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Supported Operating System(s):
Mac OS, Web browser (OS agnostic), Windows 10About CommunitySuite
CommunitySuite is a cloud-based non-profit management solution designed for small and midsize companies. Key features include fund accounting, a donor portal, online donation management, scholarship management and event management.
Accounting tools allow users to track assets, liabilities and accounts payable and receivable. The product also allows users to create and manage donor records, fund statements and grants. The online donation management module provides users with an online payment portal for fundraising activities. Users can also create ad hoc donor pages to support emergency fundraising.
The grant management module lets users design forms and workflows, manage reviews, send notifications and send transactions to the accounting system. It a...
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Supported Operating System(s):
Mac OS, Web browser (OS agnostic), Windows 10Average User Ratings
Overall
Ease-of-use
4.5
Value for money
4.5
Customer support
4.5
Functionality
4.5
Likelihood to Recommend
Not likely
Very likely
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April 2019
Anonymous
Company Size: 2-10 employees
Time Used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
5.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
April 2019
A unified system that delights both internal and external users
Overall, a great experience. The team at Foundant is very responsive and the software is easy to use.
Pros
Unified solution, clean & simple interface, the dev team is very open to suggestions and using IdeaLab, users can submit and vote on desired features/functionality. Tech support and service is phenomenal. Going from a non-unified system to a unified system has been like night and day. Being able to offer our Fund Advisors an online portal where they have 24x7 access in a clean site has been a long-awaited feature for us.
Cons
That we didn't have it implemented sooner. It has saved so much staff time.
Response from Foundant Technologies
Replied April 2019
Thank you for your review! This will be greatly beneficial to others who are exploring community foundation solutions .
February 2020
Aaron from Permian Basin Area Foundation
Company Size: 11-50 employees
Industry: Non-Profit Organization Management
Time Used: Less than 6 months
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
5.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
4.0
February 2020
Finally, A Modern Software Solution Catering Specifically to Community Foundation Needs!
We have what I would call "a beautiful relationship". Not only do we know our team at Foundant, we like them and enjoy hanging out with them. They are constantly seeking ways to improve their product and provide the best customer experience possible. They do that by seeking to better understand the way we function and anticipating industry trends. Additionally, they have made allowances for direct buy-in/investment from a number of community foundations, thus insuring that the company and the company's interests will remain true to community foundations for years to come. No other software provider in our field has taken that step so far as I am aware of.
Pros
There are three things I like most about this software: 1) It is designed specifically for use by community foundations - they get "it"! 2) The customer service. Second to none. Responsive. Knowledgeable. Experienced. Resourceful. Caring. Oh, and they are a heckuva a lot of fun, too! 3) Migration. Rarely is the term "easy" used in close quarters with discussions of transitioning from one core software package to another. However, the good folks at Foundant specialize in this process. In fact, it may be the only company out there that has customers who consistently use the term "flawless" when describing their data migration (at least from FIMS to C-Suite). Basically, Foundant has built itself upon the idea that community foundations are their niche market. Make that "only market". Community foundations (CF's) are their only customers. What's more, a large portion of their staff have past personal work experience either with CF's or with the former industry-specific software, FIMS, from which the majority of community foundations have or are in-process of migrating from.
Cons
There is no perfect solution (yet) for community foundations. While Foundant comes fairly close by providing a ready-made solution, it is not as customizable as our particular organization would prefer. While it appears to be able to handle all of our required needs, we will be employing a few work-arounds and changes to our processes to make it fit those needs. Ideally, a software solution would allow the client to change the program to suit its workflow. Not exactly so with C-Suite. That said, it is a HUGE improvement in terms of integration and report generation over FIMS. It also increases functionality at least 10 fold. Not looking to purchase an additional CRM solution (cough...Salesforce...Raisers Edge...cough)? C-Suite is still a huge upgrade over FIMS.
