Softwr

Nonprofits · head to head

Blackbaud Grantmaking vs Bonterra

Blackbaud Grantmaking logo

Blackbaud Grantmaking

Nonprofits

Grants management for foundations and corporate givers inside the Blackbaud ecosystem

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bonterra logo

Bonterra

Nonprofits

The rolled-up parent of EveryAction, Apricot, CyberGrants and Network for Good, sold as three product lines

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.; Bonterra the three lines are separately acquired codebases, so buying two of them gives you two logins, two support queues and a connector rather than one system.
  • They diverge on capability: Blackbaud Grantmaking covers Online application portal, Bonterra covers Case management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Blackbaud Grantmaking and Bonterra differ
AttributeBlackbaud GrantmakingBonterra
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 Bonterra

  • Case management
  • Fundraising and engagement
  • Corporate grantmaking
  • Employee giving and volunteering
  • Outcomes reporting
  • Impact data connectors

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

Bonterra

  • A human services agency that must report participant outcomes to a government funder and cannot do it in a donor CRMnot Blackbaud Grantmaking
  • A national advocacy organisation needing high-volume email, action alerts and distributed organising in one donor recordnot Blackbaud Grantmaking
  • A large employer running a global employee match and grant disbursement programme across many countriesnot Blackbaud Grantmaking
  • A nonprofit consolidating a legacy Salsa or ETO deployment onto a supported product within the same vendornot 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.

Bonterra

  • The three lines are separately acquired codebases, so buying two of them gives you two logins, two support queues and a connector rather than one system.
  • Legacy products absorbed in the roll-up, notably ETO and older Salsa modules, receive limited development while investment goes to flagship products, leaving those customers on a slowly ageing platform.
  • No pricing is published for any line, and quotes vary widely by contact count and negotiation, so benchmarking against competitors requires a full sales cycle.
  • Private equity ownership has produced repeated renewal price increases reported by customers, and the portfolio structure reduces the credibility of threatening to switch since several obvious alternatives are also Bonterra products.
  • Implementation for Case Management is a configuration project measured in months, and agencies routinely underestimate the internal staff time required to define forms and outcome measures.

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

Bonterra

On request
  • Bonterra Fundraising and Engagement$undefined/year
    • Donor CRM and email
    • Advocacy and organising tools
    • Priced by contact record count
  • Bonterra Case Management$undefined/year
    • Apricot participant records and assessments
    • Outcomes and funder reporting
    • Priced by user seats and programme count
  • Bonterra Corporate Social Responsibility$undefined/year
    • CyberGrants grant disbursement
    • Employee giving and volunteering
    • Enterprise contract, priced by programme spend

Which should you pick?

Choose Blackbaud Grantmaking if

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

Choose Bonterra if

  • You need case management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want fundraising and engagement.
Bonterra review

Questions people ask

Is Blackbaud Grantmaking or Bonterra better?
Neither clearly leads. Blackbaud Grantmaking starts at On request and Bonterra at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Blackbaud Grantmaking or Bonterra?
Blackbaud Grantmaking starts at On request and Bonterra at On request.
Does Blackbaud Grantmaking or Bonterra run on more platforms?
Blackbaud Grantmaking runs on Web. Bonterra runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Bonterra is typically brought in for.
What can Blackbaud Grantmaking do that Bonterra cannot?
Blackbaud Grantmaking covers Online application portal, Due diligence checks, Board dockets, Payment scheduling. Bonterra covers Case management, Fundraising and engagement, Corporate grantmaking, Employee giving and volunteering.

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.

Bonterra: Is Bonterra a single product?

No. It is three product lines built from separately acquired software. You buy one of them, and integration between them is a connector rather than a shared database.

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.

Bonterra: What happened to EveryAction and Apricot?

They still exist as the underlying products, rebranded as Bonterra Fundraising and Engagement and Bonterra Case Management respectively.

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.

Bonterra: Does Bonterra publish pricing?

No line has published pricing. Fundraising is generally priced by contact record count, case management by seats and programmes.

Blackbaud Grantmaking: Does it verify charity status automatically?

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

Bonterra: Should a small nonprofit consider Bonterra?

Rarely. The entry price and implementation effort suit organisations with dedicated operations staff; smaller charities are better served by a single-product CRM.

Share

Related pages

More on Blackbaud Grantmaking

More on Bonterra

Keep looking

Other head to heads