NXT - Gee, how did Blackbaud come up with that?!
Updated May 24, 2018
NXT - Gee, how did Blackbaud come up with that?!
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Using Raiser's Edge NXT
4 - Two mostly clerical staff use the RE database for gift entry, gift acknowledgements, donor tracking, and marketing. One Director of Development and one Development Associate use NXT almost exclusively to review records, plan solicitations, do research and track campaign progress. All of us use the product. I personally hate to use the RE Database because it is very hard to read and even worse if you are hosted in the cloud as we are.
1 - RE and RE NXT are powerful programs. One of our staff members is very good about figuring things out, is patient and able to use the knowledge base when needed. NXT still pulls most of its data from the RE database, so you need people who are comfortable working in that environment. Everyone in the office knows that when entering data the details matter. Queries are a critical aspect of RE, but not yet available in NXT. You need a logical thinker to understand how to get the information you need using the query function.
- Tracking donor gifts and preferences. essentially we are building a relationship with our donors and documenting it in NXT.
- NXT is dramatically easier to read and navigate than the RE Database. This is very important to me personally. It is quick when looking up people and their giving history. I use it every day in this capacity.
- We have only recently started to experiment with the dashboard function for tracking how a campaign is progressing.
- NXT is tied to other informaiont ratings and giving capacity and that is somewhat useful
- I don't think we have done anything unexpected or innovative. In may opinion it is easier to use NXT to add notes on a record to document an interaction with a donor or potential donor.
- I like the function that allows me to click on the address in a record and immediately see where someone lives using google maps.
- More collection of financial information and net worth uploaded from other RE modules like Research Point or other Analytics products.
- We also use the modules that allow email solicitation and we use the on-line payment system for events.
- We do not measure ROI in relation to our NXT or RE database costs. I think this is very difficult to measure. We do know we could not do our job without this software or something comparable.
Overall Satisfaction with Raiser's Edge NXT
RE NXT is a donor tracking and fundraising program used by 4 members of the development office. While it allows for access by other people in the organization to have access to the database, currently on the development staff is using it. As the director of development I appreciate the ease and quick overview it provides when seeking information on our donors. It is a major improvement in readability and logical presentation of the information in a record.
- The Raiser's Edge database when not viewed through NXT is hard to read and requires calling up various tabs to find what you are looking for. NXT is easy to read and puts the key information all on one page.
- It is in the cloud so it can be viewed from most anywhere
- This is a manager's product. Quick easy access. Those entering data are still going directly to the RE database.
- if you are trying to find a person who is in the database as a relationship on a company, like the CEO, it does not always come up. This is frustrating. Also, if you remember someone's last name, but not their first, and their first name is later in the alphabet they don't come up in the search.
- I am not sure it is possible, but it would be great if when in NXT you could make certain changes the data. An example would be adding a birthdate or changing an address or email.
- Operational Efficiency
- Reduced IT expenditure due to cloud deployment
We have achieved efficiencies and while harder to assess I think we have reduced IT costs. No back-ups by our staff, no help desk calls, no assistance needed when new versions of the RE software come out. The product is still very new to us and we are still learning how increased revenue would be possible with the software. Our database is approximately 45,000 records and growing so scalability is important as well.
At the same time that we adopted NXT, we fully committed to On-line Express. This product allows for email distribution as well as transactions with credit cards including for events. We also have added Research Point. The advantage with both products being the ability to integrate with the RE database.
Our organization has been an all RE user since 1990. I have personally been at this location for 20 years, so no other software has been used or evaluated in relation to CRM. We have used both Wealthengine and iWave for donor research before adding Research Point. None of them are perfect but I feel Research Point has shortcomings in their algorithms.
Evaluating Raiser's Edge NXT and Competitors
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
Product features and usability are kind of the same, but the NXT view of the RE data is worlds away from the RE Database. As the director, I rarely go into the database. We have been with RE for 20 years, we know how to use it and the NXT overlay made certain aspects very easy to use. Not sure we were technically a Beta site, but we were very early adopters and we suggested many improvements to the product.
Training for all staff should be built into the product price. You Tube is not enough nor is the Knowledgebase library.