Softwr

Nonprofits · head to head

Blackbaud Grantmaking vs CiviCRM

Blackbaud Grantmaking logo

Blackbaud Grantmaking

Nonprofits

Grants management for foundations and corporate givers inside the Blackbaud ecosystem

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
CiviCRM logo

CiviCRM

Nonprofits

Open source constituent relationship management for nonprofits, with no per contact or per donation fee

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CiviCRM has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Blackbaud Grantmaking no pricing is published at any tier, and Blackbaud contracts commonly run multiple years, so a foundation that finds the fit wrong is locked in past the point where switching is cheap.; CiviCRM nobody maintains it for you, so security patches and major version upgrades are your operational responsibility and organisations that skip them end up stranded on an old release.
  • They diverge on capability: Blackbaud Grantmaking covers Online application portal, CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Blackbaud Grantmaking and CiviCRM actually diverge.

Attributes where Blackbaud Grantmaking and CiviCRM differ
AttributeBlackbaud GrantmakingCiviCRM
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux, Self-hosted

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Nonprofits).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Blackbaud Grantmaking

  • Online application portal
  • Due diligence checks
  • Board dockets
  • Payment scheduling
  • Grantee reporting
  • Financial Edge integration
  • Reporting and dashboards

Only in CiviCRM

  • Contribution and pledge tracking
  • Membership management
  • Events and registration
  • Case management
  • CMS integration
  • Extension framework

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Blackbaud Grantmaking

  • A private foundation already running Blackbaud Financial Edge that wants grant liabilities to post to the ledger without manual journalsnot CiviCRM
  • A community foundation managing hundreds of donor advised funds with separate grant recommendationsnot CiviCRM
  • A corporate giving programme needing documented US charity status checks before every paymentnot CiviCRM
  • A foundation whose board approves grants by docket and needs a repeatable, auditable packet processnot CiviCRM

CiviCRM

  • A membership organisation with a large contact file that refuses to pay a per contact meternot Blackbaud Grantmaking
  • An advocacy group needing to hold constituent data on infrastructure it controlsnot Blackbaud Grantmaking
  • A charity already running Drupal or WordPress that wants CRM inside the same stacknot Blackbaud Grantmaking
  • An organisation with unusual data requirements that no hosted product will build for itnot Blackbaud Grantmaking

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Blackbaud Grantmaking

  • No pricing is published at any tier, and Blackbaud contracts commonly run multiple years, so a foundation that finds the fit wrong is locked in past the point where switching is cheap.
  • Implementation and data migration from a legacy GIFTS or Access database are separately priced professional services and regularly exceed the first year licence.
  • The interface carries a long lineage and feels dated next to newer grants platforms, which shows up as training time for programme staff and reluctance among occasional users.
  • Value depends heavily on being inside the Blackbaud stack; a foundation running Sage or NetSuite for accounting loses the integration that is the main commercial argument for the product.
  • Blackbaud disclosed a ransomware incident in 2020 affecting customer backups and later settled with US regulators, so due diligence teams at some funders now require additional security review before approving the vendor.

CiviCRM

  • Nobody maintains it for you, so security patches and major version upgrades are your operational responsibility and organisations that skip them end up stranded on an old release.
  • The interface and configuration model are dated compared with hosted competitors, and staff turnover is expensive when the next fundraiser has to be trained on it from scratch.
  • Extension quality is inconsistent, so a payment processor or integration that works on one version can break on the next with no vendor obligation to fix it.
  • Total cost of ownership is genuinely low only at scale, and a five person charity often pays more to a partner for setup and support than a hosted product would have charged outright.
  • Implementation partners hold the practical knowledge of your configuration, so switching partners can be as disruptive as switching products despite the software being free.

Pricing, plan by plan

Blackbaud Grantmaking

On request
  • Blackbaud Grantmaking$undefined/year
    • Grant application, review and award management
    • Applicant and grantee portals
    • Payment scheduling and liability tracking

CiviCRM

Free
  • CiviCRMFree
    • No licence fee, no per contact charge and no percentage of donations
    • Costs are hosting, implementation partner time and upgrade work
    • Paid hosting and support available from partners at their own rates

Which should you pick?

Choose Blackbaud Grantmaking if

  • You need online application portal.
  • You also want due diligence checks.
Blackbaud Grantmaking review

Choose CiviCRM if

  • You need contribution and pledge tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want membership management.
CiviCRM review

Questions people ask

Is Blackbaud Grantmaking or CiviCRM better?
Neither clearly leads. Blackbaud Grantmaking starts at On request and CiviCRM at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Blackbaud Grantmaking or CiviCRM?
CiviCRM has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Blackbaud Grantmaking and Free for CiviCRM.
Does Blackbaud Grantmaking or CiviCRM run on more platforms?
Blackbaud Grantmaking runs on Web. CiviCRM runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
Can I use CiviCRM for free?
Yes. CiviCRM has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Blackbaud Grantmaking starts at On request.
What is Blackbaud Grantmaking best used for?
Blackbaud Grantmaking is most often used for a private foundation already running blackbaud financial edge that wants grant liabilities to post to the ledger without manual journals, a community foundation managing hundreds of donor advised funds with separate grant recommendations, a corporate giving programme needing documented us charity status checks before every payment, a foundation whose board approves grants by docket and needs a repeatable, auditable packet process. Of those, a private foundation already running blackbaud financial edge that wants grant liabilities to post to the ledger without manual journals and a community foundation managing hundreds of donor advised funds with separate grant recommendations are not what CiviCRM is typically brought in for.
What can Blackbaud Grantmaking do that CiviCRM cannot?
Blackbaud Grantmaking covers Online application portal, Due diligence checks, Board dockets, Payment scheduling. CiviCRM covers Contribution and pledge tracking, Membership management, Events and registration, Case management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Blackbaud Grantmaking: Is this the same as GIFTS Online?

Yes, in lineage. It comes from MicroEdge GIFTS, which Blackbaud acquired in 2014, and has been rebranded and reworked since.

CiviCRM: Is CiviCRM really free?

The software is, with no licence, per contact or per donation charge. Hosting, implementation and support are real costs and are where the budget goes.

Blackbaud Grantmaking: What does it cost?

Blackbaud does not publish grantmaking pricing. Expect a quoted annual subscription plus a separate implementation and migration fee, and expect a multi-year term to be proposed.

CiviCRM: Do we need a developer?

You need technical capacity, either in house or a retained partner. Treating it as a hosted product without support is the common failure mode.

Blackbaud Grantmaking: Do we need Financial Edge to get value?

No, but the general ledger integration is the strongest single reason to choose it. Without Financial Edge, compare it more carefully against Foundant and SmartSimple.

CiviCRM: Where does it win against commercial CRMs?

At scale. A large contact file or high donation volume that would cost tens of thousands a year in metered fees costs nothing in licence here.

Blackbaud Grantmaking: Does it verify charity status automatically?

Yes for US grantees, using charity status data as part of due diligence screening before payment.

CiviCRM: Can it be hosted for us?

Yes, several partners offer managed CiviCRM hosting, which removes the upgrade burden and reintroduces a monthly fee.

Share

Related pages

More on Blackbaud Grantmaking

More on CiviCRM

Keep looking

Other head to heads