How We Compare

Why CharityEngine is the Best Salesforce NPSP Alternative for Nonprofits

Salesforce NPSP is adapted from the world’s leading CRM. CharityEngine is purpose-built for nonprofit fundraising with fully integrated tools and data.

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Adapted vs. Purpose-Built

Built for Fundraising

Salesforce NPSP is built on a CRM originally designed for for-profit organizations and later adapted for nonprofits. While highly customizable, many organizations must add integrations to support full fundraising operations.

That’s where CharityEngine stands apart.

Instead of retrofitting a general CRM, CharityEngine delivers a fully unified fundraising platform built specifically for nonprofits, with core tools, reporting, and payment processing in one system.
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Real Talk

Salesforce NPSP Pros

Salesforce NPSP offers a broad set of tools designed to support nonprofit operations, program management, and constituent engagement. Here are a few strengths that many organizations recognize.

Industry-Leading CRM Platform

Salesforce is one of the most established and widely adopted CRM systems, offering extensive functionality and a large ecosystem of tools and partners.

Highly Customizable

Organizations can tailor workflows, data structures, and processes to meet specific operational and program management needs.

Major Gift Stewardship Tools

Opportunity management features support structured major gift tracking and cultivation.
Real Talk

Salesforce NPSP Cons 

While Salesforce NPSP offers powerful CRM capabilities, many nonprofits encounter challenges when configuring it for fundraising operations. Here are a few common concerns organizations often share.

Adapted for Nonprofits

Salesforce was originally designed for for-profit organizations, and nonprofit functionality was added later, which can create mismatched terminology and workflows.

Complex Customization Requirements

Many organizations need specialized expertise or certified administrators to configure and maintain the system.

Costs Can Increase Quickly

Additional features, integrations, and support services can significantly increase total cost over time.
See how CharityEngine stacks up

CharityEngine vs. Salesforce NPSP

CharityEngine
Salesforce NPSP
Differentiators

A complete fundraising platform that puts all your data in one place

Nonprofit technology built on the world's #1 CRM

 Pricing

$$ to $$$

$$$$

CRM & DONOR MANAGEMENT
Membership Management
Included
Included
Major Gift Management
Included
Included
Donor Pipelines
Included
Included
Requires Database Administrator

No

Yes

SustainerIQ: RECURRING GIVING
Monthly Billing Collection Rate

Up to 98.6%

Not Included
Sustainer Management
Included
Not Included
AI-Powered Payment Recovery
Included
Not Included
Automated Reactivation Communications
Included
Not Included
Credit Card Updater
Included
Not Included
Real-Time Sustainer Dashboard
Included
Not Included
FUNDRAISING
Custom Donation Forms
Included
Not Included
Payment Processing
Included

Third-party integration (Stripe)

MULTICHANNEL MARKETING
Advanced Email Automation
Included
Included
Text-to-Give
Included
Included
Direct Mail
Included
Not Included
Multichannel Attribution Tracking (including DRTV)
Included

Limited

CMS
Included

Yes
(Requires Salesforce CMS)

EVENTS & VOLUNTEERS
Event Management
Included
Not Included
Volunteer Management
Included
Not Included
Auctions
Included
Not Included
Peer-to-Peer
Included
Not Included
REPORTING & ANALYTICS
Out-of-the-Box Reports

Yes (200+)

Yes (70+)

Custom Dashboards
Included
Included
Query Builder
Included

Limited (Dependent on third-party integration data)

ADDITIONAL BUILT-IN TOOLS & MODULES
Advocacy
Included
Not Included
Case Management
Included
Included
Grant Management
Included
Included
Shopping Cart
Included
Not Included
Custom Surveys
Included
Included
DONOR PORTAL
Giving History/Tax Receipts
Included
Not Included
Membership Account Management
Included
Not Included
Monthly Gift Management
Included
Not Included
Ability for Donors to Manage Event Tickets and Registrants
Included
Not Included
Volunteer Shift Sign-Up
Included
Not Included
Ability for Volunteers to Report Hours
Included
Not Included
Topic of Interest/List Sign-Up Preferences
Included
Not Included
OTHER
Multi-Organization & Chapter Management
Included
Included
Open API
Included
Included
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Real Feedback

Customer Voices

Comprehensive Platform

Salesforce for Nonprofits provides a cohesive and all-encompassing tool to manage nonprofits. From donor relations to grant management to program and impact delivery, the Salesforce does this all seamlessly and with users in mind.

Database Admin, Nonprofit Organization 
Review by G2

Not Donor-Centric

Salesforce is cumbersome and clunky. It wasn't built as a donor database, and that shows in its functionality. Although you can house your donor data within Salesforce, it doesn't have an intuitive feel and isn't helpful in tracking and alerting users to donor-centric metrics like donor retention, new donors, etc. The reporting functionality is also cumbersome.

Development Director, Nonprofit Organization
Review by G2
Next Step

See What’s Possible for Your Organization

Join the growing number of organizations achieving stronger results with a unified fundraising platform. Let’s explore what this could look like for you.
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