Raiser's Edge NXT is geared to nonprofits so there isn't anything to build unlike salesforce or some others. They have been in the space a long time and have evolved along with the sector. Their longevity, the integration with Financial Edge NXT are the major drivers of …
The only other fundraising software I have used besides Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT was called Team Approach. It is no longer around, but the look and feel of it compared to database view was so similar, I had no trouble learning this software. Raiser's Edge feels intuitive, …
I used Daxko while at a YMCA, at the time I had just come from an organization using RE and NXT, and felt like it was a huge step down in fundraising-specific functionality. We use GiveSmart for the online bidding capabilities but I hope in the future we will be able to use …
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT is definitely cleaner, more streamlined, and more modern than other Blackbaud offerings. That said, it still has a ways to go in terms of full-functionality when compared to the other, more complete CRMs. I did not have a choice in the selection of …
I use Givebutter for smaller community organizations I volunteer for vs. using RE NXT for a larger private college where I work. RE NXT is robust and great for organizations with greater needs, but smaller organizations who have 1-2 solicitations a year and about that many …
RE is much more user friendly (EG you don't need coding experience). It also has a lower price-point, or at least for orgs that had the self-hosted version prior to moving to NXT/cloud. There was too much time and money, not to mention training for staff, that would have gone …
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT is a much more thorough system than Blackbaud eTapestry and offers more possibilities for your donor database. The variety of modules available allows you to tailor your package to your organization's needs. OneCause is great for auctions and other …
Most elements are better in NXT, but one thing I enjoyed in the Talisma Donor 2 CRM was the display on each constituent record showing whether an emailer (sent through the platform) had been opened or not. I don’t believe I’ve seen the equivalent of this in NXT.
I switched organizations and went from using Salesforce to using Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT. Salesforce was incredibly complicated, but their education system is absolutely unmatched. Anything you need to learn, there is an opportunity to truly master it. Blackbaud Raiser's …
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT delivers much of the same functionality as the Slate platforms but in a more user-friendly way and with much more ease of use. Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT has a familiar interface that many development professionals find very appealing and comforting …
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Integrates with SKY API to get these Microsoft Products. Microsoft SharePoint is a place to store my merged acknowledgement letters and acknowledgement envelopes from using my Microsoft Power Automate flow. Microsoft Power Automate works hand in hand …
Verified User
Employee
Chose Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
We have now begun using Bloomerang since they are cheaper. Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT is a very expensive product. However, they are better than Bloomerang in a number of ways. Their soft credit functionality is immensely superior. Their global replace works on all data …
Our success in using FPM is one of the reasons Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT was such a strong contender to be selected. Our experience with that product and with the customer support, product improvement, etc helped increase our confidence in Blackbaud as a partner. We expect …
To be honest, we selected NXT years ago after having used etapestry for a long time. The sales pitch was great and promised lots of benefits and functions that weren’t necessarily true or cost extra. We are currently evaluating other (less expensive and more feature-rich …
Our organization has been using Raiser's edge for a very long time. The continuity of forty years of data provides a lot of inertia to move to a new product. I am concerned about the switch to purely NXT. I am hopeful that they will keep as much functionality as they say they …
Raiser's Edge NXT has an advantage because it is configured to be used by fundraisers out of the box, with no developer required. Integrated solutions reduce the need to export/import data. That said, the out-of-the-box email marketing tools are somewhat lacking--we now use Feat…
Features
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
Communications and Marketing
Comparison of Communications and Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
4.9
46 Ratings
27% below category average
Constituent engagement and marketing
5.746 Ratings
Social listening
4.013 Ratings
Digital advocacy enablement
4.819 Ratings
Reporting and Analytics
Comparison of Reporting and Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
6.4
52 Ratings
3% above category average
Reporting and data visualization
6.551 Ratings
Wealth screening
6.342 Ratings
Fundraising and Events
Comparison of Fundraising and Events features of Product A and Product B
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
5.7
48 Ratings
0% above category average
Online donation options
7.147 Ratings
Event registration and ticketing
6.148 Ratings
Text and phone donations
4.614 Ratings
Volunteer shift management
4.510 Ratings
Mobile event check-in
6.114 Ratings
Security and Platform
Comparison of Security and Platform features of Product A and Product B
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT is a great fundraising tool. It is visually pleasing and straightforward for the most part. Being able to open different aspects of the database in different tabs and have reports and exports running in the background is a great time-saver. Having information tiles that you can move and reorganize used on the user means that I don't have to scroll to the bottom of a record to find out a person's giving history. If I'm working on a specific data project involving actions, I can move that tile to the top and it will stay there for just me while I'm working. It doesn't affect any of my other users' settings. Being able to send out links to gift lists to members of my fundraising team is excellent. Clicking the link brings them to the batch info and they can zero in on their prospects in the database directly from those lists. Blackbaud's Email marketing is my least favorite part because there's missing functionality I wish it had, like exporting email statistics and viewing them in general. I understand that other partners which can integrate would take care of this, but still.
