What users are saying about
9 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.7 out of 100
Based on 9 reviews and ratings
2 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.2 out of 100
Based on 2 reviews and ratings
Attribute Ratings
- GuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G) is rated higher in 2 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Support Rating
Likelihood to Recommend
6.0
Blackbaud FIMS
60%
4 Ratings
9.0
GuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G)
90%
1 Rating
Support Rating
8.0
Blackbaud FIMS
80%
2 Ratings
10.0
GuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G)
100%
2 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Blackbaud FIMS
It is a very robust system and with the various modules you can accomplish much of what is needed for traditional transaction US-based grantmaking. If you have more complicated grantmaking, deal with foreign currencies or want to have tighter alignment of finance and budget numbers, GIFTS may not meet your needs. Additionally, some of their core projects have limited accessibility in terms of various mobile devices or access from outside the organization's network.
Director of Grant Management
Houston EndowmentPhilanthropy, 11-50 employees
GuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G)
For any grant request for which you are using an online form to submit (for example, GrantRequest, Fluxx, CyberGrants), the G4G plugin is super helpful in skipping wasted time entering administrative fields into the form. Obviously this is not available for paper grants, but it can be used with fillable fields that you then print out
Development Manager
Christodora: Nature, Learning, LeadershipNon-profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
Pros
Blackbaud FIMS
- Simple layout
- Duplication reports
- Lots of fields for organization-specific information

Verified User
Program Manager in Other
Philanthropy Company, 1-10 employeesGuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G)
- Autofill
- Plugin - ease of data transfer
Development Manager
Christodora: Nature, Learning, LeadershipNon-profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
Cons
Blackbaud FIMS
- While GIFTS Classic is the most barren interfaces of all MicroEdge products, there are some simple capabilities I wish GIFTS could still perform such as better email integration from outlook to a GIFTS request, more efficient requirement reminders, and a wider use of Microsoft Office and other external product integration (GuideStar).
- It's disappointing that you have to purchase an additional "Customizer Module" or "Budget Module" in order to access basic functions of a GMS. This seems like a basic system function that MicroEdge takes advantage of, unfortunately.
- The online application module (IGAM) is still quite antiquated and you have to be knowledgeable of basic HTML in order to really customize your organization's online application. More flexibility and design functions would be greatly appreciated with the online application function, especially since this is a public document and represents your organization.
Grants Associate
Commonweal FoundationNon-Profit Organization Management, 11-50 employees
GuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G)
- None - Very happy with current iteration
Development Manager
Christodora: Nature, Learning, LeadershipNon-profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
Pricing Details
Blackbaud FIMS
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—GuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G)
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Support Rating
Blackbaud FIMS
Blackbaud FIMS 8.0
Based on 2 answers
I typically receive a response to an inquiry within an hour or two, if not sooner. Most tech support people are knowledgeable about our problems, and if not, they will escalate to the proper person.
Program Officer
FM Kirby FoundationNon-Profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
GuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G)
GuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G) 10.0
Based on 2 answers
Haven't used any live support but the online help sections were useful and concise
Development Manager
Christodora: Nature, Learning, LeadershipNon-profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
Alternatives Considered
Blackbaud FIMS
It is really a matter of priority. I can see situations where GIFTS Classic is a very strong option! Once an organization determines its priorities then it should definitely consider GIFTS to see how well it compares with mission critical functionality.
Director of Grant Management
Houston EndowmentPhilanthropy, 11-50 employees
GuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G)
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Blackbaud FIMS
- Reporting was difficult on GIFTS - often we had to place data into Excel by hand since we could not create simple customized reports. This increased time spent on tasks GIFTS was supposed to streamline.
- GIFTS did not alert us to duplicated organization records, so often it was difficult to reflect an organization's full grant history to our Board of Directors, leading to employees spending time searching through paper records to make sure all information was properly reported.
- GIFTS created duplicate contact records, meaning it was difficult to find out which contact was related to which organization and cluttered our data. This caused decreased processing and response time to "new" contacts who turned out to be previous contacts or contacts whose information was tied to previous organizations. Even when contact information was updated for a new organization, sometimes the program would revert to the first organization contact information, several times leading to checks cashed to incorrect organizations---the very worst consequence of using GIFTS to our organization. Thankfully, the money was recovered upon the few times that error occurred, but it led to me and other employees reading through out 800+ checks before issue to make sure the correct organization was in fact being rewarded.

Verified User
Program Manager in Other
Philanthropy Company, 1-10 employeesGuideStar for Grant Applications (G4G)
- Positive time-to-benefit ratio on grant applications
- Allows for greater number of grants to send out
Development Manager
Christodora: Nature, Learning, LeadershipNon-profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees