.75% fee for Neon Pay
Event Management	✅ Integration with Eventbrite MonkeyPod automatically records ticket sales and registration data to your CRM, books, and budgets	⚠️ Neon One Arts People: designed for performing arts organizations Purchased separately
Membership Management	✅ Unlimited membership tiers / levels Smart email lists that automatically update based on membership status Collect membership dues monthly or annually Membership payments are automatically recorded in your CRM, books, and budgets	⚠️ Neon CRM for Associations: $439/month ($5,268/year) Purchased separately
Volunteer Management	✅ Track volunteer hours and custom data in MonkeyPod CRM Integration with Jotform to develop custom forms and surveys for your volunteers Email subscription forms allow volunteers to sign up for one or more email lists Schedule volunteers through MonkeyPod’s integration with Calendly	✅
Board Management	✅ Track board agendas, minutes, committees, and action items Schedule meetings and send documents to board members	⛔
User Accounts	✅ Unlimited users with advanced user permissions	✅ Unlimited users
Open API	✅	✅
Website Hosting	⛔	✅
PCI Compliance	✅	✅
Price	$5,000/year	Over $5,000/year + ~$1,000 in implementation fees

MonkeyPod 'Right Fit' Checklist

To help save you time as you research MonkeyPod and other competitors, check out our 'Right Fit' checklist.

Do your team members wear lots of hats (i.e. do multiple jobs)?
Do you value good, reliable data?
Do you want to reduce the number of technology systems your organization is using?
Do you value automation as a way of saving time and creating a more sustainable organization?
Are you open to changing some of your internal processes?

If you answered yes to these questions, let's talk — MonkeyPod may be a game changer for you.

Schedule a demo today to learn how MonkeyPod can help you and your nonprofit get back to your mission.