What are the best Blackbaud alternatives for charities?

If you're new to the world of a well-chosen CRM, they offer many benefits for charities, and can genuinely transform how your organisation operates day-to-day. For most charities and not-for-profits, the biggest gains tend to show up in five key areas:

• Stronger donor relationships: centralised supporter data means your team can personalise communications, spot engagement patterns and nurture long-term giving more effectively.
• Better fundraising efficiency: less time spent on manual admin means more time focused on the campaigns and relationships that drive income.
• Clearer campaign and performance tracking: the right CRM gives you a single view of what's working, so you can make better decisions, faster.
• Reduced administrative workload: automated workflows, Gift Aid processing and integrations with other tools frees up your team's capacity for higher-value work.
• Room to scale: as your organisation grows, a good CRM grows with you, without needing to start from scratch.

Charities usually look for Blackbaud alternatives for three reasons: pricing clarity, complexity, and now the planned Raiser's Edge 7 retirement.

Blackbaud has been part of the sector for decades, and Raiser's Edge has a loyal following, so it's worth unpacking each one.

• Pricing clarity: Raiser's Edge NXT is quote-based and sits at the premium end of pricing. For smaller and mid-sized teams, the full cost can be hard to see upfront, especially once implementation and training are added.
• Complexity: Enterprise tools typically come with an enterprise learning curve. Smaller teams can end up paying for depth they rarely use.
• Change is coming anyway: With RE7 support ending, Raiser's Edge users face a shift in how they work either way. 

While moving to Raiser's Edge NXT is likely quicker than switching to a new CRM, it still means a new interface, rebuilt reports and, for self-hosted users, typically higher subscription fees. So it's a fair moment to look at the alternatives too.

It's important to say that none of this makes Blackbaud the wrong choice. For some organisations, especially those with complex major gift programmes, it can be a great fit!

So, let's start with what Blackbaud offers.

Blackbaud provides a suite of CRM and fundraising tools designed specifically for charities and not-for-profit organisations.

Like Access Not for Profit, they offer multiple CRM choices, tailored to different organisational sizes and needs.

Right now, that's Raiser's Edge and eTapestry.

Raiser's Edge 7 vs Raiser's Edge NXT: what's the difference?

First, let's be super clear when it comes to Raiser's Edge. Raiser's Edge 7 and Raiser's Edge NXT aren't two different CRMs, they're two generations of the same product.

• Raiser's Edge 7 (RE7) is the original, desktop-style version. Some charities host it on their own servers; others have Blackbaud host it for them.
• Raiser's Edge NXT is the cloud-based successor, sold on subscription. It has a newer browser-based "web view", plus a "database view" that's essentially RE7 running inside NXT.

Blackbaud is now phasing out the older generation. Self-hosted RE7 is being retired in 2027, and database view support ends on 15 September 2027.

After that, Raiser's Edge runs entirely through NXT's web view.

When this guide talks about Raiser's Edge as a comparison below, it's referring to Raiser's Edge NXT. But, let's start with eTapestry.

Blackbaud eTapestry is a simpler, cloud-based fundraising CRM designed for smaller charities and NFPs. It focuses on essential donor management and fundraising tools, without the complexity of the enterprise-level systems offered by Raiser’s Edge.

While it shares the Blackbaud ecosystem, it’s a lighter product aimed at smaller operational teams.

Best for:

• Small charities and community organisations
• Teams with limited CRM experience
• Organisations needing basic donor management

Key functionality:

• Donor and contact management
• Online giving and donation tracking
• Basic fundraising campaign tools

Strengths:

• Faster setup and onboarding
• Lower-cost entry point within the Blackbaud ecosystem
• Suitable for small fundraising teams

What about pricing?

eTapestry’s pricing is also quote-based, but typically sits at a lower price point than Raiser’s Edge, reflecting its smaller scale and lighter features.

Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT is Blackbaud's flagship fundraising CRM. It’s built for mid-to-large charities that need a robust, structured system for managing donor relationships, major gifts and complex fundraising campaigns.

Best for:

• Medium-to-large-sized charities and NFPs
• Organisations with structured fundraising teams
• Charities managing major donors and campaigns

Key functionality:

• Donor and supporter management
• Major gift and pipeline tracking
• Event and campaign management
• Reporting and performance dashboards

Strengths:

• Scalable for complex organisations
• Well-established in the non-profit sector
• Robust reporting and forecasting capabilities

What about pricing?

Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge uses a quote-based pricing model. Costs vary depending on organisation size, modules required, and contract structure. It’s generally positioned as a premium enterprise solution.

Donorfy is a well-regarded and trusted CRM, and one of the closest like-for-like alternatives to Raiser's Edge. It focuses on helping fundraising teams build stronger donor relationships, manage and grow diverse income streams, and is designed around real-world fundraising workflows.

It’s often a great alternative to Blackbaud for mid-sized charities looking for a balance between usability, affordability and fundraising functionality, without the complexity of enterprise systems.

Best for:

• All sizes of UK charities
• Relationship-led fundraising teams
• Organisations moving away from legacy systems

Key functionality:

• Donor and supporter management
• Fundraising campaign tracking
• Gift Aid processing
• Email marketing integrations
• Custom reporting and dashboards

Strengths:

• Designed specifically by fundraisers
• Strong automation functionality
• Part of the wider Access Charity Suite
• Good balance of full features and simplicity
• Part of the Access Evo ecosystem, giving you one shared data layer across tools and built-in AI functionality.

What about pricing?

Donorfy uses a subscription-based pricing model, from just £40 per month. You'll get unlimited users at every level, and all functionality is included.

You can also compare Donorfy and Beacon, here.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud is a flexible CRM platform designed for large and complex organisations. Rather than being a fundraising-specific tool out of the box, Its strength lies in its flexibility and scalability. This makes it one of the most configurable, but also most complex, Blackbaud alternatives on the market.

Best for:

• Large and/or global non-profit organisations
• Organisations with technical CRM teams or partners
• Multi-programme or multi-entity charities

Key functionality:

• Highly customisable donor and supporter tracking
• Advanced reporting and dashboards
• Integration with the wider Salesforce ecosystem

Strengths:

• Flexible and customisable
• Scales to enterprise and global operations
• Strong automation and analytics capabilities

How much does it cost?

Salesforce offers free or discounted licences for eligible non-profits, but the total cost depends on implementation, configuration and ongoing support. This typically makes it an expensive option, as technical support/consultants usually need to be factored in.

Charitylog is a CRM designed primarily for service delivery organisations rather than pure fundraising teams. It’s widely used by charities that provide advice, casework or support services and need strong case management capabilities.

While it includes CRM functionality, its focus is more operational than fundraising-led, making it less suitable for some organisations.

Best for:

• Advice and support organisations
• Teams managing cases and client records

Key functionality:

• Case and client management
• Workflow tracking
• Appointment scheduling

Strengths:

• Strong case management functionality
• Well suited to service-based charities
• Supports structured workflows

What about pricing?

Charitylog starts from £2185 (+VAT) for their basic, most limited plan. Their most popular plan is Charitylog Standard, and the fee is based on the income of your charity.

Access Charity CRM is a CRM designed for organisations whose supporters don’t always fit a single mould – where one person might be a donor, volunteer, member, or even a graduate from 30 years ago.

Best for: 

• Mid-large fundraising charities
• Universities with alumni fundraising programmes
• Charities needing in-depth, built-in membership

Key functionality:

• Donor and supporter relationship management
• Membership management and alumni development
• Income processing including integrated Gift Aid management

Strengths:

• Broader out-of-the-box feature set than many alternatives
• Underpinned by Access Evo, integrating with website, payment and digital advertising tools

How much does it cost?

There are four core pricing packages, starting from £83 per user, per month. All packages include an unlimited number of contacts, so you won’t get an unexpected bill if your database grows!

Honestly? As you can see from the variety above, it depends. 

The short answer, the best CRM for your charity is the one your team will actually use. One that fits how you work today, and won't hold you back as you grow.

Questions worth asking before you commit

While you're evaluating CRM options, these questions can help cut through the marketing noise:

• Built for fundraising or adapted for it? Is it designed specifically for charities, or a general CRM that's been tweaked to fit?
• UK compliance included? Does it handle Gift Aid and UK reporting out of the box, or is that an add-on?
• Transparent pricing? Is the cost clear and all-inclusive?
• Evidence of impact: Can the supplier demonstrate real results for charities?
• Room to grow? Can it scale with you, without a costly migration down the line?

Try Donorfy

You can start a free trial and see how it feels. No commitment, no jargon – just a clearer picture of what's possible.

Managing alumni or members? 

Access Charity CRM is built for exactly that.

Disclaimer: This blog is intended for informational purposes only and reflects information accurate as of October 2026. We recommend using this guide as a starting point and exploring the official websites of any platforms that catch your eye for the most up-to-date details on features, pricing and support.