Political campaigns move fast. They also generate enormous amounts of important data, like contact lists, donor details, event venue details and outreach results.
It can be challenging to stay organized when campaign teams spread the information across Excel spreadsheets, inboxes, Google Docs and other disconnected tools. They end up missing follow-ups, leaving volunteers out of key communications and potentially hurting relationships with donors.
CRM software can help campaign managers and operatives keep everything organized in a centralized system.
In this article, we’ll discuss how a CRM for political campaigns can be of enormous help to those running them. We’ll also look at the best CRM for political campaigns and how to choose the right one for your team.
Key takeaways about a CRM for political campaigns:
Political CRM software centralizes essential data so campaign teams stay organized and aligned, even as campaigns grow.
Automation reduces manual work, improves donor nurturing and allows teams to scale campaigns without sacrificing quality.
Segmentation and customizable pipelines help campaigns create targeted messaging that resonates with supporters.
See how Pipedrive can help you run highly effective political campaigns by signing up for a free 14-day trial.
How does a CRM for political campaigns work?
At its heart, a customer relationship management (CRM) system is a tool for managing relationships.
In politics, those relationships include:
Voters
Donors
Volunteers
Endorsers
Staff
Partners
Community leaders
A CRM centralizes all the information related to those relationships. Rather than juggling multiple tools, you can use your CRM to track voter engagement, donation details, volunteer names and outreach activity in one place.
To more effectively reach voters, you can segment the data by district, issue interest, donor behavior and many other criteria. You can also create workflow automations for activities like donor follow-ups and event reminders.
Why campaigns need a CRM
Political campaigns need a CRM to ensure data is always up to date and trustworthy.
Every campaign uses some system to operate, often one comprised of multiple tools. For example, teams may put donor contact information into a spreadsheet. They use an email marketing platform to send outreach messages. They manage volunteers through a shared document.
Juggling information between tools can work for a time, but then records start to get out of sync and duplicate data results in the same tasks being done multiple times.
Key stakeholders can’t trust the reporting data, which makes it difficult for them to make informed decisions.
Using CRM political campaign software enables you to operate from a single source of truth. All team members use the same data and voter information remains correct and up to date.
As elections approach and campaign activity accelerates, a central database becomes even more essential.
A CRM allows you to:
Centralize voter, donor and volunteer data into a single system
Reduce repetitive manual work so you can focus on high-impact tasks
Eliminate duplicate and outdated data
Send automated messages and reminders at key moments
Segment voter data for better targeting
Automatically assign tasks to staff members or volunteers
Make key decisions based on up-to-date voter, fundraising and outreach data
Scale campaigns as election day approaches
These capabilities give campaigns the structure and visibility they need to operate at a high level, even as activity increases.
The best 8 CRMs for political campaigns
Below are eight CRMs for managing the various aspects of political campaigns.
We selected these CRMs because they’re widely used in political activity, cover different campaign sizes (local to national) and work for a range of budgets.
1. Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a robust, intuitive CRM system that helps your team reduce admin work and scale outreach without requiring extensive setup or technical knowledge.
Pipedrive’s customizable dashboards make it easy to manage donor relationships, track volunteer onboarding, oversee endorsement efforts, coordinate events and manage internal operations.
The visual pipelines give you a real-time view of where every campaign task stands, allowing you to quickly identify any bottlenecks.
Workflow automations allow you to trigger follow-up emails, assign tasks, move contacts between stages or notify staff when high-value supporters engage.
Best for: Local to national campaigns that want flexibility, fast onboarding and strong automation without enterprise-level complexity.
Key features include:
Real-time visual dashboards that provide in-depth insights into operations
Powerful workflows to automate follow-ups with new donors, assign volunteers, move contacts between pipelines, trigger alerts when high-priority supporters engage and more
Custom fields for vital segmentation data like district, donor status and volunteer role
Built-in email templates that can be used to quickly create new outreach, follow-up and thank-you email sequences
Mobile app for fast access to voter information, data entry, task management, donor communication and more
Hundreds of integrations with popular tools like Asana, Calendly, Trello and Google Apps
Pricing: Starts at $14 per month with a free 14-day trial
2. NGP VAN
NGP VAN is a CRM used by Democratic and progressive political organizations for volunteer canvassing, phone banking, fundraising, compliance and donor engagement.
NGP VAN helps campaign teams coordinate voter contact efforts, manage donations and stay in compliance with state and national laws. The platform also enables teams to organize events, track grassroots supporter interactions and maintain data accuracy.
Built-in compliance features ensure accurate filings at local, state and federal levels, with accompanying audit trails. Tools like Call Time Mobile and mobile messaging make it possible to collect data on the ground, log conversations and update records even when offline.
Best for: Progressive or Democratic campaigns needing compliance tools, volunteer management and a variety of outreach tools.
Key features include:
Voter file segmentation by factors like geography, demographics and voting history.
Outreach tools for door-to-door canvassing, field data entry and real-time syncing of field responses
Fundraising management for tracking donor history, ongoing communications and donation sources
One-click actions that allow supporters to sign petitions or make donations
Multi-channel outreach including phone, email, SMS and social media
Pricing: Starts at $45 per month
3. NationBuilder
NationBuilder is a website, database and political fundraising CRM that helps political campaigns connect with their communities and scale their outreach.
It combines supporter tracking and digital fundraising into an all-in-one online engagement system. Campaign teams can identify key supporters, convert them into donors, accept and manage online donations and enable peer-to-peer outreach.
NationBuilder also includes built-in website tools that allow campaigns to launch mobile-responsive sites for things like event promotion and volunteer recruiting. Its email outreach functions allow teams to create and A/B test campaigns for maximum engagement.
Best for: Campaign teams that want an all-in-one digital engagement platform with website-building functionality.
Key features include:
Mobile-responsive website builder for campaign pages, events, volunteer recruitment and supporter signups
Supporter database with dynamic profiles that update with every interaction
Built-in email tools with audience segmentation and A/B testing for targeted messaging
Online fundraising with built-in payment processing
Peer-to-peer outreach tools that allow supporters to mobilize their own networks
Pricing: Available on request with a free trial
4. Ecanvasser
Ecanvasser is a field-focused canvassing and community organizing platform built to help political campaigns plan, manage and scale their ground operations.
With Ecanvasser, campaigns can map supporter data and generate targeted outreach lists. Its Walk and Go mobile apps support offline data capture, allowing organizers to gather responses anywhere.
Ecanvasser also provides tools for message coordination, event management, volunteer scheduling and customizable surveys, allowing campaigns to track sentiment and engagement.
Best for: Teams that prioritize door-to-door outreach and need strong field data collection and territory management tools.
Key features include:
Centralized canvassing dashboard with real-time analytics and visual reporting
Color-coded territory mapping for cutting territory and creating outreach lists
Built-in surveys for capturing voter sentiment and feedback
Event management tools for scheduling field activity, organizing volunteer shifts and event promotion
Built-in help desk for one-to-one community follow-up coordination
Pricing: Starts at $83 per month with a free trial
5. Action Network
Action Network is a CRM for political campaigns designed to help teams mobilize supporters and drive action online.
It’s used to drive petitions, fundraising, email outreach and supporter engagement.
The platform allows teams to engage supporters through email, SMS and keyword-based text actions.
Reporting and filtering tools make it possible to track engagement and outreach activity over time. Internationalization features support multi-language and global organizing.
Teams also have the ability to see the last 100 individuals who have taken action on a specific issue, reducing the need to download reports.
Best for: Political campaigns focused on online organizing, petitions and activist-driven engagement.
Key features include:
Email and mobile messaging with timezone-based scheduling for better engagement
Keyword-to-text actions that allow activists to easily and quickly respond to calls for support
Advanced activity filtering for targeted outreach and analysis
Localization support to translate outreach messages and responses into supported languages
Event management tools for easily creating both online and in-person events
Pricing: Starts at $15 per month
6. Trail Blazer Political Campaign Manager
Trail Blazer Political Campaign Manager is an all-in-one campaign management CRM designed to support campaigns of every size.
Built over more than 20 years, it offers a suite of tools to help campaigns manage daily operations in one system.
Campaign teams can manage voter records, track donor activity, send mass emails, take online donations and oversee volunteer sign-ups.
Trail Blazer also supports turf cutting and mobile canvassing, allowing field teams to log interactions and update data in real time.
Additional tools like lawn sign tracking and event ticketing help campaigns streamline logistics and fundraising activities.
Best for: Campaigns seeking a CRM that has a long track record and offers a large set of management tools.
Key features include:
Unlimited email outreach to connect with voters and drive support
Text-to-give donation processing to simplify fundraising
Voter record access to improve targeting and outreach
Event management for selling tickets, taking registrations and organizing online and in-person events
Website form integrations for donations, email sign-ups and volunteer recruitment
Pricing: Starts at $100 per month with a free trial
7. Aristotle
Aristotle Campaign Manager is a campaign software platform built specifically to handle fundraising, compliance and accounting in one unified system.
It was designed by political campaign veterans and provides robust visibility into donor activity.
Using Aristotle, teams can track donor history, manage contributions and monitor campaign finances. They can also run compliance checks required for federal and state reporting.
Additionally, the platform provides advanced donor insights to help identify giving potential and tailor outreach efforts.
Detailed reporting tools and dynamic donor profiles allow teams to stay informed about vital financial metrics without separate databases or external compliance tools.
Best for: Large campaigns needing an enterprise-grade CRM focused on fundraising, accounting and compliance.
Key features include:
Enhanced dashboards providing insights needed to make important financial decisions
Dynamic donor profiles to track giving history and send timely communications
Donor insights for supporter research and to identify untapped giving potential
Data management tools that create single-click financial reports
Automated compliance checking to catch potential reporting mistakes
Pricing: Starts at $250 per month with a free trial
8. EveryAction
EveryAction (part of Bonterra) is a fundraising and CRM designed to strengthen donor relationships and increase supporter engagement. The software allows teams to raise funds and track donor activity within a single system.
Campaigns wanting to expand new donor acquisition can use integrated outreach channels, including email, SMS messaging, social media and phone. Supporters can be segmented and targeted campaigns can be directed at the various segments.
The built-in AI makes strategic recommendations based on donor data, past campaign performance and campaign best practices.
Best for: Campaigns that need a robust donor-focused CRM with strong fundraising, reporting and donor acquisition tools.
Key features include:
Multi-channel acquisition tools for online and offline fundraising
Automated workflows to reduce manual work while also nurturing donor relationships
Customizable reporting to provide campaign insights and maximize donations
Easy form creation to create mobile-optimized donation pages
Real-time behavioral scoring to uncover high-value prospects and hidden donors
Pricing: Custom pricing based on organization size and needs
Key features to look for in a political CRM
You need a CRM with features that align with how your campaign functions.
Here are the most important features to consider.
Voter and constituent tracking
Campaigns can’t track individual voting behavior, but they can track things like registration status, district data, contact history and issue interests.
Customer tracking features allow you to perform effective voter outreach and create tailored messaging without violating any compliance laws.
A CRM for political campaigns should make it easy to segment voters, update records in real time and maintain accurate data across all channels.
Donor and fundraising management
Because fundraising is relationship-driven, you need a CRM that strengthens your ability to engage with supporters.
A CRM should provide detailed donation history and allow segmentation by giving behavior. It should also allow you to automate thank-you messages and schedule meetings with major donors.
Volunteer coordination
To effectively execute your campaign, you need to be able to consistently engage with your volunteers.
A strong CRM will allow you to manage signups, availability, assignments and participation tracking. It should also enable your team to send automated activity reminder emails to improve turnout.
