Blackbaud CRM vs. Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit

It works well enough for fundraising purposes and donor tracking. I think it would be less appropriate for instances or industries where you don't need so many data points on someone. You are able to attach a lot of information to a record so if you don't need that info (simply need contact info for example) you might want a simpler system

Incentivized

I have recommended Microsoft for Nonprofits to other Nonprofits that we work with. I have helped to implement it for a couple of them. I want to share the good things that Microsoft has to share for nonprofits like ours. I understand the struggles of paying for things and not having enough money at times to do everything I would love to be able to provide.

Incentivized

• Accessing in-depth data for a single constituent is easily done and customizable by user working with "tiles" on the home screen
• Generating lists of possible prospects with specific similarities can be done with a few clicks and then stored for more research later
• well designed relationship options allow for a a look at specific constituents and how they might relate to other constituents in the system leading to more effective prospecting
• Screens can be easily customized by user or user group eliminating irrelevant data and presenting only truly relevant information

Incentivized

• Providing a basic framework for nonprofit organizations who've been limping along or have capped out with their current platforms to consider switching to amplify and multiply their capabilities, reach, and impact
• Increasing the accessibility for both citizen developers and tech teams to extend a platform, so long as there are clear parameters (business use case) and thoughtful design and architecture planning
• Sharing some core infrastructure that accelerates the use of important tools to further the mission of nonprofit organizations

• Certain aspects of Blackbaud are oddly non-customizable.
• Blackbaud updates/support is slow and often ineffective - our organization switched to Microsoft 365, which is apparently incompatible with Blackbaud. Help/support recommended clunky workarounds that don't actually work, rather than proactively enhancing compatibility
• There should be a flag in constituent search to show which people in the results list are deceased.
• Query isn't very user friendly. It should be simple to locate the information that you want to pull, and add parameters to that information. Instead you have to write multiple queries to set parameters, then write a query that looks at those other queries. It's time-consuming and easy to make mistakes, and the knowledge/proficiency is difficult to explain or transfer to new staff.
• Blackbaud generally just feels like its technology is outdated. It wasn't built for the needs of a modern organization, and its developers have failed to make the necessary improvements over time to stay competitive.

Incentivized

• The system is ridiculously hard to implement, requiring too many tiers of Microsoft cloud services to be enabled.
• The technical aspects of the product are far too complex for anyone with standard cloud-based app training to implement.
• The non-profit "qualification" system is poorly designed.

Incentivized

We've covered a lot, but mostly because we are happy with the system overall. There are a few kinks, and sometimes it takes a minute to figure out the right wording to pull a report or the best way to code a new category that we want to track. But Blackbaud is always there to help us, and once things are figured out - they are super simple to replicate. It wouldn't be worth it to switch to a new system and lose of all our information and time put in to mastering the system

Incentivized

Powerful and scalable system that can continuously be developed as requirements evolve

I have not personally had to reach out to Blackbaud CRM Support, because we have a central office that manages the Blackbaud CRM relationship. However, any time I've reached out to our support team, there is nothing they can't figure out by utilizing the support they receive from Blackbaud CRM. I've not had any issues that have gone unresolved, and they can always get things done in a timely fashion.

Incentivized

Most of our issues were self-inflicted and related to BB's work. We did not "staff up" correctly, our data to be converted was not in great shape and we set some unreasonable goals. With BBs help we were able to clean our data and prep it for conversion and we adjusted the goals to be more achievable with the timeline we were given. We found the BB staff to be responsive and focused, especially when working on-site with us.

Incentivized

Blackbaud CRM is more robust and has better functionality. It is necessary for a bigger fundraising shop. Blackbaud Raiser's Edge and NXT worked well in smaller organizations with fewer users and fewer donors/prospects. RE was more affordable than CRM was for the smaller organization.

Incentivized

Our clients value Microsoft for its interoperability, unified database, and investment in the nonprofit sector.

Incentivized

• Change is always expensive and painful, but CRM is worth the time and effort. One immediate benefit is improved transparency internally, especially for internal accounting, controls, and compliance departments.
• Cloud hosting helps cut cost and demand on organization staff. Improves access and meets compliance on every level.
• Ability to make global changes to recording donor phone communication makes it a one-stop resource for a well-run development team.

Incentivized

• 70% improvement in Contract Documentation Management across the department I represent.
• 100% Engagement from reports that didn't have extensive technological expertise in the pass.
• Faster communication across the department I represent.

Incentivized