User-friendly software for fundraisers

Online works at a different pace than in-person and it requires the person to be on their own computers where distractions can often happen. Sometimes technical difficulties can interfere with a good and meaningful experience with the training. However, it is very nice to have this option of online training- it has allowed me to get hands-on experience I might not get otherwise.

For a smaller organization that has a lot of fundraisers, this product is ideal. It's a great way to allow the people in the field to access information without relying on one person to provide them information. It would be great if there was more compatibility between Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT and the database (Raiser's Edge) until Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT becomes the only means of use for organizations. But until some functionalities in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT are made more user-friendly- specifically gift entry, online giving, lists being able to access more information (less linear), I do find that it is necessary for us to have both the database and Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT.

I don't make these decisions but because several departments heavily use it I would always advocate to keep the products. They really are user-friendly and I see how continued building upon what already exists will help with all functions of our organization and many departments being able to work together in many ways.

I did not participate enough in the implementation to give this a fair score. I do believe had my former colleague who spear-headed this been better equipped with information it would have gone much better and smoother.

When you get a good, knowledgeable person for in-person training, you can't beat it! Hands on, real time, questions answered on the spot. And they want to make sure you get what you needed before leaving. To also have dedicated time without other distractions is very important to the learning process in my opinion.

They could do better at record-keeping. I had a similar situation arise when I moved that had happened a couple of years ago. If I had not had memory of that incident and how it compared to what I had previously experienced, it would have been like starting at the beginning again. And the first solution to the issue caused a HUGE mess. Overall the support is knowledgeable and friendly. But sometimes it seems like they are distracted- like helping multiple people at once and the wait can get frustrating. The issues are usually resolved and in a timely manner, but when you're waiting to get work done and the product isn't working properly, the wait becomes tiresome.

Two functions I use a lot- gift entry and events. And neither of them play well with each other between the database and NXT. There are some amazing and helpful functions in NXT for some things, but then trying to do ALL things I need to do in either of those functions does not always translate back into the other platform. I would love to give this a 10 but until those bugs are worked out and/or things collaborate more seamlessly, I have to stick with a 7.
Also- lists- they're just too linear in NXT- for robust information and/or all information we sometimes need, we have to rely on the database. It would be wonderful to be able to fully use NXT for lists because of the way they can be formatted and manipulated in real time and without a lot of thought.