A clean, well designed fundraising and CRM platform
September 28, 2024

A clean, well designed fundraising and CRM platform

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

Overall Satisfaction with Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

We use Blackbaud's Raiser's Edge NXT as our primary CRM system for all profile records. This includes both donors and prospects, as well as nonprofits, vendors, and any other entity we engage with.

Using Blackbaud's SKY-API with Raiser's Edge (RE) allows us to clone all RE data into a Postgres database, which gives us the ability to build complex analytics and reporting with ease. We track employee's engagement with donors and prospects, visualize relationships, and generate targeted communications based on complex criteria.

Pros

  • API / Programmatic interface for reporting, analytics and record management
  • UI - Clean, attractive presentation and good workflow
  • Well designed address management and validation

Cons

  • API coverage is limited - certain data is inaccessible for arduous to query (ex: rather that pulling all name format records, must query name format data one constituent/API call at a time.
  • Native reporting (ie, not using API calls) is limited.
  • Bulk data maintenance (imports, updates, etc) limited without use of API calls.
  • Robust CRM functionality
  • API interface
  • Integration with Blackbaud "Online Giving" and merchant services
  • Streamlined fundraiser workflows and effectiveness. Minimizes "back office" effort.
  • Drastically improved reporting / analytics / dashboards by leveraging APIs.
  • Online fundraising portal has generated significant donations (in excess of $100k)
We build our own Raiser's Edge reporting and analytics leveraging a Postgres database populated with RE data using RE's "SKY-API" calls. Thus we don't use RE's native reporting and analytics. However, the granularity of data available via the API is fantastic, so our dashboards and analytics based on RE are infinitely configurable to our leadership's needs.
  • Online Training
  • In-Person Training
The online training is well produced and provides a great overview of the product. Like with many trainings, it (justifiably) doesn't cover the specific nuances associated with our "go to market" needs as a Community Foundation.

The online training is a great, mandatory starting point for onboarding staff, but once staff have been familiarized with the basics, you should plan to provide additional "hands on" training that addresses your specific organization's needs.
As a dedicated CRM/Fundraising platform, Blackbaud Raiser's Edge (RE) drastically outcompetes the options available in FIMS and CommunitySuite. However, since RE lack's robust financials, we have to manually integrate/synchronize RE data with our core financial system. RE's robust API makes this possible, but it is definitely a burden on our IT staff.

Do you think Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT's feature set?

Yes

Did Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT again?

Yes

Great for tracking constituent data for a fundraising organization. Fundraisers assigned to a 'Portfolio' of donors/prospects can work through a well crafted portfolio dashboard to quickly see gift activity, upcoming actions, and other views of their assigned donors. Clean integration with Blackbaud's "Online Giving" and merchant services solutions makes setting up online giving extremely simple.

Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT's pricing is based on "tiers" of total constituents tracked in the system, so it may make sense to only use it for tracking high-value constituents. Our organization has been using Raiser's Edge to track attributes about ALL organization's and entities we engage with, including thousands of nonprofits our donors choose to support. We now pay higher licensing fees to track many records that are of limited value to us. Make sure you have a clear idea of the types (and quantity) of constituents you will be tracking to ensure the additional cost is worth it.

Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Feature Ratings

7.3
Constituent database
9
Constituent interaction tracking
8
Constituent relationship management
8
Automated workflows
4
7.0
Constituent engagement and marketing
7
5.7
Reporting and data visualization
6
Predictive analytics
6
Wealth screening
5
9.0
Online donation options
9
Event registration and ticketing
9
Mobile event check-in
9
8.3
Role-based user permissions
9
Mobile access
8
Integrations
8

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