CharityCAN

CharityCAN is a fundraising intelligence service for Canadian charities that need donor research, screening and relationship mapping in one workflow. It is strongest for organizations whose prospecting depends on Canadian records and postal-code wealth data. The trade-off is a paid, seat-limited structure that makes fit and expected screening volume important before purchase.

Overview

CharityCAN combines prospect search, automatically assembled profiles, relationship mapping and donor screening. Search draws on donation records, compensation records and biographical information, while profiles consolidate an individual’s data so fundraisers can qualify prospects without assembling every fact manually.

The service is distinctly Canadian in scope. It provides current-year real-estate value and donation estimates for every Canadian postal code and reports on 85,000 registered charities. That is a meaningful advantage for domestic fundraising; organizations whose work is mainly outside Canada should not choose it for geographic breadth.

Third Sector Publishing, the family-owned company behind CharityCAN, was founded by Anderson Charters in 2008. Every tier includes unlimited on-demand training and support, a dedicated account manager, and contact by email, phone, chat or text.

Key features

Prospect research and relationship mapping

Searchable maps show connections through boards and companies, and users can trace relationship paths among people, charities and companies. This is useful when an introduction matters as much as a prospect’s apparent capacity. The ability to search the map makes the relationship layer more practical than a static contact list.

Screening and scoring

Donor screening matches submitted names and addresses with CharityCAN data and assigns capacity and affinity scores. Screening can surface board affiliations, private-foundation donations, federal political donations, public-sector salaries, organizational links and three household-wealth data points. Wealth screening, affinity screening and prospect scoring are therefore built into the service, giving fundraisers a qualification signal before they invest cultivation time.

Integrations and automation

The Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT integration displays CharityCAN relationship, donation and postal-code data on constituent pages and supports importing multiple data points. Subscribers can also use the API to retrieve screening results per record and update their database as CharityCAN adds records or data. AI Summaries turn donor information into briefs that users can export or save to a donor-management system.

Pricing

Donor Screening

The Donor Screening plan costs $1,500 as a one-time purchase for fewer than 5,000 records. Additional household demographic variables cost $200 each. Screening above 5,000 records requires a quote, so this is a focused purchase for a defined batch rather than a predictable high-volume subscription.

CharityCAN for One User

This plan is $3,400 a year for one user. Up to three additional users cost $2,200 each, and qualifying registered charities pay $2,200. It suits a solo fundraiser or a small organization willing to keep primary access with one account; adding staff quickly changes the economics.

CharityCAN for Teams

Teams pay $10,200 a year for up to five users. Additional users are $2,200 each. The plan includes a choice of 5,000 annual Donor Screening credits or CharityCAN for Raiser’s Edge NXT, making the choice consequential for organizations that need both screening volume and the integration.

CharityCAN for Organizations

Organizations with more than five users receive custom pricing. This tier includes Donor Screening credits, donor-management-system integrations and API access, so it is the appropriate route for larger teams and operational database workflows.

There is no free plan. The free trial lasts 24 hours, which is enough for a tightly planned evaluation but too short for a broad multi-user rollout assessment.

Platforms

CharityCAN runs on the web and offers an API. The API matters for teams that need screening results and newly added records synchronized with their own database rather than handled only through the interface.

Who it's for

Choose CharityCAN if you are a Canadian charitable organization doing prospect qualification, donor screening or relationship-led fundraising, especially with Raiser’s Edge NXT or an internal database. Its Canadian postal-code and charity coverage is the central reason to prefer it.

It is a weaker fit for teams needing a free starting tier, many inexpensive seats, or a longer evaluation period. Small groups should also decide whether one-user access is sufficient before paying for additional seats.

Pros and cons

Pros

Deep Canadian context: current-year postal-code real-estate and donation estimates, plus coverage of 85,000 registered charities, support locally focused prospecting.

Connected research: profiles, searchable relationship maps and path searches join individual screening with board, company and charity connections.

Actionable screening: capacity and affinity scores combine with political, foundation, salary, board and household-wealth signals.

Operational options: Raiser’s Edge NXT integration, API access and exportable AI donor briefs support database-centered teams.

Included assistance: every tier provides unlimited training, a dedicated account manager and multiple contact channels.

Cons

High entry cost: the standard starting subscription is $3,400 a year for one user, with no free plan.

Seat economics: extra users cost $2,200 each on the one-user and team plans, limiting inexpensive expansion.

Short trial: a 24-hour trial leaves little time to assess workflows across a fundraising team.

Volume uncertainty: screening above 5,000 records and the organization tier require a quote, complicating budget planning.

Alternatives

Nonprofit Donor Prospecting Software is the broader category guide to compare when CharityCAN’s Canadian specialization is not the deciding factor.

Choose Hatch instead if a freemium entry is essential: its free plan includes one seat, 50 enrichment profiles and 50 Sir Hatch drafts per month, though it is far more capped than CharityCAN’s paid service.

NPOAuthority is the alternative to consider when unlimited seats and one-off searches matter more than CharityCAN’s Canadian relationship data; its annual contract is $1,695 a year.

Choose Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT when you need a broader Blackbaud financial-management environment with personalized pricing and potentially bundled implementation, training and support.

Gratona Donor Intelligence suits teams seeking a $750.00 USD monthly Launch plan with 1,000 AI credits and one primary workflow.

Orbit is another paid prospecting option with a free trial.

DonorAtlas is an enterprise alternative with unlimited searches and profile views, plus SSO, SCIM and role-based access.

EverTrue is worth considering for alumni-relations work, with product-specific custom pricing.

Insightful Philanthropy uses pricing based on contribution level and team size rather than seats or record counts.

Verdict

CharityCAN is the right choice for Canadian charities that will use its domestic data, donor scoring and relationship paths to guide real fundraising decisions. Its main reason to choose it is the combination of Canadian coverage and integrated screening-to-CRM workflows. Look elsewhere if you need a free plan, low-cost team access, a longer trial or predictable pricing for large screening volumes.