NPOAuthority

NPOAuthority is prospect research and wealth-screening software for smaller nonprofits, especially small 501(c)(3) organizations. It suits teams that need shared access to donor research and have a defined screening volume. Its unlimited seats and searches are appealing, but annual contracts and record-based screening tiers call for careful sizing.

Overview

NPOAuthority combines donor profiles, prospect research and screening. Profiles can include giving patterns, philanthropic interests, net worth, real estate, charitable contributions and business affiliations. Predictive modeling and analytics are intended to help identify promising prospects and target fundraising campaigns; prospect scores can inform prioritization, not replace a nonprofit’s judgment about donor relationships.

The service partners with DonorSearch for online prospect research. Users can open full profiles with one click, edit the information they want to emphasize and adjust a quality score for each data item. That flexibility gives teams a way to apply their own judgment to profile data rather than treating every field as equally reliable.

Key features

Research and screening: Annual plans include unlimited use of the online research tool and batch wealth and philanthropy screening for donor capacity and inclination. Uploading an Excel file makes batch screening relevant to organizations working from existing donor lists, while unlimited one-off searches support ongoing individual prospect research.

Donor and institutional data: Profiles draw on wealth, philanthropic and political information, including federal and state data such as Federal Election Commission information. A growing foundation database covers funder details and supported causes, adding a grant-seeking use alongside donor prospecting.

Mobile access and privacy: Searches can be performed on a mobile device. Application data supplied by a user is accessible only to the organization that provided it and is not shared with other organizations.

Training and delivery: Plans include unlimited training, and NPOAuthority offers free training and reference manuals. Batch screening results are delivered securely online.

Pricing

NPOAuthority has no free plan. Its pricing is built around annual contracts, with a 30-day trial. All listed tiers include unlimited one-off searches, unlimited seats, unlimited training, the full online tool and SEO services. That seat policy is useful for organizations involving several staff in research; the annual commitment is less suitable for a group that needs only occasional access.

Annual Contract: $1,695 a year. Includes the full online tool and unlimited searches, seats and training, but no stated batch screening record allowance or donor retention software. It fits teams focused on online research rather than a defined batch-screening allocation.

Annual Contract — 1,000 records: $1,795 a year, including 1,000 records of wealth screening and donor retention software. This is the entry screening tier for organizations with a modest list.

Annual Contract — 2,500 records: $1,995 a year. It adds capacity over the 1,000-record tier for a $200 increase, while keeping the same core inclusions.

Annual Contract — 3,000 records: $2,100 a year. The additional 500 records over the previous tier cost $105 more, a closer fit when 2,500 records would be too restrictive.

Annual Contract — 5,000 records: $2,500 a year. It gives larger donor lists more screening headroom without changing the unlimited search and seat terms.

Annual Contract — 10,000 records: $3,499 a year. This is the largest stated batch allowance, for organizations with substantial screening needs.

The record tiers add wealth-screening capacity and donor retention software; the base annual contract does not state either inclusion. Choose by likely batch volume rather than staff count, since every listed plan has unlimited seats. The prices are annual contract prices, so the lower entry cost of the non-screening tier does not remove the annual commitment.

Platforms

NPOAuthority runs on Android, iOS and the web. Mobile searches extend access beyond desktop use, while the web tool supports profile research and batch screening.

Who it's for

This is a practical candidate for small 501(c)(3) nonprofits that want wealth and affinity screening, prospect scoring, CRM integration and research access for multiple staff. Its combination of individual searches and batch screening can serve teams that need both day-to-day prospect research and periodic list review.

It is a weaker fit for organizations without recurring research needs, those that cannot justify an annual contract, or teams whose screening list does not align with the stated record tiers. A free-plan alternative may be more appropriate for a nonprofit that wants to begin with a small amount of enrichment before committing to an annual service.

Pros and cons

Pros: Unlimited seats and one-off searches mean growth in staff access or individual lookups does not hit a stated per-seat or search cap.

Pros: Editable profiles and item-level quality scores let staff tailor profile views and assess the data they use.

Pros: Excel batch screening, mobile searches, foundation data and political data cover several research tasks beyond basic donor lookup.

Cons: There is no free plan, and the listed plans are annual contracts, making the service a substantial commitment for occasional users.

Cons: Batch wealth screening is allocated by record tier; the base Annual Contract does not state a record allowance or donor retention software.

Alternatives

Nonprofit Donor Prospecting Software is a useful starting point for comparing this category. Choose Hatch instead if a free plan matters: it offers 50 enrichment profiles, five QuickSearch uses in the first month and one seat, though those caps are much narrower than NPOAuthority’s unlimited seats and searches.

Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is an alternative with custom quote pricing based on organizational needs; implementation, training and ongoing support may be included. Consider CharityCAN if a one-time donor-screening price is a better fit than an annual contract: its Donor Screening base price is 1500.00 USD for less than 5,000 records, with additional household demographic variables priced separately.

Gratona Donor Intelligence offers a monthly Launch plan at $750 a month, billed annually at $9,000/year, with 1,000 AI credits per month and one primary workflow. Orbit is another paid alternative with a free trial.

DonorAtlas offers an Enterprise plan with unlimited searches and donor profile views, plus enterprise support, SSO and SCIM. EverTrue is an alternative for alumni relations, with product pricing available by demo quote. Insightful Philanthropy bases subscription pricing on contribution level and team size rather than user seats or record counts.

Verdict

Choose NPOAuthority if a small nonprofit needs donor research, screening and profile tools shared across staff, and can match an annual contract to its expected screening volume. Unlimited searches and seats are the clearest reasons to choose it; the annual commitment and record-tier structure are the reasons to compare alternatives first.