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GRIN vs. Blackbaud Education Management Solutions

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    GRIN

    Score6.3 out of 10
    N/AGRIN is a creator management software platform that offers a creator search of over 38 million influencers that is not an opt-in influencer network. GRIN states they believe that the connection between brand and creator should not have a middle-man, and therefore we take no commission. GRIN creator management platform helps brands to connect directly with creator prospects and manage creator relationships to scale. The eCommerce integration aims to make product seeding, discount codes &…N/A

    Blackbaud Education Management Solutions

    Score7.1 out of 10
    N/ABlackbaud Education Management Solutions is a unified student management system for K–12 private schools. Blackbaud Enrollment Management System™: Gives schools and families the ability to track admissions progress from first impressions all the way through the application process to acceptance, enrollment, and tuition payment. Blackbaud Learning Management System™: Track students' academic performance and progression…N/A
    Pricing
    GRINBlackbaud Education Management Solutions
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    GRINBlackbaud Education Management Solutions
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    GRINBlackbaud Education Management Solutions
    Considered Both Products
    GRIN
    No answer on this topic
    Blackbaud
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    68 Answers
    73%
    Would buy again
    11 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    55 Answers
    85%
    Delivers good value for the price
    11 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    69 Answers
    87%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    56 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    57 Answers
    83%
    Implementation went as expected
    10 Answers
    Features
    GRINBlackbaud Education Management Solutions
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of GRIN and Blackbaud Education Management Solutions
    Feature
    GRIN
    1.0
    1 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Blackbaud Education Management Solutions
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile App Analytics1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Influencer Management
    Comparison of Influencer Management features of GRIN and Blackbaud Education Management Solutions
    Feature
    GRIN
    1.3
    1 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Blackbaud Education Management Solutions
    -
    Ratings
    Influencer search1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Influencer tracking2.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report generation1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Campaign planning1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    User Ratings
    GRINBlackbaud Education Management Solutions
    Likelihood to Recommend
    1.8
    (71 ratings)
    7.0
    (120 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.8
    (9 ratings)
    7.5
    (9 ratings)
    Usability
    8.1
    (4 ratings)
    6.5
    (7 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.3
    (6 ratings)
    7.0
    (115 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.2
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (21 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    GRINBlackbaud Education Management Solutions
    Likelihood to Recommend
    GRIN
    GRIN is well suited for companies that are seeking an all-in-one solution for influencer program management and place a high value in repurposing UGC for marketing purposes. I would also say that GRIN makes sense for those who are aggressively scaling their influencer program and are planning on having at least 100-150 creators in the program. GRIN would be less appropriate for companies who may not have a large influencer program and are merely seeking to track affiliate link/coupon code performance.
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    Blackbaud
    A good, and constantly improving solution for private schools. I don't know that a lot of its functionality would be well suited to public schools, but maybe? The integration with other Blackbaud software is a huge plus for us, as we have several of their other products including their flagship Raiser's Edge. Smaller schools may not need the sophistication of Blackbaud solutions, and it is not an inexpensive option.
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    Pros
    GRIN
    • customer service on all levels
    • streamlines resources (creator search, emails, Shopify orders, payments, etc) all on one platform
    • The amount of customization and overall tools - sometimes this feels overwhelming but I'm grateful they are there to build on as I grow my experience with the platform
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    Blackbaud
    • Seamless integration between the LMS, EMS and SIS modules
    • Real-time, effective chat support helps me not only with urgent needs but also to work through possibilities for increasing how we use the product.
    • Feature upgrades monthly that respond to voiced needs from users
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    GRIN
    • Creator search tool - doesn't bring up viable creator options, which means we do primarily off-platform seeding.
    • The landing page is clunky and not functional for reviewing creators - it adds a lot of time to my team's day looking through the creators with the way it's set up.
    • Email templates have funny formatting, and the typeface always seems to get messed up.
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    Blackbaud
    • Forms - lack of conditional questions
    • Gradebook -lack of links to assignments
    • Not being able to customize displays, for example, Grading tab - we just finished 1st semester and teachers could only see the current quarter but not the 1st one which is still part of the first semester. Lack of customization in assessments.
    • Scheduling- even though re-running generating schedules, we're still getting a high number of unscheduled students. Lack of being able to limit the number of scheduled classes in a row for teachers.
