Best Software for International Development Charities in the UK (2026)

International development charities in the UK face a distinctive set of operational challenges. Whether your organisation works in global health, disaster relief, education, or poverty reduction, you are likely managing multi-country programmes, navigating FCDO compliance requirements, tracking grants across currencies, coordinating with local partner organisations, and reporting to donors who expect rigorous evidence of impact. The software you choose needs to handle all of this — and do so within budgets that are under more pressure than ever.

This guide compares the leading CRM, grant management, and monitoring and evaluation platforms available to UK-based international development charities in 2026. It is honest about what each platform does well, and where the gaps are.

TL;DR: There is no single perfect platform for every international development charity. For large INGOs with field offices in multiple countries, Salesforce with Vera Solutions' Amp Impact remains the most capable (and most expensive) option. For smaller UK-based international charities focused on grant reporting, partner management, and domestic operations, Plinth offers a modern, affordable alternative with AI Grant Management, Partner CRM, and Impact Reporting. Donorfy is strong for fundraising-led organisations. Blackbaud suits large charities with complex fundraising. TolaData is a specialist MEL tool for programme teams.

Who this is for: Programme managers, operations directors, MEL leads, and senior leadership at UK-registered international development charities, INGOs, overseas aid organisations, and global health charities.

The State of UK International Development in 2026

Short answer: The sector is under significant financial pressure, making efficient software more important than ever for organisations that need to demonstrate value for every pound spent.

The UK international development sector is navigating one of its most challenging periods. In February 2025, the UK Government announced it would reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending from 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) to 0.3% by 2027 — a reduction that the House of Commons Library estimates will mean approximately £6.1 billion less per year compared to the 0.5% target (House of Commons Library, 2025).

Final UK ODA spend in 2024 was £14.1 billion, already an 8.2% decrease on 2023 (GOV.UK, Statistics on International Development: Final UK ODA Spend 2024). The FCDO programme budget is projected to fall from £9.3 billion in 2024/25 to £6.19 billion in 2027/28 (House of Commons Library, 2025).

Bond, the UK network for organisations working in international development, unites over 400 member organisations ranging from small specialist charities to large international NGOs (Bond, About Us). Bond described the ODA reduction as a decision that "will have devastating consequences for millions of marginalised people worldwide" (Bond, 2025).

For charities in this sector, the operational implication is clear: organisations must do more with less, demonstrate impact more rigorously, and manage grants and partnerships with greater efficiency. Software that reduces administrative burden and strengthens reporting is no longer a luxury — it is a necessity.

What International Development Charities Need from Software

Short answer: Multi-country programme management, grant and donor tracking, partner organisation coordination, MEL capabilities, IATI and FCDO compliance, and multi-currency handling.

International development charities have requirements that set them apart from domestic service delivery organisations. Before comparing platforms, it is worth understanding what these are.

Grant and Donor Management

Most international development charities are funded through a mix of institutional donors (FCDO, EU, USAID, UN agencies), trusts and foundations, and public fundraising. Each funder has different reporting requirements, timelines, and compliance expectations. Software needs to track multiple grants simultaneously, manage restricted and unrestricted funds, and generate funder-specific reports.

Partner Organisation Tracking

International development work is rarely delivered directly. UK-based INGOs typically work through local partner organisations in the countries where they operate. Tracking partner capacity, sub-grant disbursements, partner reporting, and due diligence is a core operational requirement.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)

Funders increasingly require results frameworks, theories of change, and evidence of outcomes — not just activity reporting. Software must support indicator tracking, data collection from field teams, and aggregation of results across programmes and countries.

Compliance and Reporting

FCDO requires its partners to publish data to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard, with activity files updated at least once per quarter (GOV.UK, FCDO IATI Guidelines). Organisations must also manage due diligence, counter-terrorism checks, safeguarding policies, and audit requirements.

Multi-Currency Handling

Programmes operating across multiple countries need to track budgets and expenditure in local currencies, manage exchange rate fluctuations, and report in sterling to UK-based donors.

Software Comparison: The Best Platforms for International Development Charities

Salesforce with Vera Solutions (Amp Impact)

Salesforce is the dominant enterprise CRM in the international development sector. Vera Solutions builds Amp Impact on top of Salesforce — a purpose-built solution for portfolio management, grant management, and impact measurement that is used by over 430 organisations working in more than 150 countries (Vera Solutions). Currently, over $12.5 billion of programmes, grants, and projects are managed using Amp Impact.

Key features for international development charities:

• Full programme and project lifecycle management across multiple countries
• Grant management with budget tracking, disbursement schedules, and funder reporting
• Results frameworks and indicator tracking aligned to theories of change
• Partner management with sub-grant tracking and capacity assessments
• Configurable dashboards for real-time portfolio oversight
• Multi-currency support through Salesforce platform capabilities
• Vera holds the status of Salesforce Summit Tier Consulting Partner

Pricing: Salesforce offers up to 10 free licences through its Power of Us programme, but Amp Impact licensing, implementation, and ongoing administration costs are substantial. Expect £30,000-£100,000+ for initial implementation depending on complexity, with ongoing costs for licences and support.

