Item: Blackbaud eTapestry
Rating: 8
Author: Greg Kottler

Overall Satisfaction with Blackbaud eTapestry

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Blackbaud eTapestry is the backbone of our data services. From managing donor and membership records, to maintaining accurate records and notes, eTapestry is a great product for small to mid-sized non-profit organizations. While we do not currently have eTapestry connected with any products other than Constant Contact, the ability to import information makes for an easy adjustment. We rely on this product heavily for reporting purposes and is critical to our success as an organization.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Import gifts and information to donor record.
Quickly report on various segments.
Communicate effectively with our support base.

Cons

The addition of second most recent gift as a data field, as after running an import the gift just imported is now the last gift, would be a nice addition.
The ability to import information into personas for quick updates during gift import would be a nice improvement.
It would also be nice if the ability to send a communication to an externally imported list of just emails, rather than querying on donor records.
The ability to have more record space without the need to purchase additional records. This will eventually cause us to outgrow eTap.

Most Important Features

Ease of use
Speed of use
Ability to quickly query and report

Return on Investment

I would say eTapestry has had a positive impact on our ROI.

Usability

eTapestry is a fairly easy platform to use and there are plenty of valuable documents available in Blackbaud that will allow any user to become familiar and comfortable with applying this software to your organization. Most processes are easy to use and because there are so many organizations that use eTapestry there is no shortage of links online that can steer you in the right direction.

Alternatives Considered

Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

I have used Raisers Edge at a former workplace. I absolutely loved Raisers Edge, however, that organization was much larger and needed a platform with the ability to maintain a very large donor count. While more complicated to use than eTap, and far more powerful, I feel eTapestry is a much easier platform to manage, learn, and master.

Key Insights

Do you think Blackbaud eTapestry delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Blackbaud eTapestry's feature set?

Yes

Did Blackbaud eTapestry live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Blackbaud eTapestry go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Blackbaud eTapestry again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Constant Contact, WePay, Classy

Likelihood to Recommend

Blackbaud eTapestry is well suited for an organization of our size (mid sized) to effectively manage our donor database. Because we generate most of our mailings in-house, eTapestry makes to generation of these segmented lists easy. While there are capabilities that take time to learn, this software is fairly easy to obtain a simple mastery of. If your organization is large, with a large donor base you will not want eTapestry as there are record limitations, which can be overcome by purchasing additional records, which is a yearly (not one-time) fee.

Using Blackbaud eTapestry

Users and Roles

4 - Blackbaud eTapestry is only accessed by Philanthropy and Membership managers and above. We do this to limit the number of individuals that can access sensitive donor and member data. This is not done out of mistrust of employees but as an additional precaution to better manage any risk with regards to our database.

Support Headcount Required

4 - All users are in support of eTapestry on an on-going basis and our Manager of Philanthropy Services is the gatekeeper of this platform. As all assigned users can access the database, the MPS is the expert of the platform and provides the more detailed requests of data. As a smaller organization we feel it is important to limit the number of hands in the cookie jar.

Business Processes Supported

Track gifts
Maintain accurate records
Generate accurate mailings and communications
Track donor touch points
Report on campaign performance
Communicate with donors and members electronically

Innovative Uses

Creation of specialized reports specific to leadership needs
Control of our donor base within the organization
Detailed segmentation of solicitation and appeal lists

Future Planned Uses

Use of forms
Processing of gifts
Closer tracking of monthly donors

Likelihood to Renew

Blackbaud eTapestry is a great platform, however, there are limitations to the number of records eTapestry can maintain. In order to increase the number of records the platform can hold you must purchase additional records, which is a yearly cost, and cause some organizations to out-grow eTapestry. I expect to approach this situation soon and is my only hesitation with maintaining the use of eTapestry.

Evaluating Blackbaud eTapestry and Competitors

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Product Usability

As a smaller non-profit organization we don't need an expensive database that has functions outside of our needs, but at the same time we need to take the management of our data seriously. Blackbaud is an industry leader and eTapestry is one of the more common products available; its use across our profession make for an easy decision.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

If I had to choose a new platform for our donor database I would definitely look into the number of records that can be maintained. As we approach our limit on the number of records I find myself looking at more cloud based platform that are available as they tend to not have a limit on the database size.

Blackbaud eTapestry Implementation

Implementation Rating

I was not there for the implementation of this platform. Unfortunately I am unable to just skip this question as it requires a response, which needs to be fifty characters, so here we are. At thirty four, I need to add a few more words to satisfy this requirement. Done.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Don't know

Implementation Issues

Not sure
Implemented before I began here
I didn't hear of any difficulties

Blackbaud eTapestry Support

Support Rating

Support for Blackbaud eTapestry is good. There are numerous ways to contact their support team and opening a chat is usually the most effective way to get a response. I have found their assistance to be outstanding and without hesitation, it is clear they have a large team to assist your needs.

Blackbaud eTapestry Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

I did not.

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of Blackbaud eTapestry Support

Yes. Under a previous director there was a request for data that just seemed too complicated for the queries and reporting capabilities of eTapestry. While it did take about a week to resolve, their support team was able to give me almost exact instructions for creating the queries I needed to generate the needed data.

Using Blackbaud eTapestry

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	None

Easy Tasks

Running queries
Pulling reports
Setting dashboards

Difficult Tasks

Imports can be tricky
Query conditions can be tricky
Pulling reports can be tricky

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

Yes - It's ok, at best, and good for some quick, basic info. You can't do much besides look when viewing eTapestry on a mobile device. You cant run queries or reports, cant see anything too detailed, but again, if you need to look up a donor really fast the mobile function is alright.

Comments

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