Free Software for Charities UK: Manage Donors & Clients

Running a charity organisation or NPO is a multi-tasking process that needs automation. As a representative of a non-profit organisation, you keep track of donations, maintain a client database, search for new benefactors, do fundraising, manage a team, and work on your online branding. Finding comprehensive free nonprofit software can significantly reduce your operational overhead.

You can use multiple software to fulfil your core tasks: Donorfy for charity CRM, JustGiving for collecting donations, SAGE for accounting, and Trello for teamwork. But imagine that every morning you have to launch several apps at once, train your employees to use them, and switch from one tab to another. And your counsellors who work for you also need to keep records of appointments, adding one more software to your list. It's not exactly convenient and definitely does not save time and money, which small charities often do not have much.

Today you will see how the Medesk project management software automates the work of providers and the UK charity sector and replaces 5 software packages at once.

Top Free Software Packages for UK Charities

Before diving into what Medesk offers, it helps to know which free software tools UK charities are already using. Most registered charities and NPOs can access the following tools at no cost, simply by verifying their charitable status.

Microsoft 365 for Charities Microsoft offers its core productivity suite free or heavily discounted to eligible UK nonprofits through the Microsoft Tech for Social Impact programme. This includes Word, Excel, Teams, and SharePoint. Organisations with up to 10 users can access Microsoft 365 Business Basic at no charge, making it a strong foundation for day-to-day administration.

Google for Nonprofits Google for Nonprofits gives eligible organisations free access to Google Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Meet, and Calendar), Google Ad Grants worth up to £7,000 per month in search advertising, and YouTube Nonprofit features. It is one of the most widely used free packages in the UK charity sector.

Canva for Nonprofits Canva's Pro plan, normally £99.99 per year, is available free to registered nonprofits through the Canva for Nonprofits programme. It is the go-to design tool for creating social media graphics, fundraising materials, presentations, and branded templates without needing a professional designer.

Slack for Charities Slack's Pro subscription is free for charities with fewer than 250 staff members. It replaces scattered email threads with organised channels by topic or team, supports video calls, and integrates with tools like Google Drive and Trello. It is particularly useful for charities coordinating remote volunteers.

Free Accounting and CRM Software for Charities

Beyond general productivity tools, charities require specialised systems to manage funds and relationships. Several providers offer dedicated free charity accounting software and CRM solutions.

Benchmark Software Benchmark provides completely free, full versions of its accounting, payroll, and CRM software to registered charities, with no limitations on functionality. If your organisation eventually requires technical support, it is available at a heavily discounted rate of £10 plus VAT per month.

Free CRM Alternatives While dedicated charity CRMs like Donorfy are excellent, smaller organisations can often use free tiers of commercial CRMs like HubSpot or Zoho to manage donor databases effectively without upfront costs.

Medesk for Health and Counselling Charities For charities that also deliver counselling, therapy, or other health services, the tools above do not cover clinical records, appointment scheduling, or GDPR-compliant patient management. That is where Medesk fits in. Read on to see how it addresses those specific needs.

Streamline Donor and Patient Management with the Medesk CRM Software

Social services is the largest voluntary subsector, accounting for around a fifth of organisations. 31% of volunteers say they help remotely, either online or over the phone. This means that organisations store data on hundreds of people online and need to be able to access it 24/7 in the case of an emergency.

Medesk allows charities to keep all records in one place, easily accessible and secure. You can make changes to records, create new ones, and attach documents to profiles from any device with internet access. If someone from your team is sick or on holiday, their work can be easily delegated to another person, as Medesk supports customisable access permissions.

The platform automates repetitive tasks. For example, when a client submits an intake form, their information automatically populates in the system. To navigate your list of donors, beneficiaries, and volunteers easily, create colour-coded tags for different groups of contacts. You can use these same tags in your documents to quickly find, print, forward, and edit data.

For health and counselling charities, Medesk replaces paper-based medical records. The EHR module enables all client data to be stored online in compliance with GDPR and the Code of Fundraising Practice. It includes multi-factor authentication and encrypted storage, critical features for any organisation managing confidential information.

It's easy to access note templates, session history, and client progress with a single click. We have prepared a library of ready-made reports and questionnaires. It is all customisable, so you can add anything that's important to you, such as ready-made templates for psychometric scoring. Thanks to the inbuilt telemedicine module, you can see clients online and increase your geographical reach.

Medesk pricing is activity-based. Prices depend only on the number of appointments you carry out per month. Medesk also offers a permanent Free plan, available in every market, which is ideal for smaller charities with low appointment volumes, plus a free trial of the full Pro plan so you can test it before committing.

Free Fundraising Platforms and Payment Tools

Collecting donations efficiently is vital for nonprofits. While Medesk handles internal payments for counselling services and integrates directly with Stripe for secure online transactions, many organisations also need dedicated donation software for charities.

Raisely Raisely is a modern fundraising platform that offers a free tier for charities to build campaign pages. It provides a clean, mobile-first experience for donors and integrates easily with popular CRMs.

JustGiving As one of the most recognised donation software for charities options in the UK, JustGiving allows nonprofits to set up free branded pages. While it charges a small processing fee on individual donations, its massive reach helps charities acquire new supporters through platform visibility.

