More charities than usual are reviewing their CRM this year. Microsoft is ending support for its Fundraising and Engagement solution on 31 December 2026. Salesforce has renamed Nonprofit Cloud as Agentforce Nonprofit and stopped setting up its older Nonprofit Success Pack in new accounts. And the security incident at Beacon in July prompted many charities to ask their suppliers harder questions, whether or not they were affected. Changing CRM is a big job. Done carefully, it doesn’t have to lose you data, donors or Gift Aid.
The short version
- Know why you are moving before you choose where to. A new system won’t fix messy data or unclear processes.
- Check the cost of leaving your current CRM, including export fees and notice periods.
- Keep consent and Gift Aid records intact when you migrate, with their original dates and wording.
- Plan the website side early: donation forms, sign-ups and bookings all need reconnecting and testing.
- Ask any new supplier about security, breach notification and exit before you sign.
Why charities are reviewing their CRM this year
- Microsoft Fundraising and Engagement stops being supported on 31 December 2026. No new licences have been sold since January 2025, and until the end of 2026 it receives security fixes only.
- Salesforce renamed Nonprofit Cloud as Agentforce Nonprofit. Since December 2025, the Nonprofit Success Pack is no longer offered as a preconfigured package in new accounts, though Salesforce says it will continue to be supported.
- Beacon reported in July 2026 that an attacker had accessed its systems using a compromised access key. Its final report says the attacker exported the data in its database and that almost all customer accounts were affected. We’ve written a separate guide on what to do when your CRM provider has a security incident.
Before you decide to move
- Write down what isn’t working. Is it the software, the way it was set up, or the data in it?
- Read your contract for notice periods and renewal dates.
- Find out what leaving costs. Export options and fees vary widely between suppliers.
- Check your data processing agreement. Under UK GDPR, your supplier must delete or return your data at the end of the contract.
The main UK charity CRMs compared
Prices are as published by each supplier in October 2026, usually excluding VAT, and change often. Check directly before you decide. Our own donation plugin, Tinwell, connects to Beacon, Donorfy and Raisely, so we have an interest in those.
| CRM | Published pricing | Website connections | Gift Aid | Getting your data out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beacon | From £37 a month (Starter), up to £325 (Premium); 10% off annual billing | Embeddable forms and Zapier; API on Standard plans and above | Integrates with HMRC Charities Online | CSV and PDF exports |
| Donorfy | From £40 a month + VAT; free Essentials for up to 250 contacts | Embeddable forms; API and Zapier on Professional only | Claims submitted to HMRC from Starter | Free CSV exports from lists; full export with attachments £800 + VAT the first time |
| Salesforce (Agentforce Nonprofit) | 10 free licences through Power of Us; paid licences per user, priced in US dollars | Third-party WordPress plugins only | No native UK Gift Aid; third-party apps | Weekly or monthly data export service |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | Nonprofit pricing per user, in US dollars | Third-party WordPress plugins only | Fundraising and Engagement recorded declarations; support ends 31 December 2026 | Excel exports up to 100,000 rows at a time; API |
| Raiser’s Edge NXT (Blackbaud) | By quote; government framework listing from £6,849 a year | API and webhooks | Declarations and direct submission to HMRC | CSV, backups and API; some exports cost extra |
| Access Charity CRM (formerly thankQ) | From £250 a month for 3 users, unlimited contacts | Integrations listed include JustGiving and Mailchimp; API as an add-on | Processing and submission included | Ask before you sign |
| Plinth | Free Community plan; Relationships £30 per user a month, minimum 3 users | API on request | Tracks declarations and calculates claims; you submit to HMRC | CSV or JSON export included |
| CiviCRM | Free and open source; hosted CiviCRM Spark from £11 a month | Runs inside WordPress | UK Gift Aid and HMRC submission extensions | CSV exports and API |
One warning for Salesforce users on WordPress: the most widely used free sync plugin, Object Sync for Salesforce, was closed on the WordPress plugin directory in July 2026 because of a security issue. If you rely on it, plan a replacement.
Moving your data safely
- Clean before you move. Merge duplicates and apply your retention policy: UK GDPR says you shouldn’t keep personal data longer than you need it, and a migration is the natural time to act on that.
- Map every field from the old system to the new one, including the ones nobody remembers creating.
- Keep consent records intact, with the date and source of each permission. The charity soft opt-in only applies to contact details collected on or after 5 February 2026, so those dates matter.
- Keep Gift Aid declarations with their dates and wording. HMRC expects enduring declarations to be kept permanently.
- Test with a sample first, then run both systems side by side for a short period.
- Check the new contract covers everything UK GDPR requires of a data processor, and where your data will be stored.
- Ask the old supplier to delete your data once you are sure the move is complete, and keep their confirmation.
Reconnecting your website
Your website is usually where most new records come from: donations, newsletter sign-ups, event bookings, volunteer applications and enquiries. Each of those journeys needs reconnecting and testing.
- List every form on your site and where its data goes today.
- Choose how each will connect: the new CRM’s own embedded forms, a direct API connection, an automation tool such as Zapier, or a plugin that syncs with your CRM.
- Test every journey end to end, including Gift Aid declarations, consent choices and receipts.
- Update your privacy notice if it names your CRM supplier or describes how data is processed.
- Keep donations on your own site where you can, so a CRM change doesn’t mean changing the donor experience. Our guide to on-site vs off-site donations explains why.
Questions to ask a new CRM supplier
- Do you support multi-factor authentication and single sign-on, and how do you protect the keys that access our data?
- How quickly will you tell us about a security incident, and what will you tell us?
- Where is our data stored, and which other companies process it?
- Can we export all our data at any time, in a usable format, and what does that cost?
- Which features, including API access, are included on the plan we are buying?
- How does Gift Aid work, from declaration to claim?
How we can help
We connect charity websites to CRMs, from donation forms to event bookings, and test every journey before switch-over. If you’re planning a move, talk to us early about the website side, or see how we approach charity web design.
Questions charities ask
Who is responsible for our data in a CRM?
Your charity is the data controller, and the CRM supplier is your processor. You remain primarily responsible for the data, which is why your contract with the supplier matters.
How long does a CRM migration take?
For a small charity with tidy data, a few weeks can be enough. With years of history, Gift Aid records and several integrations, several months is normal. Allow time to run both systems side by side.
Can we keep our Gift Aid declarations when we move?
You must keep them. Move declarations across with their original dates and wording, and keep the exports from your old system as a record.
Will we need a new privacy notice?
Update it if it names your CRM supplier or describes processing that changes. If the purposes of processing stay the same, the change is usually small.
