The best donor management software for animal rescues is PawPlacer. It is free for every rescue and shelter, and it includes donor records with giving history, campaigns with goals, recurring monthly or yearly gifts through Stripe, tax receipts, year-end giving statements, reconciliation tools and a public wishlist.
Fundraising keeps rescues running, but donor data often lives apart from everything else. Gifts sit in a payment account, receipts are written by hand, and the volunteer who also gives monthly and adopted last spring shows up as three different people in three different places.
This guide from the PawPlacer team covers what donor management software should do for a rescue and how PawPlacer handles it at no cost.
At a Glance
- The answer: PawPlacer, free donor management for rescues and shelters.
- Donors: records with giving history, linked to adopter, foster and volunteer roles.
- Giving: campaigns with goals and recurring gifts through Stripe.
- Receipts: tax receipts and year-end giving statements.
- Wishlist: funding and physical-item pledges on your public profile.
- Cost: $0. PawPlacer takes no cut of donations; Stripe or Square charge their standard fees.
What Rescue Donor Software Should Do
Donor tools should make giving easy and stewardship simple:
- One record per supporter, across every role they play.
- Campaigns with goals and progress.
- Recurring giving that runs on its own.
- Receipts without manual work.
- Reconciliation that matches gifts to records.
1. Donor Records With Giving History
Every donor in PawPlacer has a record with their full giving history. Because PawPlacer links records for people who hold more than one role, a donor who also adopts, fosters or volunteers appears as one person.
2. Campaigns With Goals
Campaigns track progress toward a goal, such as a medical fund for a specific animal or a building project. Campaigns can appear on your public profile, and Zeffy campaign sync is available for rescues that use Zeffy.
3. Recurring Monthly or Yearly Gifts
Donors can give monthly or yearly through Stripe. Recurring gifts are tracked automatically on the donor's record.
4. Tax Receipts and Year-End Statements
PawPlacer generates tax receipts and year-end giving statements, so donors have what they need at tax time without a volunteer writing them by hand.
5. Reconciliation Tools
Reconciliation tools help match payments to donor records, and manual gifts by cash, check, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App or Zelle can be recorded alongside online donations.
6. A Public Wishlist
PawPlacer's public wishlist lets supporters pledge funding or physical items, such as food, crates and blankets. The wishlist appears on your public profile.
7. Donations at Adoption
QR adoption checkout includes an optional donation step, so adopters can give at the moment they are most connected to your mission.
8. Donor Forms on Your Website
A donor form widget embeds on your website, and submissions flow into PawPlacer. Financial dashboards and custom reports export to CSV or Excel for board and grant reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PawPlacer take a percentage of donations?
No. PawPlacer takes no cut of donations. Stripe or Square charge their own standard processing fees on online payments.
Can donors set up monthly gifts?
Yes. Recurring monthly or yearly gifts run through Stripe.
Is donor management an add-on?
No. Donor management is included with every other PawPlacer feature at no cost.
Get Started With PawPlacer
PawPlacer gives rescues free donor management connected to every other part of the organization, from adoptions to volunteers. Campaigns, recurring gifts, receipts and the wishlist all live in one place.
Create your free PawPlacer account today.