If you want a Ferrari, you have to take care of it.

Raiser's Edge is our donor database, the central repository for all donor and fundraising interactions. We integrate with Financial Edge as well, allowing us to use RE as an entry point for accounts receivable. We utilize several programmatic and marketing products (Landscape, Constant Contact, etc.) outside of RE, therefore relying on import and export features to move data. Raiser's Edge is our primary analytic tool for fundraising and reporting, allowing us to track our stewardship societies, donor movement, gifts by trustee solicitor, and donor movement through the fundraising pipeline. We formerly utilized the volunteer module, less so recently, but still, use RE as the final repository for all event participation data.

Data analytics can be tricky, as they often promise more than they can typically deliver. Just yesterday, we found an errant score provided by Blackbaud that almost certainly belonged to another individual with a similar name. Without an in-house researcher, all wealth data must be treated with a grain of salt. Most automated scores Blackbaud introduces are always related to an extremely expensive product we cannot access without an additional subscription. Listening to Blackbaud's promises about untapped wealth, social listening, and data update services is a bit like the Wizard of Oz. They'd rather you pay no attention to the man behind the curtain because a lot of what they imply is happening on the backend just isn't possible with the legal and technical realities. Nothing is as easy, or high quality as Blackbaud would like you to believe.