Great option for Advancement Department of private high school!
Updated May 13, 2025
Great option for Advancement Department of private high school!
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
Working in Advancement, I utilize The Raiser's Edge multiple times a day. We are an all-girls private high school so we need to accurately track not only current students and parents but also our alumnae and other donors. The Raiser's Edge allows us to do this easily. We have started tracking events and now have the tribute module, allowing us to more easily capture the honorariums and memorials we receive in our alums' names. Building our donor forms in Online Express gives us the flexibility to capture information while still accepting online donations. The reporting features in NXT are great snapshots for those that need to see quick numbers for various funds, campaigns, or even events. Our Finance people have view access to see these numbers since our systems do not communicate currently. Being able to break down giving by class year is a great bonus, too, for competitions between classes! Having all of these people in one database gives us the ability to handle all the mailings needed for the school.
Pros
- Security is great because the DBA is able to really specify what can be viewed by different people and to do so in different ways. There are so many options to refine options for different work types.
- While reports in database view are more extensive, the options are still vast in NXT. You can break down the same data in different ways on the same report with different insights and then have a drill-down ability right there rather than running a different report.
- Having the ability to send emails directly from NXT is great because the database automatically records each receipt for the constituents. Each email sent shows click rate, what addresses bounced, and other helpful information.
Cons
- The database view is still much more versatile with information tracked in areas outside standard constituent information (contact and biographical). Gifts that are pledges/payments or tributes must be entered in database view because there are no options in NXT as of yet.
- Querying can be easier in the database view depending on your needs. Lists are really helpful and plenty of options exist for filters but sometimes they're just very limited for what you need.
- You cannot add new campaigns, funds, and appeals with their necessary information from NXT. That must be accessed through database view.
- The add-on for alumni is invaluable to our department.
- Tracking all aspects of events is very useful for our Advancement department.
- Gift tracking is the most utilized aspect of NXT, both for individual gifts and the reporting of them.
- Having the ability to break down giving in different ways (giving levels, groups of people) allows us to target our annual fund.
- After cleaning data, I have been able to dramatically decrease the amount of time needed to collect a mailing list for our periodical magazine.
- Our department is more productive now with the decrease in the number of spreadsheets needed to track information since data is centralized.
My current organization utilizes additional sources for analyzing and finding new donors, ResearchPoint and LexisNexis being two. I unfortunately have not had much exposure into how they compile this data or what we track in RENXT to better target donors.
- Online Training
Do you think Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT's feature set?
Yes
Did Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT live up to sales and marketing promises?
I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process
Did implementation of Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT go as expected?
I wasn't involved with the implementation phase
Would you buy Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT again?
Yes
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Feature Ratings
Using Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
50 - Our department ranges from data entry to major gift officers and planned giving. We also have separate areas for stewardship, corporate involvement, annual fund, events, research and analytics. Areas work separately but also come together for various projects.
4 - Our director and manager are the main supervisors of all access, although a couple of us below them can also adjust some permissions. The four of us have slightly different experiences in RENXT which helps to answer the various questions from fundraisers. Some are more experienced in web view while others have a stronger knowledge of database view.
- Constituent Tracking
- Event Tracking
- Donation Tracking
Evaluating Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT and Competitors
Not Sure
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Implementation
Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Support
| 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 |
To my knowledge we do not have any premium support.
Yes - Yes, things were resolved fairly quickly.
Using Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Adding a new constituent
- Entering a basic gift
- Adding an event
- Detailed gifts can be difficult.
- Making adjustments or amendments to gifts.
Yes - Since RENXT is web-based a user with a login can access their database from anywhere. It is smart enough to recognize when someone is using a mobile device so you don't have to zoom in or move around the screen. Accessing things from a mobile device just takes a little getting used to since the tiles may be in a different order than to what you're accustomed.
Comments
Please log in to join the conversation