Item: Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Raiser's Edge NXT

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Raiser's Edge NXT is being used by our Advancement Team for fundraising and communications. We use it for everything from giving analysis to looking up an address. The built-in reporting is very user-friendly and easy on the eyes. New features, not available in the database view, like social media links and profile photos for constituents, have changed the way we build relationships.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Built-in analysis with easy to filter graphics
Social media linking for constituents
Mapping of constituents -- this feature is awesome!

Cons

The "has no valid address" feature from database view does not populate in NXT and can result in misinformation
Attachments in NXT do not populate the media tab in database view -- this integration could be improved
As with database view, the "head of household" function only connects spousal relationships, not full, multi-generational families, which would be very helpful for alumni programs

Return on Investment

Alumni relationships are greater in number and accuracy since implementing the social media capabilities of NXT
This is the second year using NXT and our annual fund is 40% ahead of schedule
Database view can be challenging for people who do not use it on a regular basis, NXT makes our data more accessible for more people, including volunteer fundraisers and staff who otherwise would be less engaged with our numbers

Alternatives Considered

Bloomerang and Senior Systems

Companies that built their products with a user-end web-view experience in mind, as opposed to re-imagining the database in the cloud, seem to have a slight advantage with more intuitive interaction for the user. Raiser's Edge, though, has been the gold standard in fundraising constituent management software for decades. NXT has a lot of potential and some seriously powerful features you won't find anywhere else. I love that you get the database view and the web-view experience, so you can really know your data is accurate and doing its job. Your ability to customize your experience is greater, and no one else does this better.

Likelihood to Recommend

If you already use database view and know that your data will be hosted in the cloud as opposed to onsite, NXT is the next awesome step for you. If you host your own data and resist putting it in the cloud, it may be a bigger leap for you to be in NXT. And, if you're a much smaller organization without a lot of experience in constituent management software, there are other products that may be a better fit for your scale and budget.

Comments

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NXT is user-friendly but packs a powerful punch!