Stripe For direct payments on your own site, Stripe remains an industry leader. Stripe offers custom discounted processing fees for qualifying UK nonprofit organisations that process 80% or more of their payments as donations.

Make Financial Transparency and Reporting a Part of Your Registered Charity

Under the Charities Act 2011, all organisations with annual income over £5,000 must register with the Charity Commission and be accountable to the government, submitting annual reports and undergoing audits or independent examinations depending on income.

The more transparent you are, the more likely you are to attract volunteers and donors. People trust organisations whose websites show all activity reports, audits, and the auditor's report on the annual accounts.

Medesk helps you collect payments, generate final invoices, and run comprehensive reports seamlessly. Invoices for services can be created from the calendar or client record, then sent or printed with a few clicks.

Every payment you record in Medesk is automatically synchronised with the Xero accounting software, which can be activated within the platform. This enables you to monitor the flow of cash and share financial reports with board members, donors, and volunteers in a click.

We have put together more than 40 different ready-made reports so you can track your organisation's performance. With the Analytics module, you can gather information for financial reports and evaluate your acquisition channels. Medesk's reporting tools help counsellors track client progress, identify needs over time, and demonstrate impact to funders.

Counselling centres have seen a 20% improvement in service delivery by analysing key metrics, such as attendance rates and client feedback. Use easy-to-read dashboards and charts to quickly interpret data and support your strategic planning.

Make people know your brand

Microcharities and small charities make up more than 80% of the sector. To stand out, branding needs to be consistent across every touchpoint, including the documents and emails your organisation sends daily.

Medesk lets you add your organisation's logo to printed documents, apply your brand colours to email templates, and send automated communications on behalf of your charity rather than as anonymous system messages. As your brand grows, you can use reverse image search to track the appearance of your logo across different online websites. Canva for Nonprofits pairs well here for creating the branded assets you then use throughout Medesk's communication tools.

Our platform gives you the opportunity to evaluate, free of charge, functionality that will automate your organisation's operations and take care delivery to the next level. Our clients say that using PMS helps them to evenly distribute the workload, analyse customer behaviour, and 'boost revenue for everyone's benefit rather than merely redistributing it'.

Frequently Asked Questions: Free Software for Charities UK

1. Who qualifies for free charity software in the UK? Most free software programmes require your organisation to be a registered charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, or the equivalent body in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Some providers also extend eligibility to churches, community interest companies (CICs), and registered NPOs. Always check the specific charity software eligibility criteria on each provider's application page, as requirements vary between Microsoft, Google, Canva, and Slack.
2. Does a charity need to be registered to access tools like Microsoft 365 or Google for Nonprofits? Yes, in most cases. Microsoft 365 for charities and Google for Nonprofits both require verified nonprofit status, usually confirmed through a third-party validation service such as TechSoup. Unregistered community groups or informal clubs may not qualify, though some providers offer discounted rather than free access in those cases.
3. How do charities get free software? Charities usually obtain free software by applying directly through a provider's nonprofit portal. To verify eligibility, providers often use services like TechSoup, which cross-references your charity registration number (such as your Charity Commission number) with official databases. Once validated, you can instantly download and access your free nonprofit software or generate licence keys.
4. What is the difference between free and paid features in charity software? Many tools offer a fully free core product with optional paid support or add-ons. For example, Benchmark Software provides full software versions free to charities, with optional support available at a discounted rate of £10 plus VAT per month. Medesk offers a free trial based on a gamification system, with ongoing pricing tied to appointment volume rather than a flat fee, so smaller charities pay less.
5. Can charities outside England qualify for these programmes? Yes. Most providers accept charities registered in Scotland (OSCR), Northern Ireland (CCNI), and Wales, as well as international nonprofits for programmes like Google for Nonprofits. Check each provider's eligibility page directly, as some restrict certain offers to specific regions.

Try Free Software for Charities and Counsellors Today

Should you make the switch to Medesk? Absolutely! With a free trial and accessible onboarding, Medesk provides counsellors and charities the tools to elevate their services and stay organised. Even if you're satisfied with your current systems, testing out Medesk could open up new possibilities. Medesk is built to scale, so as your charity grows, Medesk can grow with it.

By using the Medesk practice management software, charities and NPOs can streamline their operations, allowing counsellors to spend more time with clients and less on paperwork. Whether you're a small charity starting out or an established organisation with many clients, Medesk is designed to meet your needs.

Medesk considers individual roles and responsibilities within the clinic and arranges everything in just the right way for patients, doctors, receptionists, nurses, and practice managers alike. From a marketing perspective, we benefit from the online booking and patient portal modules. Arman Ali, practice manager at Prime Clinic.

The trial period is based on a gamification system: the more lessons you take, the more days of free access you get. In 15 days, you will learn all modules available on the Pro plan, including telehealth and integrations. We built the onboarding system so that you can learn the ins and outs of the job during the trial period and ask our IT support team questions 24/7.

Don't just take our word for it; join the growing number of charities transforming their operations with Medesk. Start your free trial today and see firsthand how it can improve client management, boost efficiency, and enhance your fundraising efforts.