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Nonprofits · head to head

Blackbaud Grantmaking vs Foundant Technologies

Blackbaud Grantmaking logo

Blackbaud Grantmaking

Nonprofits

Grants management for foundations and corporate givers inside the Blackbaud ecosystem

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Foundant Technologies logo

Foundant Technologies

Nonprofits

Grant lifecycle management for foundations, with public subscription bands and a two-year term

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Foundant Technologies the Basic licence tier omits eligibility quizzes and advanced automation and caps file sizes, so foundations with conditional application logic must buy up rather than configure around it.
  • They diverge on capability: Blackbaud Grantmaking covers Online application portal, Foundant Technologies covers Grant Lifecycle Manager.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Blackbaud Grantmaking and Foundant Technologies actually diverge.

Attributes where Blackbaud Grantmaking and Foundant Technologies differ
AttributeBlackbaud GrantmakingFoundant Technologies

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web), 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 Foundant Technologies

  • Grant Lifecycle Manager
  • CommunitySuite
  • Scholarship Lifecycle Manager
  • Candid integration
  • Evaluator portal
  • Grantee portal

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 Foundant Technologies
  • A community foundation managing hundreds of donor advised funds with separate grant recommendationsnot Foundant Technologies
  • A corporate giving programme needing documented US charity status checks before every paymentnot Foundant Technologies
  • A foundation whose board approves grants by docket and needs a repeatable, auditable packet processnot Foundant Technologies

Foundant Technologies

  • A private foundation making 50 to 500 grants a year that wants a defined process rather than a configuration projectnot Blackbaud Grantmaking
  • A community foundation needing donor-advised fund accounting and grantmaking from the same vendornot Blackbaud Grantmaking
  • Running a scholarship programme with volunteer review committees who should not have full staff loginsnot Blackbaud Grantmaking
  • A foundation that needs charity status verification against Candid data before every payment goes outnot 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.

Foundant Technologies

  • The Basic licence tier omits eligibility quizzes and advanced automation and caps file sizes, so foundations with conditional application logic must buy up rather than configure around it.
  • The standard contract is two years, which removes the option of a one-year trial period and locks you in before you know whether the process fits.
  • The annual subscription excludes implementation, and the setup fee is a meaningful additional first-year cost that quotes do not always foreground.
  • It is deliberately less configurable than enterprise grants systems, so a funder with unusual multi-stage workflows will hit walls that require process change rather than software change.
  • Pricing above the standard bands switches to an assets under management basis, meaning a well-endowed foundation making few grants can be quoted far more than its grant volume would suggest.

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

Foundant Technologies

On request
  • Grant Lifecycle Manager$undefined/year
    • Three licence tiers gating automation and eligibility quizzes
    • Two-year contract standard
    • Reported range of roughly 4,250 to 9,500 USD per year
  • CommunitySuite$undefined/year
    • Fund accounting and donor-advised funds
    • Priced for community foundations by fund count and complexity
  • Scholarship Lifecycle Manager$undefined/year
    • Scholarship application and review workflows
    • Sold alongside or independently of GLM

Which should you pick?

Choose Blackbaud Grantmaking if

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

Choose Foundant Technologies if

  • You need grant lifecycle manager.
  • You also want communitysuite.
Foundant Technologies review

Questions people ask

Is Blackbaud Grantmaking or Foundant Technologies better?
Neither clearly leads. Blackbaud Grantmaking starts at On request and Foundant Technologies at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Blackbaud Grantmaking or Foundant Technologies?
Blackbaud Grantmaking starts at On request and Foundant Technologies at On request.
Does Blackbaud Grantmaking or Foundant Technologies run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Foundant Technologies is typically brought in for.
What can Blackbaud Grantmaking do that Foundant Technologies cannot?
Blackbaud Grantmaking covers Online application portal, Due diligence checks, Board dockets, Payment scheduling. Foundant Technologies covers Grant Lifecycle Manager, CommunitySuite, Scholarship Lifecycle Manager, Candid integration.

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.

Foundant Technologies: What does Grant Lifecycle Manager cost?

Sector guides report roughly 4,250 to 9,500 US dollars a year on a two-year contract, with larger foundations priced on assets under management. Foundant does not publish these figures itself.

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.

Foundant Technologies: Is implementation included?

No. Setup is billed separately from the annual subscription.

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.

Foundant Technologies: Is the Candid integration extra?

It is included in the GLM subscription and free for up to 1,000 charity checks a year.

Blackbaud Grantmaking: Does it verify charity status automatically?

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

Foundant Technologies: Is there a discount for small funders?

Some sector associations, including Exponent Philanthropy, negotiate a discount off the initial licence for members.

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