Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Reviews

Pros

The ease of use of the webview for frontline fundraisers is one of the best things for our team.

Cons

Response to customer service requests can be spotty, at best.

Alternatives Considered

Pros

Integration with onsite systems made it easy to use.

Cons

Hard to train other users on how to use with our systems.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

Reasons for Switching to Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

Pros

It's good Blackbaud realized that it needed to build in the classic version ("database view") of the old Raisers Edge into its NXT cloud version of the product. The old RE remains one of the best donor-, events-, membership-management software packages around. I've been using since 1997, and Raisers Edge integrates perfectly with Financial Edge.

Cons

As I mentioned, the cloud version of the software ("web view," or what you land on as soon as you click into Blackbaud.com and sign on) is weak. Adding to the frustration is that it looks completely different from the old version of the software. The worst thing about the cloud version is that a lot of the functionality in the old version has yet to show up in the web version, although Blackbaud keeps promising that future updates will contain familiar functions. In the middle of all this frustration is that Blackbaud's customer service, once the gold standard for what any customer service should be when paying this much for a product, has changed dramatically to customer service sometimes helping directly as they always did in the past, to customer service sending you Knowledgebase links for you, the customer, to figure out things yourself.

Pros

Blackbaud Fundraising includes Raiser's Edge, Luminate Online, crowdfunding features. The Fundraising tools integrate very well and it's user friendly and intuitive. We are able to create an attractive and easy to use donation form for our website. It allows you to easily track donor giving, pledges, create donation pledges and integrate with Raiser's Edge and other tools well. NXT is a new feature we purchased which is expensive however it's an attractive interface to view and track donor pledge level and upgrades.

Cons

Blackbaud products tend to be very pricey and offer a ton of features however you only use about half of them on regular basis. It could be quite a challenge to create crowdfunding pages., definitely multiple steps. Sometimes the dashboard giving and queries show different numbers so there's some inconsistency. Their NXT new tool is amazing however it's pricey. It's great for major giving officer.

Pros

It's an easy to use product that is definitely easy on the eyes. It provides good data.

Cons

It could be that it's user error for our database services, but the outputs are not as advanced as I thought they would be for a product that's supposed to be what "everyone" uses. Spouses need to be linked - you should have that option in Actions as well to "update" to the partner as well if you enter in a contact report.I want to get training through Blackbaud University but you have to pay to learn anything. BOO. :(

Pros

I like how it displayed and gave a good overview of donations. Very easy to navigate and access that information.

Cons

Unless you enter a name specifically as it is entered, it is hard to find. In fact, often it took me much longer to find a client then it should have.

Pros

I love web-based software that gives more freedom in filtering and report setup. I get to decide what columns I do and don't want to see. RE NXT makes searching so much easier than the desktop software, as there are fewer steps to take for searching. It's intuitive in the search box, and you don't have to enter in all information to get a list of possible answers.

Cons

The pages are aesthetically bland. I wish the categories inside a search result were differently colored to quickly navigate where one category ends and another begins.

Pros

We imported a rather large constituent database, and the software made it possible for us to categorize, sort, and target our communications efforts much more precisely than we were previously capable. The customer service and user training we received was beyond expectations.

Cons

It is not user-friendly. While the tools at your disposal are copious, new users will be at a complete loss. We transferred over from another system and we still required a lot of training.

Pros

This is definitely a nice product that does everything that it promises, and helps us keep track of all of our donors.

Cons

The price point is high for what you are getting, and customer support for this product is extremely poor at best.

Pros

I have been using Raiser's Edge with a variety of non-profits since 2007. It has consistently been a vital tool in tracking donor and constituent relationships.

Cons

Building and pulling reports from RE can be challenging. There should be more advancement in making it more intuitive to do so.

Pros

Raiser's Edge 7 gives you the tools (and/or gives you optional add-on tools) to manage your donor relationships and data in just about any way you can think of. It's a great all-purpose fundraising tool for non-profit organizations. Raiser's Edge NXT (RE NXT) is the next generation, and we are most likely moving to that within the next year. The awesome things about RE NXT are 1. User access to your donor data from anywhere on any device, 2. Unintimidating ease of use for non-techie and techie alike, 3. Open API which means lots of more fantastic compatible tools are being built by Blackbaud partners, 4. Unlimited users - which means now our Board members and many other stakeholders will be able to login and get their reports on the dashboard instead of waiting for emailed or, even worse, hard-copy reports to be run and delivered to them by our staff.

