CiviCRM Delivers Standout Results in 2026 Charity CRM Survey

The newly published Charity CRM Survey 2026 from Fundraising Magazine and Charity Finance highlights the growing importance of flexible, well-connected CRM systems in helping charities navigate fundraising, compliance, supporter engagement and AI-driven transformation.

For the CiviPlus., which is built on CiviCRM, the results offer a particularly positive picture.

CiviCRM Continues to Stand Out

The survey, which gathered over 400 responses from charities across the UK, showed that CiviCRM was one of the strongest-performing platforms, particularly for value and flexibility.

More importantly, CiviCRM performed strongly across satisfaction and supplier ratings:

• 4.1 overall CRM satisfaction score
• 4.6 score for cost effectiveness - one of the highest in the survey
• 4.1 for customisation
• 4.1 for security
• 4.1 overall supplier rating for Compuco

The platform achieved one of the highest scores for cost effectiveness and earned an 87% supplier recommendation rating, placing it among the top-rated CRM providers in the sector.

These scores reinforce what many charities already know: open, flexible platforms like CiviCRM continue to deliver exceptional value, particularly for organisations that need adaptability, strong integrations and long-term sustainability.

Jamie Novick on the Future of CRM and Compliance

The article also featured several contributions from Jamie Novick, CEO of Compuco and creators of the CiviPlus SaaS platform built on CiviCRM.

Commenting on the UK’s new “charitable purpose soft opt-in” rules, Jamie described the changes as both “positive” and “pragmatic”, noting that they bring charity fundraising more closely in line with the commercial sector.

However, he also stressed that success depends on strong governance and good CRM foundations:

“It is not a silver bullet, and to benefit, charities need strong data governance.”

Jamie also highlighted how rapidly evolving technology, especially AI, is increasing pressure on charities to achieve more with fewer resources. His comments positioned CRM systems not simply as databases, but as critical operational infrastructure:

“In this environment, a well-implemented CRM has gone from being important to completely essential.”

Later in the article, Jamie explored how modern CRM platforms are evolving into connected ecosystems that power workflows, reporting, automation and AI-driven processes across organisations.

Why This Matters for CiviPlus Users

At CiviPlus, we see these findings reflected every day in the organisations we support.

Charities increasingly need CRM platforms that are:

• Flexible and adaptable
• Cost-effective
• AI-ready
• Strong on compliance and governance
• Capable of integrating across multiple systems
• Built for long-term growth

Because CiviPlus is built on CiviCRM, organisations benefit from the strength of the whole ecosystem while also gaining a managed, supported SaaS experience designed specifically for charities.

The survey results are a strong endorsement not only of CiviCRM itself, but of the wider movement towards open, connected and mission-focused technology for the nonprofit sector.

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Download the full survey here.