Engaging Networks is one of the most… Engaging Networks is one of the most powerful CRM's out there, but it does require some set up and training. The company as a whole is just different, it's filled with people who care about supporting non-profits and is still solely owned by the founder which means the company can stay true to its principles. The product is constantly evolving to add new functionality and quality of life improvements. And the online academy and support team are a great resource to help you get your feet under you and support you as you go. And because it's such a large community you can easily connect with other organizations and agencies using the platform to learn about best practices, share ideas, and pick up tips and tricks.

There are some things that Engaging… There are some things that Engaging Networks does well - their tools are robust and, once set up correctly, you can achieve really impressive things. Testing is built in and you can personalise and chain together different parts of the tool (email, donations and advocacy) to create a really smooth, seamless user experience. That said, I have used EN for years in a few different roles, and even I can't deny there's a steep learning curve. While support is friendly and responsive, it feels as though there's a whole language you need to understand in order to understand the tools correctly (for instance, there's a difference between a question and a field, and opt ins are shown separately in some interfaces but in others they're simply a type of question – that's a lot of cognitive load!) Reporting is fairly limited and the data export function is rigid at best (I remain perplexed to this day that you can't simply export all entries to one data capture form straightforwardly). A Zapier integration would be gamechanging, but having suggested this in a previous role, I was told this wasn't on the list (though I'm not sure if this has changed!) The UX of the backend has improved a lot over recent years, but having tried to upskill colleagues, there's still a lot of trial and error involved in mastering it. I think perhaps this is down to the tool trying to do too many things at once. Overall, the unique features of EN and those features' application to your non-profit's requirements remain compelling. But prepare for a lot of learning and time after set up learning the intracices of the interface and architecture. Try Engaging Networks and you'll be impressed by some of what it does, but some of the painpoints are real – though not necessarily dealbreakers – and that means that you end up with an average experience overall.

there are some things that EN does… there are some things that EN does really really well --- but the reporting, despite how easy it looks to put together, does not have the functionality that is necessary

Engaging Networks ROCKS Engaging Networks has the premier online and email platform right now for nonprofits. I love everything about it and sing its praises often with our clients.

Ideal for charity sector It's a great tool for Email to target campaigns