Raiser's Edge

It isn't as compatible with programs like MailChimp as we'd like.

The giving forms are dated, which has caused us to use a third party for this.

Limitations due to our set up with spouse records which are difficult to overcome.

Fewer giving options for constituents living outside the U.S.

The potential for junk information is high, and RE has holes in its historical data/actions preservation. This leads to greater effort by staff to maintain and amend the database.

It is great for tracking our ROI across Campaigns and Appeals, etc.

Very useful for fundraising and philanthropy in cultivating and retaining donors.

Complete view of donors giving behaviour

Difficult information integration

Difficulty with pulling data for deep analysis

Allowing employees around the world to access the program has really helped with constituent tracking.

Email communications with constituents allows our organization to stay in contact with those interested and to keep them informed of our project activities.

Online donation forms and integration with Raisers Edge has increased our online income substantially.

It is getting harder to see the ROI as [positive] with using Raiser's Edge as the price continues to increase with no additional benefit.

It allows us to track ROI and any moves/visits made by our development officers easily

This is one of the most opaque areas of The Raisers Edge; different organizations measure this differently.

Because the system is cloud-based, there is no easy way of leaving them, because they "have' your data

Extensive research (outside of Blackbaud) resources it is needed before making this move to investing in The Raisers Edge - best to attend the conference and ask other users very specific questions

Donor information was clear and concise.

Easily track money to different organizations.

The Raisers Edge has allowed us to make more informed decisions regarding audience segmentation and geographical priorities.

The Raisers Edge has also worked well with a third-party vendor that we contracted with to build out propensity and engagement scoring models.

Raiser's Edge has improved the level of detail we track with each constituent record so that we know when they last visited, last gave, and future opportunities. This all depends on the data you put in though. Your data out is only as good as your data going in.

Using Raiser's Edge and Financial Edge together has led to more seamless communication for gift processing.

We can track anything we want. It is very easy.

I can't imagine a heavy fundraising effort without Raiser's Edge. It is able to manage so much different data, and the reporting capabilities are excellent.

Since Raiser's Edge is such a respected system, there are many other companies that offer integrated services, so no matter what you need, it will probably work with Blackbaud and/or their partners.

It allows us to run the core fundraising business.

It has a large community.

I'm unsure; we just added a goal component to events, but that is a new feature for us.

I cannot speak to how it has or hasn't helped fundraisers.

Our constituents are better organized.

The fundraising structure is more streamlined and logical.

It helps identify high potential donors.

It allows easy access controls for administrators.

Provides excellent data-management tools.

Provides useful and accurate reporting.

Ability to batch donations quickly instead of individual gift entry.

Quick letter production.

Streamlined systems within department.

We are not able to have more streamlined and accurate data to guide future campaigns.

We have reduced mailing "waste" with some of the clean-up tools it offers.

We are able to better group our constituents for targeted mailings and events.

We manage 50K alumni records and are able to update their contact information, track their giving and solicitations, track relationships to classmates, family alumni, and employers quite well. We manage an additional 50K constituents who give to or influence our university, and we are able to code them in a manner that makes it fairly simple to target solicitations, target messaging, and tailor events to the interests of our community.

Having RE allows up-to-date data sharing across the University.

Raiser's Edge allows our development team to access the info they need to meet with constituents.

Without the database, we would not be effective at all.

With Raisers Edge, we're able to get more donations through sponsorships, special events, tributes and the annual fund.

With Raisers Edge, we're able to maintain accurate data with our membership base to empower other departments.

Raisers Edge is expensive, diverting some money from the mission that is not used with other alternatives.

The positive impact is being able to track data

Positive impact is to set reminders and action items

Negative impact is understanding the full capacity of The Raisers Edge and how to use it

The Raisers Edge has allowed us to effectively manage the donation aspect of fundraising events.

The Raisers Edge has allowed us to answer donor questions quickly.

The Raisers Edge has helped us thank donors in an accurate and timely way.

Increase in donors and consecutive donors.

Ability to have support available at any time such as website hosting issues so we could continue to benefit from online giving forms.

Ability to have reminders on major giving prospects, were able to raise most money this year.