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    Likelihood to Renew
    GRIN
    I wouldn't be able to run as high of a profitable or functioning influencer program without it. GRIN seriously is the organizational tool that propels us towards success, it is not in any way going to do the work for you, but it does make the work more efficient, easier, and WAY more organized
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    Blackbaud
    It is a solid product. We have some issues with the capabilities of the website building components and the out dated technology behind its communications software but overall Blackbaud Education Management Software services to combine numerous functions into one product.
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    Usability
    GRIN
    The user interface of the platform is very well designed and extremely intuitive. You almost don't need an onboarding process because the workflow is so straightforward. The only item I would mention as a downside is the reporting. In order to get comprehensive reports, you need to go into each individual campaign. There is no aggregated report with all conversions.
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    Blackbaud
    Blackbaud EMS is very usable from my perspective. I am a power user and get lots of valuable functionality. It is, however, a complex system. Sometimes necessarily complex to accommodate flexibility for diverse customer needs. Some complexity seems unnecessary and/or hold-over functionality from earlier versions; nice to see this type being evolved away from over time. It is valuable to receive regular updates to the system along with good release notes of what changed and notices of significant changes in advance.
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    Support Rating
    GRIN
    We have our own support rep who helped get us set up, and as odd one off questions have come up has continued to support us. The rep is super knowledgeably and has also helped with some creative ways to get what we need. They are also always super fast to help when anything comes up
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    Blackbaud
    Decent support however the chat feature can take a great amount of time out of the workday. If for instance you are waiting for someone to respond in the chat and there is a fire drill, if you are not responding within a few minutes, you are disconnected and have to start all over again. It would be great if you could submit your problem and then whoever has the most experience, can respond. The training in the Blackbaud University is good but also time-consuming - a 3 hr training in the middle of a workday is a lot to ask. I like the 90-minute sessions. It would also be great to offer a shorter webinar to update on any changes implemented. Other than the email I subscribed to, there is no information on how these updates actually work.
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    Implementation Rating
    GRIN
    I don't have any key insights here. If you have someone organized and aware of how the influencer workflow operates then it will be a very easy implementation process for you. I would just ensure you have all of your products setup in Shopify before starting the implementation with Grin.
    Incentivized
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    Blackbaud
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    GRIN
    I was looking around at Dovetale, which connected with Shopify, and although it may be an easy connection because it's within the Shopify website, it isn't as user-friendly. It also doesn't offer the same hands-on experience from the GRIN team, 24/7 customer support, or bi-weekly calls with your direct contact. It just doesn't feel like it's worth it to me for the "convenience."
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    Blackbaud
    Blackbaud K-12 is very similar. I feel like I would be trading one set of issues for another so it's kind of a wash. We are very much hooked into the Blackbaud website with our Google SSO, SmartTuition, and Schooldoc integrations. It would be difficult for us to transition. That is the main reason I haven't really entertained other web firms.
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    Return on Investment
    GRIN
    • We are just getting moving with Grin but I am excited to grow our overall program.
    • The Grin community has provided a wealth of insights that we have been able to implement.
    • The addition of EMV data has been great for tracking success.
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    Blackbaud
    • Negative - The rollout is brutal. Blackbaud said it could happen in 6 months, but that is definitely not a reality. It will take well over a year, and one complete school cycle to actually integrate everything correctly.
    • Positive - The amount of time saved in data processing has allowed our office to become more involved in other areas of the school.
    • Positive - The ease of having everything in [one] place, from inquiry to application to contracts and course registration, has been a HUGE benefit to our applicants and their families.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    GRIN Screenshots

    Screenshot of Search 36M+ CreatorsScreenshot of Identify Influential CustomersScreenshot of Activate Unlimited CampaignsScreenshot of Track Creator ContentScreenshot of Send Email Templates + SequencesScreenshot of Report on Performance

    Blackbaud Education Management Solutions Screenshots

    Screenshot of Topics pages help organize units of learning throughout the year in the Learning Management SystemScreenshot of Blackbaud's education management solutions come with strong reporting tools to get the information you need quicklyScreenshot of Schedule view makes it easy for teachers to manage their daysScreenshot of Blackbaud Enrollment Management System Admissions Checklists help applicants track their progress in the admissions processScreenshot of Blackbaud's education management solutions come with strong reporting tools to get the information you need quicklyScreenshot of Keep track of all the key information about your students in one place