Cons

My experience with the Customer Support has been less than stellar. Sometimes it seems like the Customer Support's go-to answer is, "No" or "No, you can't do that." Unless the answer is, "Well, if you buy this other tool we have, then you can do that." But since we have no plans to move off of Blackbaud products, thank heavens they have an amazing Blackbaud Community network where you can ask any question and get tons of advice from folks just like you working in this software daily. Blackbaud Community is now the first place I go when I need support. Many times the question I have has already been asked and answered in the past, and so just searching through the discussions will get me my answer or point me in the right direction, instead of wasting time trying to re-invent the wheel. My fairly high rating in this review on Customer Support is mostly because of Blackbaud Community and our fairly newly assigned account manager.

Pros

I use Raiser's Edge as our donor database and the data entry, reporting features are really updated. However, when they came out with NXT, it was a game changer. NXT is amazing! It has a very attractive interface and super user friendly. As soon as you search for a record, consecutive years and all information on the donor is clear to see and it lets you know which donors you should be reaching out to. You could assign donors to others to initiate contact. You could easily access information on your mobile device. It takes the Raiser's Edge data entry interface and completely gives it a makeover. You are easily able to review giving history and all donor information on one page and very clearly.

Cons

The only thing I don't like about NXT is that the consecutive years aren't always the same as in the donor records in the database version.

Pros

Queries are what we use to create lists of constituents with particular behaviors or similarities that we can use for creating mailings, invitations or actions. An amazing tool with endless possibilities.
Raisers Edge is a beast of a program. It can do just about anything you could want for a donor database and Blackbaud offers several supplemental solutions that seamlessly integrate.
Donor stewardship, from first contact, to donation, to acknowledgement letter, is a process that is handled particularly well with Raisers Edge

Cons

The program is quite complicated and if data is not entered correctly than the program just won't work well. "bad in, bad out'. But that is not unique to this program.
That some of the features that I like to use like global changes for adding appeals is pretty buried and the way of finding it convoluted.
Attributes could be more flexible: like I would prefer to have all events under one table (which it can do now) but then there is no step further where I can then say whether they RSVP and then also whether they attended and their name for easy export for nametags.

Pros

My biggest likes for the Raiser's Edge are the various modules: Events, Membership and Online Express. I can organize the information and pull it back out in queries so easily. The canned reporting is not bad either. They pretty much have every kind of basic report you could need. You can pull some pretty decent reports that track actions, solicitors, giving and profiles. The key is making sure your data is clean and organized.

Speaking of which, Raiser's Edge has done a great job of improving it's data clean up functions. They have improved duplicate removals. They have added e-mail and phone clean ups. And they are always on top of making sure their clients are heard (even if it takes them a little while to deliver).

Cons

The reports have aged out at this point in the desktop version (non-cloud). Development departments are looking for different ways to report their money and we are now depending on Crystal Reports to constantly fill that void. I wished the reports were more malleable and you could really build out the layouts to accommodate what staff wants to see. The biggest thing I hear in terms of complaints from my staff are the number of clicks to get a process done, whether entering an event on a record to recording a membership. Sure we can set up default settings for many of the procedures, but there is still that need sometimes to have to go through and enter manually.

Pros

The RE NXT product is easier to use than the database view. You can customize work tiles to easily access your work. Creating List is easier to do than queries. Just starting to create workflows. It looks like it has real potential to prompt actions.

Cons

Not all aspects are available in RE NXT. I still need to go to the database view to enter information. Customer service is extremely difficult to get in a timely manner. Chat agents can be abrasive at times. Would help if instructions contained some troubleshooting. Difficult to get real time examples outside of classes, which are not always scheduled when you need them.

Pros

Visuals is based on permission and search button on the top of the browser is useful. Tiles are collapsible and dashboard is easy to view. Comparing to the database view, opening a new browser tab is useful when doing some comparisons between screens. Data Health (Deceased/Email/Duplicate Finder) is a great feature in web view. We use it all the time. The availability of ResearchPoint on dashboard is great feature for prospect management team.

