Tahua vs Blackbaud Grants Management: Which Platform Fits Your Foundation?

Blackbaud is one of the world's largest nonprofit technology companies — offering a broad suite of products for fundraising (Raiser's Edge NXT), financial management (Financial Edge NXT), and grant administration (Blackbaud Grantmaking, formerly Award Management). For ANZ foundations and trusts evaluating grants management software, understanding how Tahua compares to Blackbaud's offerings clarifies the choice.

About Blackbaud Grantmaking

Blackbaud acquired Award Management Software (AMS) and rebranded it as Blackbaud Grantmaking (formerly SmartSimple in some markets). It's a comprehensive platform covering:

  • Grant application and review workflow
  • Grant management (tracking, reporting, compliance)
  • Grantee portal for applicants
  • Integration with Blackbaud's broader nonprofit tech suite (Raiser's Edge for fundraising, Financial Edge for accounting)

Blackbaud has a presence in Australia and New Zealand, primarily serving larger nonprofits and some foundations that also use Raiser's Edge for fundraising.

Key comparisons

Integration with fundraising

Blackbaud's primary strength is its integrated nonprofit technology suite. For foundations that also do significant fundraising and donor management — and already use Raiser's Edge NXT — there may be integration value in using Blackbaud Grantmaking to keep data in one ecosystem.

Tahua is focused on the grantmaking side. If you're primarily a grant-making foundation (rather than a dual fundraising-and-grantmaking organisation), Tahua's focus is an advantage — every feature is designed around the grantmaking workflow, not split between fundraising and grantmaking needs.

ANZ context

Blackbaud's products are built for global markets but historically US-centric. ANZ-specific compliance (Charities Act NZ, gaming trust reporting, Lottery requirements) and local sector knowledge are not Blackbaud's primary strength.

Tahua is purpose-built for the ANZ market. Local regulatory context, local support staff who understand ANZ philanthropy, and features designed for ANZ grantmakers are core to Tahua's proposition.

Pricing

Blackbaud's enterprise pricing is significant — reflecting both the product breadth and the US enterprise market it primarily serves. For most ANZ foundations and trusts, Blackbaud's pricing is misaligned with the scale of ANZ grantmaking.

Tahua's pricing is designed for the ANZ market — appropriate for community trusts, gaming trusts, and foundations of varying sizes.

Implementation complexity

Blackbaud implementations can be complex — particularly for organisations with significant data migration needs, integration requirements, or customisation. The implementation process can take many months.

Tahua is designed for efficient implementation — allowing ANZ grantmakers to get up and running without extended projects or specialist consulting engagements.

Support

Blackbaud support is primarily US-based. ANZ users work across time zones and may not have immediate access to ANZ-context knowledge.

Tahua offers local ANZ support — staff who understand the ANZ philanthropic sector and can provide contextual guidance, not just technical support.

Who should consider Blackbaud Grantmaking?

  • Large foundations or corporates already deeply invested in the Blackbaud ecosystem (Raiser's Edge, Financial Edge) who want integrated data
  • Very large organisations with complex integration requirements and budget for enterprise implementation
  • Organisations primarily based in the US or UK where Blackbaud's local context is stronger

Who should consider Tahua?

  • New Zealand and Australian foundations, gaming trusts, and community trusts
  • Grantmakers who primarily need strong grantmaking workflow — not a combined fundraising/grantmaking suite
  • Organisations who want efficient implementation and ANZ-context support
  • Foundations of any size who want transparent, appropriate pricing for the ANZ market

Making the decision

Evaluating grants management software requires understanding your specific needs:

  1. Volume: how many grant applications do you receive? How many active grants do you manage?
  2. Complexity: how complex are your grant programmes? Multi-year, milestone-based, multiple programme types?
  3. Integration needs: do you need integration with accounting (Xero, MYOB), fundraising (Salesforce, Raiser's Edge), or other systems?
  4. Applicant experience: what does a good applicant portal experience look like for your grantees?
  5. Reporting: what are your reporting requirements — to board, to government, to the public?
  6. Support needs: how much support will you need during implementation and ongoing?

Tahua offers demonstrations to help foundations compare platforms with their own data and use cases. If you're currently evaluating Blackbaud Grantmaking, we'd welcome the chance to show you what Tahua does differently — and what it might mean for your grantmaking programme.

Book a conversation with the Tahua team →