Limitations: Requires dedicated Salesforce administration expertise. Implementation timelines are typically 3-6 months or longer. Total cost of ownership puts it beyond the reach of smaller organisations. The platform's complexity can overwhelm teams without technical capacity.

Best for: Large INGOs with field offices, multi-country programmes, institutional donor funding, and the budget and technical capacity to invest in a fully configured Salesforce ecosystem.

Plinth

Plinth is a UK-built charity platform with AI capabilities across grant management, case management, partner tracking, and impact reporting. It is designed primarily for UK-based programme delivery and grant management — and it is important to be transparent about where it fits in the international development landscape.

Key features for international development charities:

• AI Grant Management: Track grants from application through to completion, with AI-assisted reporting and compliance monitoring. Well-suited for managing trust and foundation grants and smaller institutional funding.
• Partner CRM: Track relationships with partner organisations, record interactions, and monitor partnership health. Useful for UK-based charities that coordinate with overseas partners but manage the relationship from a UK office.
• Impact Reporting: Generate funder-ready impact reports from programme data, with Theory of Change alignment and outcome tracking.
• Surveys: Create and distribute surveys for data collection, including multi-language support for gathering information from partners and beneficiaries.
• Case Management: For organisations that combine international programmes with UK-based service delivery (such as refugee resettlement or diaspora support), Plinth's case management features are a strong fit.

Pricing: Free tier available; paid plans scale with organisational size. UK data hosting with GDPR-first design.

Honest assessment: Plinth is strongest for UK-based operational management and grant reporting. It does not currently offer the multi-country field office infrastructure, IATI publishing tools, or deep MEL frameworks that large INGOs need for complex multi-site programme delivery. However, for smaller international charities — those managing programmes from a UK office, reporting to trusts and foundations, and coordinating with a manageable number of overseas partners — Plinth offers a modern, affordable, and genuinely useful platform.

Best for: Small to medium UK-based international development charities that manage programmes from a UK office, need strong grant reporting and partner tracking, and want an affordable platform with AI capabilities.

Donorfy

Donorfy is a UK-built cloud CRM designed specifically for the charitable sector, with a strong focus on fundraising and donor management. It is ISO 27001 and 9001 certified (Donorfy).

Key features for international development charities:

• Donor and supporter management with automated Gift Aid processing
• Fundraising campaign tracking and reporting
• Integration with UK-specific platforms including JustGiving, Enthuse, Xero, and Mailchimp
• Membership management with renewal tracking
• Marketing automation for donor communications

Pricing: Free plan for up to 500 constituents. Starter plan from £39 per month. Pricing scales with the number of supporter records.

Limitations: Donorfy is a fundraising CRM, not a programme management or MEL platform. It does not offer grant management workflows, partner tracking, results frameworks, or IATI reporting. International development charities would need to use Donorfy alongside other tools for programme delivery.

Best for: International development charities where public fundraising is a primary income source and the main need is donor relationship management and Gift Aid processing.

Blackbaud

Blackbaud is a large, established software provider serving the nonprofit sector globally, with operations in the UK and users in over 100 countries (Blackbaud). Major international development organisations including WaterAid use Blackbaud's products.

Key features for international development charities:

• The Raiser's Edge NXT for fundraising and donor management
• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT for nonprofit financial management and accounting
• Blackbaud Grantmaking for organisations that both receive and distribute grants
• Enterprise-level reporting and analytics
• Multi-entity and multi-currency financial management

Pricing: Enterprise pricing — contact Blackbaud for quotes. Typically suited to organisations with annual incomes above £1 million.

Limitations: Blackbaud's strength is in fundraising and financial management, not programme delivery or MEL. The platform can feel monolithic, with separate products for different functions that do not always integrate seamlessly. Implementation and licensing costs are significant.

Best for: Large international development charities with complex fundraising operations and a need for enterprise-grade financial management.

TolaData

TolaData is a specialist monitoring and evaluation platform built by experienced international development professionals. It was originally created by the Mercy Corps team in Afghanistan to address the specific M&E challenges of field-based programme delivery (TolaData, About Us).

Key features for international development charities:

• Results framework management with indicator tracking against targets
• Data collection and aggregation from multiple sources
• Real-time reporting dashboards
• Project and activity tracking across programmes
• Designed specifically for international development M&E workflows

Pricing: Contact TolaData for pricing. The platform is aimed at NGOs, multilateral agencies, and social welfare organisations.

Limitations: TolaData is a MEL tool, not a full CRM or grant management platform. It does not handle donor relationships, fundraising, partner due diligence, or financial management. Organisations would need to use it alongside a CRM and potentially a finance system.

Best for: International development programme teams that need a dedicated MEL platform for results framework management and indicator tracking.

Platform Comparison Table

How to Choose: A Decision Framework

The right platform depends on your organisation's size, structure, and primary needs. Here is a practical framework.

If you are a large INGO with field offices in multiple countries, managing institutional donor funding from FCDO, EU, or UN agencies, and you need IATI reporting, multi-country MEL, and complex sub-granting workflows, Salesforce with Vera Solutions' Amp Impact is the most capable option. It is expensive and complex, but it is built for exactly this use case.

