Explore Gratona by fundraising goal
Make every nonprofit CRM vendor prove the same things.
Use Gratona's free, provider-neutral Excel workbook to set requirements, collect evidence, run repeatable demos, compare three-year cost and risk, and make the vendor decision visible.
No email gate · Editable .xlsx file · Reviewed 2026-08-16
92
starter requirements
8
working sheets
24
demo scenarios
0
email forms
Each vendor can win a different test
One vendor shows a polished gift-entry path. Another spends the hour on dashboards. A third calls an integration, migration service, or roadmap item a complete answer. Without common requirements, proof rules, sample data, and scoring, the team is comparing presentations instead of operating fit.
A claim and a verified capability are not the same score
The scorecard separates the vendor's answer from the evidence your team observed. Documentation, a live workflow, a sample output, or contract language can support a score. A blank remains unscored, and an unanswered Must remains visible on the decision summary.
One file from requirements to decision
RFP Brief
Define why your organization is changing systems, who owns the decision, the operating constraints, and the budget before vendors shape the process.
Requirements
Review 92 starter requirements across data, gifts, stewardship, reporting, integrations, security, migration, support, and AI governance.
Vendor Scorecard
Score four vendors on the same 0–5 scale while recording response status, evidence, gaps, owner notes, and next questions.
Cost and Risk
Model three-year subscription, implementation, migration, integration, support, internal time, contract, renewal, and exit considerations.
Demo Script
Run 24 identical scenarios with synthetic data so every vendor must show the same fundraising, reporting, security, portability, and AI workflows.
Decision Summary
Compare weighted score, evidence coverage, Must failures, unverified Musts, total cost, and decision state without hiding the exceptions.
Cover the system you need to operate
The workbook begins broad so important work is not discovered after signature. Your team should delete what does not apply, add what is unique, and choose every priority before issuing the RFP.
Constituent records and relationships
Gifts, payments, receipting, and finance
Fundraising, stewardship, and communications
Reporting, segmentation, and data quality
Integrations, APIs, and operational resilience
Security, privacy, and accessibility
Migration, implementation, and adoption
Service, contract, pricing, and portability
AI governance and assistance
Make the decision reproducible
- 1
Frame the decision before issuing the RFP
Complete the brief, name the owners, set the budget boundary, inventory current systems, and define the outcomes that would make a change worthwhile.
- 2
Review every priority and weight
The Must, Should, Could, and Won’t labels are starter defaults. Change them to reflect your organization before a vendor sees the file.
- 3
Ask for evidence, not adjectives
Require documentation, an observed workflow, a sample output, or contract language. A confident answer without proof remains unverified.
- 4
Run the same demo for every finalist
Use identical synthetic records and the same 24 scenarios. Do not replace a failed workflow with a roadmap slide or a different demonstration.
- 5
Model the whole cost and contract
Include implementation, migration, integrations, support, internal time, usage limits, renewal terms, and the practical cost of leaving later.
- 6
Decide from exceptions before ranking vendors
Investigate Must failures, missing evidence, unresolved risks, and owner objections before treating a weighted score as a recommendation.
Keep donor data out of the evaluation
Use synthetic or de-identified samples. Do not place donor data, payment credentials, health information, confidential notes, or other sensitive production data in a demo or this workbook. Store diligence evidence in an approved secure location and link to it only when appropriate.
Verify current terms and evidence
Product scope, pricing, security evidence, subprocessors, accessibility, export behavior, service levels, and contract terms change. Recheck current primary documentation and put material promises into the written agreement before relying on them.
Questions grounded in evidence, not vendor rank
These public references informed security, accessibility, charitable-receipting, and diligence questions. They do not certify a vendor, replace professional advice, or prove that a product meets the requirement.
- NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0
Used for security governance, risk, incident, and recovery questions.
- CISA Secure by Design
Used for vendor responsibility, secure defaults, and transparency.
- W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2
Used for accessibility evidence and repeatable testing prompts.
- IRS Publication 1771
Used for charitable-contribution acknowledgment questions.
- OWASP Application Security Verification Standard
Used for evidence-oriented application security diligence.
Sources and buyer-process references reviewed 2026-08-16.
Use the workbook without hiding the hard parts
Is the nonprofit CRM RFP template free?+
Yes. The Excel workbook is a direct, ungated download. You can edit it for your organization and use it with Gratona or any other nonprofit CRM provider.
What does the workbook include?+
It includes an RFP brief, 92 editable starter requirements, a weighted scorecard for four vendors, three-year cost and risk modeling, 24 repeatable demo scenarios, a formula-driven decision summary, and source notes.
How does the vendor scoring work?+
Priorities use editable Must, Should, Could, and Won’t weights. Vendor capability uses a 0–5 scale from not available to verified advantage. Blank scores remain unscored, and evidence is tracked separately so a high claim is not mistaken for proof.
Is the scorecard written only for Gratona?+
No. The requirements and scoring structure are provider-neutral. The workbook is designed to make every vendor answer and demonstrate the same questions, including Gratona.
Should we use real donor data in vendor demos?+
No. Use synthetic or de-identified records and keep donor data, payment credentials, health information, confidential notes, and other sensitive production data out of vendor demonstrations and this workbook.
What should we use after selecting a CRM?+
Move from selection into an owned migration plan. Gratona’s free nonprofit CRM migration acceptance workbook adds field mapping, reconciliation, user acceptance, recovery, and sign-off controls for the implementation phase.
Bring your hardest requirements to the demo
Use the scorecard with every provider. If Gratona is on the shortlist, bring the same requirements, scenarios, and evidence rules to us. We will show what is available now, identify what is not, and put the implementation scope in writing.
Still defining the category? Start with the nonprofit CRM guide.