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, …
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 …
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 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 …
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.
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 …
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 …
Raiser's Edge NXT integrates well with the existing products we use like Outlook Email and Double the Donation. They are both integratable and streamline the process. Double the Donation integrates right on the donation form and Outlook as a Raiser's Edge button in the email to …
I used Millennium in a previous job and I found it simpler to use their relationship mapping, however, I appreciate the ability Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT provides to be able to customize.
Obviously, Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT does much more than what Eventbrite does, but when we were having trouble with our emails reaching people, we had to opt into Eventbrite as a supplemental form of communication that ensured that our messages did not end up in spam or …
As a dedicated CRM/Fundraising platform, Blackbaud Raiser's Edge (RE) drastically outcompetes the options available in FIMS and CommunitySuite. However, since RE lack's robust financials, we have to manually integrate/synchronize RE data with our core financial system. RE's …
I believe there isn't another product that provides you with everything RENXT does. I know that is built into the cost, but I still feel that it is a far superior product to DonorPerfect and other donor databases.
CiviCRM is an opensource product with very little cost, but it does not offer the level of detail at the constituent or gift levels that we need. Little Green Light is better than CiviCRM (in my opinion), but still doesn't offer the level of complexity that we get from …
RE-NXT is much more user friendly than Salesforce. Navigating the software took so many more mouse clicks and the pages were visually confusing. I will say that discontinuing or updating pledges/payment information on pledges was much easier, but that was the only good aspect …
We switched from Jenzabar which was a huge pain point for us. Our IT department had to write our reports but they did not have the capacity to manage everything by themselves. Jenzabar was able to store our data but retrieving it was a huge challenge even for someone with a …
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT is great for tracking and keeping donation and donor data up to date. I think, as a CRM, Blackbaud is great. However, I think pulling that data out of Blackbaud is more difficult than in some other CRMs. It may just be my lack of expertise, but I find that Blackbaud never pulls the information exactly the way I want to, and I have to spend a lot of time after pulling a report or export cleaning up the data to meet my requirements.
There is so much missing functionality in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT (webview) compared to database view - whilst they repeatedly tell us to switch to webview we simply can't due to crucial functionality that is missing.
In our experience, there are a lot of false promises made, particularly when renewing contracts etc, about what functionality is coming soon to webview - particularly regarding the optional modules such as Volunteering.
An increased focus from Blackbaud and all their marketing about pushing third party vendors for certain activities (email marketing being a big one!) all of which come at an additional cost. Although these integrate into Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, I would prefer Blackbaud to focus on making its own functionality up to standard rather than integrating costly 3rd party platforms.
In my experience, Support for the platform has got worse over the years - I have been waiting over six months to resolve a technical issue which is hampering our use of the functionality.
Inability to create letters within the system (which used to be a feature in RE7 database view) is a huge issue for our supporter base who still appreciate paper-based acknowledgement letters.
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.
Courses are offered both synchronously and asynchronously for various subjects for your employees. I have taken a handful of them and have found them very insightful and helpful. They have helped in getting more out of their product and it helps that you can learn from others in the classes that you take learning what their practices are and how other organizations are doing things with BlackBaud's products.
Training is key. Blackbaud offered the training package prior to implementation and it helped us understand how to build it so that the future use would be appropriate to the operation of the organization. Data conversion stage was also very important. A lot of work must be done before making the final decisions about the data conversion - what data to convert and what to leave out, where certain information was supposed to be placed within RE.
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, like I've used it for forever.
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.
