Get ready for 2026 with our 7 top charity CRM systems
If you’re looking to upgrade your tech going into the New Year, investing in a charity-specific customer relationship management (CRM) system could make a significant difference to your performance. CRMs provide a huge range of data-related tasks, from maximising donations and understanding donor trends to engaging more effectively with volunteers and optimising fundraising campaigns.
From simple and budget-friendly to powerful and bespoke, there are CRMs for charities of every size and niche. Many CRMs now offer AI features, which can take donor insight and workflow optimisation to the next level.
Taken from our Essential Charity CRM handbook, here are 7 top-rated CRM systems suitable for a range of budgets and use cases.
1. Beacon
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced, user-friendly CRM that you can set up in-house, consider signing up for Beacon’s free 30 day trial. Since we featured Beacon in our CRM handbook, their monthly price has actually come down, so small charities can now access the starter plan for £32.50 per month for up to 2,000 constituents. For larger charities, there are three additional plans to choose from.
Rather than bespoke customisation, Beacon offers ‘plug and play’ integrations with a range of popular tools and platforms. Standard integrations include Google Analytics, Xero, Mailchimp and JustGiving. All plans include live chat support from a UK-based team, and Beacon claim their agents provide an average response time of less than five minutes.
2. Blackbaud eTapestry
Blackbaud is an established software provider in the nonprofit space, and eTapestry is their entry level product aimed at small charities. Features include data health scorecards (to help you fix quality issues with your data), detailed donor profiles and a selection of prebuilt dashboards and data visualisation tools. Training is included with all plans and eTapestry is mobile-friendly for users on the go.
As with all Blackbaud products, prices are not openly published, so you will need to get a tailored quote by contacting them. Third party sources suggest that lead-in prices are in
the £75 to £99 per month range.
3. Donorfy
Designed by fundraisers, Donorfy’s CRM draws on deep industry knowledge. All packages include automated Gift Aid claiming (via HMRC), Donorfy web forms and unlimited users. Standard integrations include Enthuse, Eventbrite, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), JustGiving and PayPal.
At the time of writing, Donorfy did not offer a free plan. All three Donorfy packages operate on a ‘sliding scale’ based on the number of constituents you need. Its entry level Starter Plan is £39 per month for up to 500 constituents, but this price jumps significantly to £92 per month if you add more constituents.
Note: Donorfy are now part of the Access Group, replacing Access Charity CRM.
4. Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT
For a charity CRM with proven real world impact, Raiser’s Edge combines a feature-rich CRM with a powerful database (NXT) and cutting-edge AI technology. This Blackbaud product offers a comprehensive suite of services, including relationship tracking, event management and follow-up, custom analytics and end-to-end gift management. You will also get email marketing templates, PCI-compliant payment processing, in-depth reporting tools and a dashboard builder.
Prices are by request only, but third party sources suggest a ballpark figure of £600 per month. Raiser’s Edge has a steep learning curve, so it is most suitable for larger charities with the time and budget to invest in user training.
5. Microsoft Dynamics 365
Since we featured D365 in our Essential Charity CRM handbook , Microsoft have tidied up the nonprofit section of their website and introduced a short eligibility pre-check that you will need to pass before accessing the deep discounts on offer.
With a 30-day free trial and a lead-in price of around £20 per user per month (for Dynamics Business Central), this could be worth a look for small and medium-sized charities, especially those comfortable with the Microsoft ecosystem. However, there is a menu of numerous add-ons that could quickly push prices up, and you will need to work with a Microsoft partner to set up your system.
6. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
Salesforce is a global giant in the commercial world, and Nonprofit Cloud (formerly Salesforce for Nonprofits) brings that data management clout into the charity sector. All packages provide volunteer management, account ledger integration and tailored automations, while the top packages introduce the advanced Agentforce AI system. Prices have increased significantly since we featured Salesforce in our Essential Charity CRM handbook , with the lead-in Enterprise package now up to £48 per user per month.
However, eligible charities will be granted 10 free licences. To access the eligibility process, you will need to use the Power of Us portal by signing up for a free Trailblazer account.
Visit Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
7. CiviCRM
CiviCRM is an open source CRM built by nonprofits specifically for the charity sector. For the technically proficient, this is the most budget-friendly option because the basic CRM is free to download. This also offers the most flexibility in terms of customisation, although most charities will need to invest in a developer to navigate the complexities. You will also need to factor in hosting for your files and databases.
If you prefer an ‘out of the box’ option, CiviCRM Spark is its hosted version. At less than £12 per user per month, it is still a low cost CRM solution, although integrations are limited when compared with other entry-level products.
Rather than rushing into buying a new CRM or upgrading your existing one, we recommend following our simple sourcing guide. This will protect you from costly mistakes and get you starting the new year on the right foot. Download our free Essential Charity CRM Handbook today.
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