Cons

RE NXT is a web view that is not as fully integrated as the database view. List, import and reporting are not adequate as the database view. Although SKI API is available, not all of the data point in database is available.

Pros

I work a lot on the database side of Raiser's Edge, but NXT is super user friendly for those on your team that need information at their finger tips but aren't "database administrators".

Cons

There are a few functionalities that cannot be done in NXT and must be done in the database, and a few that do not report clearly (i.e. soft credits).

Pros

The software is great for constituent management and tracking donors and gifts for non profits.

Cons

The vendor fees are extremely high. Once you commit to their software, they have you. It is near impossible to leave. They used to have great customer support. Their staff was always knowledgeable and willing to go the extra mile to help you with their product. Now you never hear from your account executive unless you contact them and then they pass you off to one of their assistants. Their assistants push you into buying products you do not need and then when you do purchase a product from them and sign the agreement to purchase, you cannot get answers. We purchased an add on module, we contacted them and we were passed to the assistant to our account executive. The assistant got the paperwork signed and it has been over a month and the add on product has still not been activated in our database. I have emailed and called the account executive assistant because we cannot talk to the account executive, i have talked to customer support and have been passed around. This is not the first time I have had this SAME experience from the new Blackbaud. New leadership appears to be clueless to the horrible experiences from their staff.

Pros

The data is well organized, easy to pull, and easy to export. Although this is the only major database software I have used personally, I have heard multiple comments from others that Raiser's Edge is so much easier and more efficient than other software types on the market. Our organization has been using Raiser's Edge for over 15 years, and we are well pleased with its capabilities and performance.

This software manages everything fundraising related - donor profiles, biological data, giving history, mailing histories, event attendance and seating, EFT and automated credit card transactions, memberships, to-do tasks, alumni information, online giving forms and email blasts (with the optional Online Express module), etc. BlackBaud has an easy-to-access support system if you need help, as well as training, blogs, free webinars and videos so that beginners can easily learn the system.

Cons

BlackBaud is a little over-priced on some of its data cleansing services, like EmailFinder and Deceased People Finder. We often get the same service for much cheaper through our mailing house vendors.

Pros

Our the years we have used Raiser's Edge it has continued to grow and evolve with broader and impactful criteria that aid in fundraising. NXT is user- friendly much more so than the original Raiser's Edge.

Cons

It would be helpful if there were video tutorials. The knowledgebase is not user-friendly. It is unable to assist in finding quick and clear answers in creating a list specific to our constituency. Again, available video tutorials would be a great addition to the product.

Pros

Functionality, donor records were robust able to enter split gifts.

Cons

Cost, user interface, difficult to use, customer support

Pros

Ease of integration for the front line fundraisers

Cons

It is not yet as flexible as the Database View (RE7)

Pros

Raiser's Edge has wonderful reporting capabilities. It definitely personifies garbage in, garbage out though, so you want to be sure to set things up the correct way right from the beginning. Also if you want to be able to quantify your data you have to put in fields that you can do so - not something like notes.

Cons

It is not the easiest to learn and I don't feel like we ever used the full capability of the software. I wish there were more opportunities for general training's using it and learning how other companies are utilizing it.

Pros

RE NXT is very easy to navigate and colleagues who have little or no experience with the database view are able to find the information they need without a hassle. I like that NXT offers suggestions and specially prepared reports that provide useful information for reigniting lapsed donors and gauging capacity for future asks. I also love the visual analytics offered, as they help to segment and illustrate the entire scope of our constituent base rather than just looking at spreadsheets.

Cons

There are some limitations as to how much information can be added to lists in NXT, making it easier to generate more complex lists in the database view. I also think it would be beneficial to offer a complete guide of all of the training and webinars available as a benefit of NXT, as our team has not taken advantage of many useful resources because we have not been aware of them.

Pros

Highly customizable
Powerful query and report builder
Multiple modules including Events and Volunteer Management
If you're hosted instead of on-prem, Online Express is a fantastic add-on for email blasts, form building, and event registration

Cons

Very expensive
Proper setup requires a serious time commitment
Some features are only available in the hosted environment