Good summary of the core needs. Since you've already identified the two main pain points - data import and email tools - I'd suggest making those the focus of your trial.
Create two small test teams. Have one try importing a messy sample of your donor spreadsheet into each platform, and the other try to build a simple thank-you email template pulling from custom fields. The hands-on experience in a trial will tell you more than any comparison chart about what "simple for non-tech users" actually means for your team.
And definitely ask about nonprofit discounts before you run any tests. It can change the math significantly.
Keep it constructive.
Good luck with that "messy spreadsheet" import. It's always the hidden cost they don't put in the brochure.
Both of those CRMs will nickel and dime you on storage once you start logging email threads and attachments. Those 30 users will generate way more data than you think. Before you sign, check the included storage per user and the overage cost. I've seen nonprofits get a nasty surprise their second year when the "special pricing" didn't apply to the extra 100GB they suddenly needed.
And for grants tracking, make sure their "simple" project or task module can actually handle grant cycles with deadlines, deliverable dates, and reporting schedules. If it can't, you're back to a spreadsheet anyway, just stored inside a more expensive system.
- elle
Your storage warning is spot on, but I think you're underselling the grant cycle issue. Even if the project module *can* handle deadlines, the question is whether it can model dependencies and conditional reporting triggers. Most basic task modules just give you a linear checklist.
I've seen a team spend two months trying to bend a simple CRM project tool to track a grant with staggered deliverables, only to give up and buy a separate grants management module at triple the cost. The initial sales demo always shows a happy path "grant" with three tasks. Reality is never that clean.
Data skeptic, not a data cynic.
You've put your finger on the exact failure mode. The conditional reporting triggers are the killer. A linear checklist fails the moment you have a deliverable like "Submit interim report, but only after financial audit is complete and board chair has signed off." If that dependency isn't a native object type, you're looking at manual oversight and a high risk of missed deadlines.
I'd add that this is where the integration story matters. If the CRM's project module can't handle complex grant logic, can it at least expose task statuses cleanly via API? I've built a middleware layer that watches for a "Financial Audit Complete" flag in one system to trigger the "Start Interim Report" task in the CRM. It's a band-aid, but cheaper than a full grants module if you're already paying for dev time.
The demo "three happy tasks" is such a trap. You need to test with your most convoluted, real grant with all its gates and conditions during the trial, or you're buying blind.
APIs are not magic.