Grassroots

Fundraising Software for Grassroots Organizers

The neighborhood meeting is Thursday. Import the sign-up sheet, tag who said they'd volunteer, post an RSVP page, and text the people who RSVP'd the morning of. One seat, unlimited contacts, and the list grows from there.

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FundraiserMax Lists screen with All, Static, and Smart Lists tabs and a Create List button

The Lists screen in FundraiserMax. Real product, not a mockup.

How a neighborhood coalition would grow a list

Hypothetical scenarios. No customer is described.

Volunteer coordinator, Sunday night before a Thursday meeting

The sign-up sheet from the last two meetings lives in a spreadsheet, and a few people are on it twice. The meeting needs an RSVP page by Monday morning.

  1. Data > Data Import > Upload File (CSV or Excel) > Map Columns > Review & Import.
  2. Data > Dedupes to review the people who signed up twice before merging them.
  3. Contacts > open the records that said yes to volunteering > add a volunteer tag and a tag for their block.
  4. Events > Create Event with the date, the address, and a capacity, then copy the public RSVP link.
  5. Communication > Email > Campaigns > new campaign to the list with the RSVP link in the body.

On screenImport History shows the count that came in, the duplicates are merged with a log, and the RSVP page URL is ready to paste into the group chat.

Organizer, the morning of the meeting

Forty people RSVP'd. The ones who don't get a text will forget, and whoever comes needs to be counted at the door.

  1. Lists > Create List > Static List, and add the contacts who RSVP'd.
  2. Communication > SMS > new campaign to that list. This needs a provisioned number at $10 a month; anyone who replies STOP is dropped from later sends.
  3. Events > the event > check people in as they arrive and adjust the guest count when someone brings a neighbor.

On screenThe attendee list shows who came and who RSVP'd and didn't, which is the follow-up list for the next email.

Treasurer of a volunteer-run group, the first small-dollar drive

The drive closes on the last day of the month with a modest goal, and the money is arriving three ways: checks at meetings, cash in a jar, and an online form the group set up elsewhere.

  1. Campaigns > New Campaign with the goal and the end date.
  2. Financials > enter the checks and cash by hand against the campaign, or upload the WinRed or ActBlue CSV export under Data > Integrations with the campaign selected.
  3. Financials > Batches to group the checks by deposit.
  4. Financials > Search Records > filter by the campaign > Export Report to Excel.

On screenGoal progress on the campaign row and the dashboard, and a spreadsheet for the group's books with every gift tied to the drive.

Second organizer joins in month three

The list is past a thousand contacts and one person can no longer do the follow-up alone. The new organizer starts on the first of the month.

  1. Settings > Users > add a user with a role; the second seat is another $40 a month on the same plan.
  2. Lists > Create List > Smart List with the rules Tags contains volunteer AND Tags contains the tag you gave people who came to the last meeting.
  3. Communication > Email > Sequences > a welcome email, then a second step that sends only to people who opened the first.

On screenThe sequence sits waiting on each contact's open, the smart list picks up new people as tags are added, and both seats see the same records.

What a one-seat operation gets

Contact Management

Unlimited contacts on one seat, with tags, notes, employer, and occupation on each record.

Smart Segmentation

Smart lists over tags, city, state, zip, and giving fields, with AND/OR rules that update as records change.

Email Marketing

Email campaigns and drip sequences from a block designer with merge tags; SMS to the same list once you have a number.

FundraiserMax Communications screen with Email and SMS tabs, Campaigns, Templates, Unsubscribes, Settings, and Domain Authentication, and Sent, Opened, and Clicked columns
The Communications screen, where the campaign and the SMS both start.

Event Management

A public RSVP page you share by link, with a capacity, email-verified RSVPs, guest counts, and check-in at the door.

Analytics & Reports

CSV and Excel import with column mapping and dedupe, and an export back to Excel or PDF whenever you need one.

FundraiserMax Data Import screen at step 1 of 3 with Upload File, Map Columns, and Review & Import, and a campaign selector
The three-step import. The sign-up sheet goes in here.

Rules that shape the work

Two of them are about outreach, one is about money.

Bulk email under CAN-SPAM needs a working unsubscribe, a real sender address, and a postal address in the message.
In the productTemplates carry an unsubscribe-link merge tag for the footer, unsubscribed addresses are skipped on later campaigns, and Domain Authentication under Communication > Email sets up your sending domain.
Not in the productThere's no list to buy and no scraper. You import the people who signed up with you.
The TCPA restricts calls and texts to residential numbers outside 8am to 9pm local time, and marketing texts need prior consent.
In the productSMS and the dialer run from a provisioned number, dialing sessions are blocked outside that window in your account time zone, and a STOP reply blocks later texts to that number.
Not in the productNo consent-capture form. Record consent as a tag or a note when you collect it.
If the group raises money for a candidate or a ballot measure, contribution reporting rules can apply from the first dollar in many states, and federal committees itemize once a donor passes $200 for the cycle (52 U.S.C. 30104).
In the productEmployer, occupation, and address on the donor record, every gift tied to that record, and an Excel export from Financials for whoever files.
Not in the productIt won't produce a filing or tell you when a donor is near a limit.

What isn't here

  • No voter file, canvass, or petition tool.
  • No online donation page; use WinRed, Anedot, or ActBlue and import, or enter gifts by hand.
  • No peer-to-peer texting; SMS goes from your number to a list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a cheaper plan for a tiny group?

There's one plan: $40 per user per month or $425 per user per year, unlimited contacts, no feature tiers. A group with one organizer pays for one seat and gets the same product as a fifty-seat operation. When a second person needs a login, add a user under Settings and the bill goes up by one seat.

Can I share the RSVP page without giving people an account?

Yes. Each event gets a public page at its own link. Someone opens it, enters an email, confirms the verification message, and picks a guest count. The RSVP lands on the event as an attendee record, and check-in happens from the same event on the day.

How do I get my spreadsheet in?

Data > Data Import takes a CSV, XLS, or XLSX up to 10MB. Upload the file, map its columns to contact fields, review, and import. Duplicates it spots show up under Data > Dedupes for you to confirm before anything is merged, and every merge is logged so it can be undone. Import History keeps a row per file with the counts.

Can I text my list?

With a provisioned number at $10 per month, no per-message charge. Communication > SMS sends a campaign to any list, STOP replies are honored, and the same number runs the dialer under Calls & Meetings inside the 8am to 9pm window. The trial can't buy a number, so texting starts once the paid plan does on day 8.

What can I do during the trial?

Import contacts, build smart lists, set up campaigns and events, post the RSVP page, and log calls, for 7 days with no charge until day 8. Sending marketing email, buying a number, and running email validation wait for the paid plan. A card is collected at checkout.

Other organizations

Start with the sign-up sheet.

Import it, tag the volunteers, post the RSVP page, and send the first email from one seat.$40 per user per month, 7-day free trial, no charge until day 8.

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