If you are a small to medium UK-based international charity managing programmes from a UK office, funded primarily by trusts, foundations, and public donations, and you need affordable grant management, partner tracking, and impact reporting, Plinth is worth evaluating. The free tier means you can start without a procurement process, and the AI-assisted features reduce administrative burden on small teams.

If your primary need is fundraising and donor management — running appeals, managing regular givers, processing Gift Aid — Donorfy is the best-value UK option. You will need a separate tool for programme management.

If you need enterprise-grade financial management alongside fundraising, and your organisation has the budget for it, Blackbaud offers the deepest financial management capabilities in the sector.

If your priority is monitoring and evaluation and you need a dedicated tool for results frameworks, indicator tracking, and programme data aggregation, TolaData is purpose-built for international development M&E.

For many organisations, the honest answer is a combination of tools — a CRM for donor and partner management, a MEL platform for programme monitoring, and a finance system for multi-currency accounting. The key is ensuring these tools can share data without creating silos.

Compliance: IATI, FCDO, and Reporting Requirements

FCDO mandates that organisations receiving ODA funding publish data to the IATI standard. Activity files must be updated at least once per quarter and must cover, at minimum, all FCDO-funded activities (GOV.UK, FCDO IATI Guidelines). This is a contractual requirement, not optional guidance.

Of the platforms reviewed here, only Salesforce (with appropriate configuration or third-party tools) offers direct IATI publishing capability. For organisations using other platforms, IATI reporting typically requires a separate process — either using the IATI publishing tools provided by the IATI Secretariat or working with a specialist consultant.

When evaluating software, international development charities should also consider:

• Audit trail requirements. Institutional donors expect detailed records of how funding decisions were made and how money was spent.
• Due diligence documentation. The ability to store and retrieve partner due diligence records, including counter-terrorism checks and safeguarding assessments.
• Data protection across jurisdictions. If your software stores data about beneficiaries in other countries, you need to consider both UK GDPR and local data protection regulations.
• Restricted fund accounting. The ability to track spending against restricted grants and produce donor-specific financial reports.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best software for international development charities in the UK?

There is no single best platform. For large INGOs with multi-country field operations and institutional donor funding, Salesforce with Vera Solutions' Amp Impact offers the most comprehensive solution. For smaller UK-based international charities focused on grant management, partner tracking, and impact reporting, Plinth provides a modern, affordable alternative. The right choice depends on your organisation's size, structure, funding sources, and operational complexity.

Do international development charities need specialist software?

International development charities have requirements — multi-country operations, IATI compliance, multi-currency handling, partner sub-granting, and MEL frameworks — that generic charity CRMs do not always address. Larger organisations with field offices almost certainly need specialist tools. Smaller UK-based charities may find that a well-featured general platform covers their core needs, with specialist tools added for MEL or IATI reporting as required.

How much does software cost for international development charities?

Costs range enormously. Plinth offers a free tier for small organisations. Donorfy starts from free for up to 500 records. At the other end, a full Salesforce and Amp Impact implementation can cost £30,000-£100,000 or more for initial setup, with ongoing annual costs for licences, support, and administration. When budgeting, include implementation, data migration, training, and ongoing support costs — not just licence fees.

Is Plinth suitable for large international NGOs?

Plinth is strongest for UK-based programme management and grant reporting. It works well for smaller international charities that manage operations from a UK office and coordinate with overseas partners. For large INGOs with field offices in multiple countries, complex sub-granting workflows, and IATI reporting requirements, Salesforce with Vera Solutions' Amp Impact or a similar enterprise platform is more appropriate. Plinth is transparent about this — it is better to choose the right tool for your needs than to stretch a platform beyond its design.

What is IATI reporting and does my charity need to do it?

The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) is a global standard for publishing data about development and humanitarian spending. If your charity receives funding from FCDO, you are contractually required to publish IATI-compliant data, updated at least quarterly. Other institutional donors including the Dutch, Danish, and Belgian governments also require IATI reporting. If your charity is funded primarily by trusts, foundations, and public donations, IATI reporting is not typically required but may be good practice for transparency.

Can we use multiple software platforms together?

Yes, and many international development charities do. A common setup is a CRM for donor and partner management (Plinth, Salesforce, or Donorfy), a dedicated MEL platform for programme monitoring (TolaData or Amp Impact), and an accounting system for multi-currency financial management. The key is ensuring data flows between systems — look for platforms with APIs or integration capabilities to avoid manual data re-entry.

Recommended Next Pages

• AI Grant Management for Charities — How Plinth helps manage grants from application to completion
• Partner CRM for Charities — Tracking partner organisations and coordination
• Impact Reporting — Generating funder-ready reports from programme data
• Surveys for Charities — Collecting data from partners and beneficiaries
• Case Management for Charities — For organisations combining international programmes with UK service delivery
• Grant Management for International NGOs — Designing grant processes for cross-border delivery

Last updated: February 2026 Working in international development? Book a demo or contact our team to discuss whether Plinth is the right fit for your organisation.