CharityEngine vs. Blackbaud vs. EveryAction

Written by Julie Kennon | Fri, Dec 16, 2022

Let’s cut to the chase. Your nonprofit needs a CRM, and there are a few that have features that match your needs. Don’t you wish you had an apples-to-apples, side-by-side comparison so you could choose the best option? Well, we aim to please.

What follows is a side-by-side-by-side comparison of CharityEngine, Blackbaud/Raiser's Edge NXT, and EveryAction. This information is based on the most current information we could find, but if there are updates, we will edit the article accordingly.


Best CRM For	Small to Midsize to Enterprise-Level Nonprofits	Enterprise-Level Nonprofits	Small to Mid-Size Nonprofits
Pricing	$$ to $$$	$$$ to $$$$	$$$ to $$$$
Differentiators
Customizable Dashboards	Full	Limited	Limited
Marketing Automation	Full	Limited	Limited
Native Modules	Yes	Mixed	Mixed
Customized Reporting	Full	Limited	Limited
Key Features
Email Automation
Payment Processing
Events and Auctions
Text-to-Give
Advocacy
Online Forms
Reporting and Dashboards
Sustainers/ Recurring Billing
Peer-to-Peer
CRM
Grants Management
Volunteer Management
Customers Say*
Pros	"Their data model and ability to query and layer queries is really impressive compared to similar systems in the market."	"Good for a non-profit organization with many donors."	"I like how easily I can get in touch with EA's support. I also like how solid the various tools are - very little bugginess, which is a huge upgrade from what we used before."
Cons	"Sometimes when there are updates to the software, some functionalities are down temporarily, but their team always works swiftly to make sure everything is running smooth!"	"Working with Blackbaud is a very unpleasant experience. Trying to get answers to anything is impossible."	"My experience has been negative, it is expensive and cumbersome to use."

*Customer quotes from Capterra

You might be surprised to see that many CRMs have the same features. Our recommendation is to dive into those features to figure out where each system is strongest. Your questions can include:

Is your payment processing in-house or outsourced?
What are your payment processing fees?
Which fundraising modules are native, and which are accomplished through integrations? If more of your data stays in one system, it's easier and faster to leverage and mine it.
You have text-to-give capabilities, but do you offer blast texting?
What does your support look like? Is there a help center, a dedicated account manager, an online academy?
Are you PCI-certified or compliant? Are you SOC 2 certified or compliant?
Do you offer advanced fraud protection?

And don't evaluate CRMs based on cost alone. We recently advised our clients to stop worrying about the cost of a new CRM because there's a much more important metric to measure!

If you want to chat about our software, give us a ring. Otherwise, use this document to get started on your research. Happy shopping!

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