Blackbaud RE NXT is extremely well organized and easy to use. The simple layout and straightforward functions make interacting with the product pleasant and easy.
Blackbaud RE NXT's dashboards are amazing. They make reporting so easy because the dashboards convey all necessary information in an easy-to-read, unique format (depending on how you want it displayed). It is relatively easy to create a dashboard, and the options for customizing it are great.
Blackbaud RE NXT is great for receiving and processing donations. From the simple donation forms to the automatic batch creation, using RE NXT makes processing donations much more efficient.
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT is constantly updating and making major changes, so you never fully understand the system
The way some things are labeled in the system doesn't make logical sense. You almost have to learn a whole new language to get the most out of the features.
There's no way to re-generate a copy of a receipt, which is wildly inconvenient.
A lot of features are very limited based on your subscription. They give you a wide range of features but almost none of them work to their full potential. Even if you're paying a lot of money for the system, you will still likely feel like you're doing a free trial.
I don't know for sure what we'll do, and I wouldn't publicly share that anyways. Speaking only for myself, I wouldn't jump for joy if I was given the task of transferring CRM providers when this org has a Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT database that's 28 years old, but being aware of what's on the market is always responsible. With the planned functionality updates to Web View over 2025-2026, the phasing out of features in database view, and the changes to contract structure laid out in investor updates, there's a lot of factors that could change in the next few years. And Blackbaud has not made it clear how much work the transfer to Web View only will be for us over the next couple years: It means updating all of our policies and procedures and all of our documentation and retraining all of our employees at minimum, and that's assuming that all existing fields and features remain accessible without modification.
Learning the overall useability of Blackbaud Raiser's Edge is a fairly steep learning curve, however, the support team that Blackbaud Raiser's Edge employs are top notch, helpful and very knowledgeable. Blackbaud Raiser's Edge also maintains an extensive library of articles that are very helpful, as well a useful tutorials, including step-by-step articles as well as instructional videos. With these tools at your disposal you will be competent in no time
The only reason I cannot give a 10 is because like all web based products, internet connection is required and that is not something that can be counted on 100% of the time. When the internet connection is stable, I have had little to no issues using Raiser's Edge.
NXT itself is a pretty simple interface, and is great for front-line fundraisers to be able to look up info and run some simple "reports"/analysis. It's very quick and intuitive, but the back-end attached to it (RE 7.96) may have connectivity issues from time to time. NXT itself, though, is simple enough that issues are rare.
You are better off using the user community or Facebook group to get answers than the support provided by Blackbaud. Oftentimes, support reps are not even aware that new features are being rolled out, nor do they have fundraising experience so you end up explaining more to the rep about what you are trying to accomplish and why than getting to the issue.
When you get a good, knowledgeable person for in-person training, you can't beat it! Hands on, real time, questions answered on the spot. And they want to make sure you get what you needed before leaving. To also have dedicated time without other distractions is very important to the learning process in my opinion.
The content is solid, but for those who benefit from in-person interactions, it can be a bit challenging. While the online format is great for flexibility and accessibility, there’s something about face-to-face training that makes it easier to absorb and ask questions in real-time. Overall, though, it’s a solid resource for self-paced learning.
I can't recall many specifics, mostly due to my own limited use of the entire NXT range of functions. One thing that I dislike is that when previous "Contact Reports" (Talisma term) were imported the dates were all converted to show as the date that they were imported into NXT, rather than the original dates they were entered into the old CRM. During the implementation, similarly, a few batches of Actions were re-dated to show the date of the batch transfer or update (not from the old system, I believe).
I have not used other products like this before. I have used and created some SQL databases and ERPs, but have not used fundraising-specific software such as Raiser's Edge. Based on what I know from other products vaguely similar to this - databases and ERPs - this is very user friendly and easy to pick up for anyone, especially with their NXT webview offering.
Pricing really seems to be all over the place, and everything else you need is an extra add-on cost. The biggest issue is training. Options are limited unless you subscribe and pay for it across your contract.
New features are constantly being added to Raiser's Edge NXT that expand its capabilities. Features such as constituent mapping and easily accessible actions allow for more in-depth analysis of existing constituents. The future ability to manipulate soft-credits and customize reporting dashboards will make NXT even more attractive to our fundraisers and executives. It's great to see that the software is evolving.
Having everything in one system means that information is much more likely to be up to date. We hardly get any returned mail from the post office when we pull lists.
Our gift officers can easily pull up donor information on their phones while out on a visit, giving them the edge they need to close a gift.
Information tiles on a person's record that are easy to reorganize and collapse per the needs of each user makes finding pertinent information quick.
