Raiser's Edge NXT
Updated May 22, 2018

Raiser's Edge NXT

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Using Raiser's Edge NXT

5 - Executive Director, Database Manager, Executive Assistant, Accountant, Scholarship Coordinator.
1 - I am the in house support for Raiser's Edge NXT and I am the constituent database manager. I have worked with donor databases for 8 years and Raiser's Edge for 5 of those years.
  • We use queries on a daily basis and I love how much information you can easily pull in queries.
  • Being able to store so much information on donor records is a huge advantage
  • Batching and processing of gifts is extremely easy.
  • Having the mobile app has been a huge benefit for our fundraisers because they are now able to look up basic information on donors to prepare for a meeting instead of having to call me from the road to look up information on donor records.
  • We did not expect to utilize the email marketing tool in Online Express as often as we have and it has been a pleasant surprise.
  • I would like to see us use the events module more.
Everyone in my office is happy and comfortable with Raiser's Edge NXT. The price is somewhat of a concern, but it is a great product and is head and shoulders above the other donor databases I have worked with.
  • Since we have a smaller staff, I worry we are spending too much on Raiser's Edge since we are not able to use it to its fullest capacity.

Overall Satisfaction with Raiser's Edge NXT

Raiser's Edge NXT is used by my whole organization as our donor database, consisting of around 63,000 constituents. We use it to keep track of our donors' contact information and their giving history. It addresses many problems for us. Most importantly, it gives us an easy way to record incoming gifts and send out acknowledgment letters in a timely fashion.

Pros

  • The program itself is very user friendly, especially if you have previous experience with donor databases.
  • You are easily able to pull very detailed reports that can be helpful in identifying lapsed donors or donors who have a higher giving capacity.
  • Being able to access the Raiser's Edge app on your phone or tablet is very helpful for getting information about a donor on the go to help prepare you for a meeting.

Cons

  • I would like to see the dashboard tab improved a little bit to give more detailed information and also for it to be slightly more accurate than it currently is.
  • We have one team member who uses a Microsoft Surface Pro as her work computer and she has run into quite a few compatibility issues, so that is something that could be improved.
  • Operational Efficiency
  • Increased revenue from new donors
  • Increased revenue from existing donors
  • Reduced IT expenditure due to cloud deployment
I think we have been able to achieve all of the boxes I checked above. The biggest thing that I like is that I no longer have to depend on our IT department to handle updates and/or issues I have. Our IT department is small and they have many things to handle on a daily basis, so not having to wait days to get my issues resolved has been a big help and has allowed us to operate more efficiently and get full use out of the product.
We also use Online Express and that has been great. We have not run into any issues with online donations coming over seamlessly into Raiser's Edge and having that seamless transition has been a big help to us and has allowed us to process online donations in a much more timely fashion than we were before.
I used DonorPerfect at a previous job and while it was good, it does not come close to providing the same user experience as Raiser's Edge. I did not find the reporting feature to be all that helpful and was severely limited on how much information I could pull on the donors in our database.
I think Raiser's Edge NXT is probably best suited for medium to large sized organizations for the simple fact of how much it costs annually.

Evaluating Raiser's Edge NXT and Competitors

  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Prior Experience with the Product
  • Analyst Reports
Product usability was the most important factor to me. I find RE NXT to be user friendly for the most part and that makes training new employees much easier.
We are very happy with RE NXT, so I don't think I would change the evaluation and selection process.

Raiser's Edge NXT Implementation

The implementation process could not have been easier. We had very little down time during the process and the NXT team was very helpful with any questions or issues that arose. We did not lose any data during the process and were able to assume normal business operations as soon as it was back up and running.
  • Vendor implemented
  • Educating the staff on how to access Raiser's Edge NXT.
  • Explaining the difference between having Raiser's Edge hosted by Blackbaud vs. our IT department.

Raiser's Edge NXT Training

  • Self-taught
It was easy to learn without formal training because I had a lot of previous experience with Raiser's Edge and was able to train our other employees. I do not think this approach would work for other organizations unless they had someone who was very knowledgeable about Raiser's Edge and is good at teaching that information to others.

Configuring Raiser's Edge NXT

I personally think it is just right. There are some employees in my organization who do not have much database experience and they are overwhelmed with all of RE NXT's functions when they first start using it, so for less experienced database users, I could see it being too extensive or complex.
I do not.
No - we have not done any customization to the interface
Some - we have added small pieces of custom code - I'm not sure if this is what you're asking for, but I have added multiple entries into tables and constituent codes. I have found this process to be easy and quick to do.
No.

Raiser's Edge NXT Support

I have never had a bad experience with a member of the Blackbaud support team. The vast majority of the time, the initial representative is able to answer my question or fix my issue in a timely manner and on the rare occasion where my problem has to be escalated, it is always taken care of within the time period I am initially given.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
Yes - Being able to get quality support immediately is something worth paying for in my opinion.
This is not a specific instance, but overall I could like to commend our account representative Richard Hull. Whenever I have a question or concern, he always gets back to me very promptly and his level of customer service always exceeds my expectations.

Using Raiser's Edge NXT

I think NXT is very user friendly and the amount of information you are able to extract from it is amazing. Using NXT has allowed my organization to access data we were unable to before switching to NXT and it has made my job as a Database Manager much easier. Whenever I have run into issues or do not understand one of the NXT features, the NXT support team is always very helpful and always points me in the right direction.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
Slow to learn
  • Running queries is very simple.
  • Creating and running dashboards.
  • Processing Online Express donations
  • I find some of the information being puled from Reports is not always accurate
  • Running global changes in the Admin tab can take a long time
Yes - My organization does not use this interface all that often, but I have never had an issue finding what I need to find using the mobile interface.

Raiser's Edge NXT Reliability

Raiser's Edge seems like it has endless capabilities and could be easily scaled.
The only reason I cannot give a 10 is because like all web based products, internet connection is required and that is not something that can be counted on 100% of the time. When the internet connection is stable, I have had little to no issues using Raiser's Edge.
I think RE NXT provides a wealth of knowledge that was previously unavailable or much harder to access. I also think the Blackbaud support team has been great helping me navigate any issues or questions I encountered when my organization switched over to NXT.

Integrating Raiser's Edge NXT

When importing spreadsheets into RE NXT, I find the process to be very long and cumbersome. It sometimes take me multiple times importing a file to get all of the fields matched up. I also have had issues in the past of new records being created instead of updating current records.
  • None.
We have not integrated any systems into RE NXT.
  • No.
N/A
  • File import/export
No.
I do not have specific recommendations, but I would love to see the import process simplified if at all possible.

Relationship with Blackbaud

I have never had an issue with a Blackbaud employee.
I have received nothing by top notch customer service from Blackbaud.
The main thing we agreed on was a 3 year fixed price contract. Locking in the same annual renewal amount is very helpful for our organization when it comes to budgeting.
No.

Upgrading Raiser's Edge NXT

Comments

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