Outreach automation
Manual outreach limits your ability to connect with potential supporters, but built-in automations can significantly reduce this manual effort.
Emails, texts, reminders and internal notifications can be automatically sent based on supporter behavior.
Cutting down on admin work allows your team to spend more time focusing on high-impact activities while still nurturing relationships.
Turn Maybe Into Yes With These Killer Follow Up Email Templates
Reporting, dashboards and analytics
To understand what is working and what must be changed, you need visibility into your campaign performance.
Pipeline analysis dashboards should quickly highlight important metrics like fundraising progress, outreach completion, volunteer participation and engagement trends in real time. Reports and analytics should help you understand
Mobile access
Mobile usability is non-negotiable for ground operations as field teams depend on mobile tools for data entry, walk lists, updates and communication.
Look for a CRM with a strong mobile app that’s easy to use on phones and tablets.
Ease of use and fast onboarding
A CRM with a steep learning curve will hamper your team’s effectiveness.
Between limited staff skills and regular volunteer turnover, you need a platform that’s easy to use and fast to implement. The quicker a person can learn to use the CRM, the sooner they’ll be able to contribute.
Real-world use cases and workflows
To help you envision how a CRM might help you better run a political campaign, here are three real-world examples.
1. Local campaign
A local city council campaign might rely on its CRM to organize voters by neighborhood, assign canvassing routes and log door-knocking results in real time.
The team sets up simple outreach pipelines with stages such as “Not contacted”, “Contacted”, “Supporter identified” and “Follow-up needed”.
When volunteers log door-knocking results through mobile tools, contacts automatically move between stages and trigger follow-ups.
For example, identified supporters are enrolled in an automated reminder sequence for early voting, while undecided voters are flagged for a second touch.
After outreach, results sync back to the CRM in real time, giving the campaign manager a clear view of progress.
2. State campaign
A state legislative campaign could use its CRM to manage the endorsement outreach process and coordinate multiple fundraising efforts.
It creates custom regional and donor fields, allowing teams to segment contacts by geography and fundraising potential.
The team can use multiple pipelines in parallel. One pipeline tracks donor relationships, while another manages endorsement outreach with stages for research, contact, meeting and decision.
Automations ensure consistent follow-up with supporters even as outreach volume increases. They’re also used to assign tasks to the appropriate regional or finance staff when contacts enter new stages and send reminders if follow-ups stall.
3. National campaign
A national congressional campaign with huge contact databases uses its CRM to coordinate digital outreach and in-field teams, all while maintaining strict compliance.
The team tags contacts by district, supporter type, issue interest and engagement score, allowing for highly granular segmentation.
Field and digital teams log interactions continuously. Leadership dashboards provide real-time insight into fundraising totals, outreach volume and supporter movement across stages.
Dedicated pipelines manage major donor relationships. When a supporter donates or engages with digital outreach, automations update their profile, assign follow-up tasks and route them into the appropriate pipeline.
Pipedrive in action: Nonprofit Wilderness International needed a way to bring structure to their processes and donor management in order to meet fundraising goals.
The organization turned to Pipedrive, implementing custom pipelines and workflow automations to ensure smooth operations. With clear insights into where leads were in the pipeline and time saved with automations, the team was able to focus on keeping the funnel filled, boosting donations by 30%.
How to choose the right CRM for your campaign
Selecting the right CRM is a strategic decision that determines the effectiveness of your campaign. Use the following steps to gain clarity into which one is best for your team.
1. Define campaign priorities
The CRM you choose should support your priorities, whether that’s donor management, multi-channel outreach, organizing volunteers or mobilizing field teams.
Aligning your CRM with your campaign needs allows your team to operate effectively from day one.
2. Map data flows
During your campaign, you will gather enormous amounts of campaign data, including voter records, donor interactions, event sign-ups, volunteer assignments and much more.
Map the flow of information from the point it’s collected to when it’s updated to when it’s used to generate reports.