Reasons for Choosing CommunitySuite
Our pre-requisites included accommodation for all of our essential accounting functions. But, following that, customer service and price.
Reasons for Switching to CommunitySuite
FIMS no longer fits the growing needs of our community foundation. However, the customer service is virtually non-existent (thank you, Blackbaud). Additionally, our donor portal software provider is closing its doors mid-2020.
Response from Foundant Technologies
Replied February 2020
Aaron, thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Your feedback is so helpful for others looking to understand our company and for us to continue improving our processes. As always, please let us know if we can help in any other way.
July 2018
Hank from Los Altos Community Foundation
Company Size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Non-Profit Organization Management
Time Used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
2.0
Value for money
2.0
Customer support
2.0
Functionality
2.0
July 2018
It's a frustrating system that is missing so much compared to other options.
Pros
It is cloud-based. Unlimited Users. The accounting system seems to work, though I am not an accountant so who knows.
Cons
Donation pages are not customizable or user-friendly. There is no way to track the source of donations (even though the description says donation tracking). If you want to track ROI on your website, ads or communications, you can't. There's no integration with ANY other software(other than Stripe). They do not verify users by email address, so you constantly have to be on top of duplicate accounts from donations. The ticketing system is barebones and difficult to set up. There's no custom reporting.
February 2019
Debbie from Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley
Company Size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Philanthropy
Time Used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
5.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
February 2019
CommunitySuite provides platform to grow our foundation
CommunitySuite allowed our Community Foundation to fully automate our operations relatively early in our growth as a Community Foundation with very limited resources. It set the stage for the rapid growth that we've experienced and was definitely worth the investment.
Pros
CommunitySuite provides an integrated platform to run our Community Foundation at a price that is affordable for even a very small Community Foundation. The support and training provided through the implementation process made it possible to implement the software with very limited staff. Once implemented, the simplified fund accounting process made it possible to offer more options to our donors, including the introduction of non-endowed funds and multiple investment portfolios. These increased options have helped us to more than double the size of our foundation in less than two years. We could not have accomplished what we have without CommunitySuite.
Cons
The campaign process is my least favorite part of the software. While it is nice to have an integrated system to manage events, mailing lists, etc., those who are accustomed to using dedicated event management systems may find the features somewhat limited. It works fine, just without a lot of bells and whistles. Since we generally don't need bells and whistles, and we appreciate the integrated aspects of campaigns, we happily use the features provided. It is simply an area that has room for improvement.
Response from Foundant Technologies
Replied March 2019
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about CommunitySuite, Debbie! We appreciate your feedback and thorough review that will help other community foundations researching solutions to support their organization.
February 2019
Marcus from Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin
Company Size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Non-Profit Organization Management
Time Used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
5.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
February 2019
Outstanding Software Solution
Great experience from the beginning and have made many personal connections with many of your employees.
Pros
Ease of use, continued updates, and great customer service.
Cons
Due to business growth on your end and staff changes on our end there have been a few times that has caused some stresses but everyone continues to be helpful.
Response from Foundant Technologies
Replied March 2019
Thank you Marcus, for taking the time to provide your review and feedback!
April 2020
Eliese from CFFC
Company Size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Philanthropy
Time Used: Less than 6 months
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
5.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
April 2020
Community Suite is an amazing solution
Our reporting, which is vital for an organization like ours, is so much easier. Training was spectacular. They CSM folks continue to be super helpful.
Pros
This software consolidates everything a foundation needs to function fully and efficiently. Our staff is thrilled with it.
Cons
Some of the task descriptions are a little confusing. But otherwise, it's been easy to navigate through and to search for things. Creating merge templates for automated tasks has been challenging.
Reasons for Choosing CommunitySuite
More robust financial integration
Reasons for Switching to CommunitySuite
FIMS had a high cost with much less functionality.
Response from Foundant Technologies
Replied April 2020
Eliese, thank you for taking to time to give CommunitySuite a review! This helps other community foundations find the right solution. Thanks!