15 Free Productivity Software Programs for Your Nonprofit

Would you like to accomplish more in a day, but you are not quite sure how?

Most of us wouldn’t mind feeling a little bit more accomplished, yet we may not have the time or resources to look into programs that could help. We think that a few technological upgrades might be worth a minute of our time, and quickly can add up to a more efficient workload and life.

To help you out, I have searched the far corners of the Web to bring you the top 15 free productivity software programs that have attractive price points and promise to lighten up the workload.

1. AbiWord 2.8.6
AbiWord is a simple word-processing program. It is most comparable to Microsoft Word circa 2003, so it is simple and straightforward, but does not have many bells and whistles.

2. Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2
If you are looking for something more than simply word processing, Apache might be for you. It is an office-suite program, meaning that there is word processing, spreadsheet, presentation software, database and other programs.

3. Asana
Asana is a task-management tool for an individual or for teams. You can create a task, assign it to a person and then track its progress. Asana is very customizable as each task can have subtasks, attachments, tags, discussions and followers. Free for up to 15 team members, there are paid options for larger groups.

4. Brewster
Brewster manages contacts like magic. This software pulls all of your contacts from email, social media, phone and more. It deletes duplicates and continuously keeps contacts updated. It also puts them all in a nifty spreadsheet with pictures. You can tag people for different reasons, which then makes them easier to filter.

5. Dia 0.97
Dia is a tool for making diagrams and flowcharts. If flowcharts are a big part of your activities, give Dia a try.

6. Doodle
Doodle schedules meetings. Instead of long and confusing email chains or phone calls back and forth, Doodle quickly organizes everyone on the same date and time. It is excellent for boosting work productivity, but it also could also in handy when scheduling that upcoming family reunion.

7. Dropbox
Dropbox is a free storage program, which makes it easy to share large files that might be too big, clunky and slow for email. Dropbox is popular, and most users find it familiar and easy to use, which makes collaboration with others very simple.

8. Evernote  
People who use Evernote really love it. It’s like a digital note-taker but you can record audio, take “Clippings” from the Web and add attachments. Even more, the “Web Clipper” feature integrates with Google, showing you past searches while conducting new searches, so you’re saving valuable time and brain cells.

9. Google Calendar
Google Calendar says it will “make the most of every day”—and it will! It is easy to use, sharable, and has tons of color-coding options and space for important details. It is great for managing professional and personal calendars together. Google Calendar also will send you reminders, via email or event text message to your phone.

10. Google Drive
While this also is Google-based, it is an excellent online collaborative platform. Google Drive offers a ton of free storage. It can be compared to Microsoft’s OneDrive, which is not free. You can download files or programs to one of your computers, and mark files or folders to sync to all of your computers or devices. One more bonus: If you’re using Google Chrome OS, you can access Google Drive documents when offline, which is great if you need to access info in areas of spotty Internet connection.

11. Hootsuite
Hootsuite was made for the micro-manager in all of us. Plan out your tweets, Facebook posts and even Instagram posts, and schedule them in advance. Pick the day and even the minute that you want your message to go out, and enter all of this information on one handy website.

12. Paint.NET 3.5.5
Paint.NET is an image-editing program that offers tons of tools to work with, as well as a clear and intuitive user interface. While it’s not as fancy as Photoshop, it comes with a much friendlier price tag—free.

13. Wunderlist
This is one example of a personal-productivity program. There are many out there simply to manage your to-do list, and there are many opinions about which one is best. Basically, most find Wunderlist helpful for sharing lists with co-workers or family members and re-arranging priorities.

14. Trello
Trello manages to-do lists, projects and teams. It can get a group on the same page fast. You and your team can create, drag and drop tasks on your virtual “board” whether you are in the same room or different countries.

15. Evernote Scannable App
If you want to go paperless, a “scannable” app is the way to go. And if you are an Evernote user, this makes it even easier. You can archive business cards, receipts and lots of other things with the easy scanner interface. Then, store it wherever you need it!

These are my 15 favorite, free productivity software programs. So give one or two a try, and see if the workload lightens up a bit.