This exercise allows you to see what workflows are required to prevent bottlenecks and keep things moving smoothly.
Armed with this information, you can choose a CRM that supports and even improves upon these workflows.
3. Identify data sources and integration requirements
To keep information from being siloed, your CRM must be able to integrate the various data sources your campaign relies upon.
Those sources might include:
Voter files
Donation processors
Email systems
SMS tools
Event platforms
Registration forms
Identifying necessary integrations up front ensures your CRM can handle all vital campaign operations.
4. Assess staff technical capacity
Look for a CRM that’s intuitive and allows for quick onboarding. You’ll spend significantly fewer resources on training and will be able to get your team up and running quickly.
Your campaign team will include full-time and part-time staff, as well as a constantly shifting group of volunteers. The technical abilities and experience of team members will vary widely, with some being much more tech-savvy than others.
5. Match budget and scalability to campaign growth
As election day approaches and outreach accelerates, your CRM must be able to support more users, data and activity without performance issues or cost spikes.
When choosing a CRM, carefully evaluate:
Pricing tiers
Automation limits
User seats
Data caps
Support availability
You want to ensure your CRM can grow without disruption
Getting the most out of your CRM with Pipedrive
Pipedrive can be set up to support all the core campaign workflows needed in a political CRM.
Pipedrive gives teams a suite of powerful yet user-friendly tools that can handle the complexities of any political campaign. It can be deployed quickly and customized for campaign workflows without requiring extensive setup.
While specialized platforms often lock teams into rigid workflows, Pipedrive adapts to how campaigns actually operate, whether that’s fundraising, volunteer coordination, endorsement outreach or event planning.
Here’s how you can use Pipedrive to manage your political campaign.
Start with clean contact records
Begin by using Pipedrive’s import features to import contact data from CSV and XLS files, a previous CRM or your contact provider (Google, Outlook, etc.).
Merge any duplicate records to avoid confusion and ensure you have clean data.
Create custom fields for things like district, donor status, volunteer level or engagement level.
You can use custom fields to segment your audience by elements unique to your campaign.
Create custom pipelines to manage campaign elements
With Pipedrive, you can create multiple custom pipelines for managing the various aspects of your political campaign.
Instead of thinking in terms of traditional sales campaigns, build pipelines for fundraising stages, volunteer onboarding, endorsement outreach and event planning.
The visual nature of the pipelines allows you to see exactly where key tasks stand and what must happen to move them to the next stage.
Integrate external tools and systems
From day one, you can connect Pipedrive to the tools you already use for communication, project management and digital engagement.
Integrations with platforms like JustCall, Zapier, Asana, Calendly and Google Sheets allow data to sync automatically across every channel.
By eliminating data siloes, you can maintain a clear picture of every supporter.
Build campaign workflow automations
Set up workflow automations to handle routine outreach such as donor thank-you emails, volunteer reminders, internal notifications and follow-up sequences.
To save time and reduce manual effort, use automation templates.
Automations also help ensure that tasks don’t slip through the cracks.
Set up multiple dashboards
Pipedrive dashboards provide instant visibility into campaign performance, including:
Fundraising totals
Volunteer participation
Outreach completion rates
Donor relationship management
Voter contact efforts
Create custom dashboards to provide essential insights into different campaign areas. Add multiple reports to each dashboard for a holistic view.
Segment contact lists for better targeting
With Pipedrive’s filtering tools, you can organize voters, donors and volunteers into meaningful segments.
You can then create campaigns tailored to the characteristics of each segment.
Personalized campaigns perform significantly better than generic ones.
Final thoughts
Political campaigns succeed when they’re organized, data-driven and strategically automated.
The right CRM gives teams the infrastructure and tools they need to run campaigns at a high level, even as those campaigns scale.
Pipedrive brings relationship management, automation, communication and reporting together in one intuitive platform. It allows teams to reach the right people with the right message at the right time.
Sign up for a free 14-day trial of Pipedrive and see how it can transform your campaign.
