Couldn't Imagine a Better Fundraising Database!
Updated January 30, 2020
Couldn't Imagine a Better Fundraising Database!
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with The Raisers Edge
Raiser's Edge is obviously primarily used by our Fundraising department, but we use it to pull lists and reports for the whole organization. It holds employee information that is more detailed than HR's database. The gifts are integrated with Financial Edge to facilitate reconciliation. It is the master database for constituent data for most of the school.
Pros
- There are so many fields, almost all of which are options in query, export, and report.
- The integration with Crystal Reports is critical. It is very convenient being able to run Crystal Reports directly from Raiser's Edge.
- Th batch and mail functions also make gift entry and acknowledgement a breeze!
Cons
- Query is missing a couple useful options. Most recently, I wished that it included being able to query on whether an address was shared or not.
- Export is missing a couple useful options. We rely heavily on relationships, but you can't query or export at a very detailed degree on a relationship's record.
- It would be really cool if Crystal Reports could be integrated into the dashboards.
- I can't imagine a heavy fundraising effort without Raiser's Edge. It is able to manage so much different data, and the reporting capabilities are excellent.
- Since Raiser's Edge is such a respected system, there are many other companies that offer integrated services, so no matter what you need, it will probably work with Blackbaud and/or their partners.
- past perfect
Raiser's Edge is the Cadillac of fundraising software. I really don't believe it can be beat. It is a heavy database, but I think it is still fairly intuitive to navigate. There is a web view (NXT), which is an expensive add-on, but looks much nicer (though has limited functionality) for people who need to access, but not necessarily swim in the data.
Do you think Raiser's Edge delivers good value for the price?
Not sure
Are you happy with Raiser's Edge's feature set?
Yes
Did Raiser's Edge live up to sales and marketing promises?
I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process
Did implementation of Raiser's Edge go as expected?
I wasn't involved with the implementation phase
Would you buy Raiser's Edge again?
Yes
Using The Raisers Edge
15 - Advancement, IT, Finance departments.
Our Advancement department relies heavily on Raiser's Edge for all of their data. All gifts are entered, prospect information analyzed, appeals created and documented, event participation tracked. We send emails through NetCommunity, which is driven by Raiser's Edge. It also fuels many of our non-Advancement functions through the IT department. Many of our parent lists and other analysis or mailing lists are pulled from Raiser's, since it's our master database.
Our Advancement department relies heavily on Raiser's Edge for all of their data. All gifts are entered, prospect information analyzed, appeals created and documented, event participation tracked. We send emails through NetCommunity, which is driven by Raiser's Edge. It also fuels many of our non-Advancement functions through the IT department. Many of our parent lists and other analysis or mailing lists are pulled from Raiser's, since it's our master database.
3 - Two of us sit in the IT department and support all RE users. We do advanced tasks, and give training. There is also an "RE Expert" in Advancement that supports that department specifically with things like mailing lists and more basic analysis.
A strong data mindset is required to supporting RE, since many people struggle with the interface and intuitiveness.
A strong data mindset is required to supporting RE, since many people struggle with the interface and intuitiveness.
- Gift entry and documentation
- Appeal segmentation/mailing list generation
- Creative donor reports
- Detailed gift analysis
- Gift analysis
- Online event registration
Evaluating The Raisers Edge and Competitors
Yes - Century, I think? I wasn't involved. Whatever it was was a very antiquated system.
- Product Features
- Product Reputation
- Vendor Reputation
I wasn't involved, but as the leading fundraising database, it's not hard to understand why they chose RE.
Now, we have been emphasizing the importance of data integration across all school systems. This is something that RE lacks. While RE had good integration with their former independent school software, they don't offer good integration with their new school software.
The Raisers Edge Implementation
- I wasn't there.
The Raisers Edge Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available | Need to explain problems multiple times Support doesn't seem to care |
Yes - No, bugs are rarely seen as bugs worth fixing. They release updates, but I don't know that I've seen anything I've reported actually get fixed.
Probably not. Their support is usually sufficient, but definitely mediocre.
Using The Raisers Edge
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Opening a Constituent record and adding data.
- Running reports that are already set up.
- Setting up queries, exports, and reports can be difficult for the novice user, but I think they are still reasonably intuitive.
Yes, but I don't use it
Comments
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