Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Reviews

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

What I love about RE NXT is that it helps to visualize graphs, such as donor patterns and key financial data, automatically. You no longer have to have endless queries and exports and dashboards to access the data you want the most. This helps facilitate staff meeting discussions, and also keeps all team members informed on the fly. Secondly, the prospect profiles for managers. Gone are the days of exporting travel profiles in plain text. Now a PM can login from the road to see all the details they need in a useful manner -- and what's even better? They can change how the data is displayed so that it is personalized to them. It is clean, well constructed, and yet also flexible enough to be able to dig deeper with a couple of clicks. And if they need to find a new person to visit in their area, the map tools are perfect. Highly recommended for offices with lots of traveling teammates.

Cons

As with both versions of RE, you only get out what you put into it. You need to make sure you have the right policies and procedures in place, for example, to make sure that certain fields in actions are required. You'll also need to work with your team to make sure they understand the updated language from the database view to the NXT view. For example, proposals and opportunities are the same thing. This is a bit of a challenge in offices where the NXT vs. database team may not interact that much and will be speaking slightly different languages about this software. It is not a deal-breaker, just a trainable moment.

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

The Raiser's Edge database was very outdated however with the addition of NXT it's now very visually appealing and user-friendly. They took the old database look and revamped it to include charts, recommendations for donor cultivation and alerts daily referencing which donors to reach out to. It's very mobile friendly and great for major giving officers so they could make notes and assign tasks to their team while on the road. You could easily look up donor records and it's all accessible from Blackbaud.com so you don't need to download an app. It's good to have when on meetings and if you have to be an exhibitor for your Foundation and quickly look up donor records.

Cons

NXT shows consecutive donor years at the top of each profile however the years are not always accurate with the years in Raiser's database. Sometimes the years are way off. Also, they should make it easier to view outstanding pledges in NXT. NXT is a bit pricey however worth the cost and your return on investment is improved as it notifies you when you have major giving prospects to reach out to.

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

Being able to document donations and send out tax forms at the end of the year

Cons

Reports were very hard for me to figure out how to use.

Pros

I love the user interface and the ability to "drag and drop" objects within constituent records to customize how I want to see information. The dashboard design is lovely and, after a bit of a learning curve, can be used to display some really helpful information for fundraisers.

Cons

This is not yet a completed product and shouldn't be used without the RE 7 database view. RE NXT has all the basic functionality needed for fundraisers to use exclusively, but not database admin staff. A lot of gift processing functionality, and even reporting fields, have not been moved over from RE 7. For any detailed reporting using OR or NOT, custom attributes, or gift amounts requires one to go back into database view to use queries/exports/canned reports.

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

Data entry is easy and reports are dependable. Versatility in the type of information that can be stored in each constituent record.

Cons

the software programmers I know say the set up is very 'old school.' I use batches a lot in RE - and the setting up of each is not as intuitive as some software programs out there.

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

NXT is easier to use than the traditional, back end with Raisers Edge when viewing records and can be accessed on your phone.

Cons

The ease of use is still light years behind other cloud-based CRMs. You only have limited access to the data and many fields are blocked (meaning you can't make changes unless you go into the more complicated back end). The biggest problem we have had has been with online gifts. We purchased Everyday Hero (which is Blackbaud's online giving module), and every time a gift comes in by a spouse, it overrides the current gift with that person's name, and only shows that they gave that one gift. There is no flag or warning that the address is a duplicate. So now that we purchased something that was supposed to expedite our online giving, we have to go back and do hours of clean up in our database. Also, they have "automatic upgrades" when your records reach another tier. The customer service is awful - takes hours on the phone or weeks to respond. It is exceptionally expensive for what it is offering. Also, doesn't integrate well at all with Financial Edge.

Pros

RaisersEdge 7 has tremendous capabilities - perhaps too many. Although an industry leader in market share, for a small organization, we don't use the majority of functions available. Service from our sales support contacts has been very good.

Cons

The overall solution is very clunky and difficult to use. While Blackbaud is in the (multi-year) process of migrating functions to their cloud NXT platform, this process is slow and leaves users straddled between an old clunky solution and the functions that have been migrated to their cloud platform. The solution is expensive compared to other simpler solutions that can be better suited to small organizations. The mobile app, while useful, is very limited in its capabilities and seems to be a v1 mobile app.

Pros

Relatively easy to use. Great functionality as a constituent database and donor giving software. Definitely top of the line.

Cons

Multiple modules needed for credit card processing, events, education/alumni. Each module is additional cost. Conversioncost could be high if converting away from Raiser's Edge due to its complexity compared to other providers. Customer support can take a long time to get through via phone. Sales really pushes to move you RE-NXT, which is cloud-based and costs several thousand more than server-based RE.

Pros

The data is in an easy to use format, especially for non-technical people. In addition, the list and analyze features provide an easy way to view specific information easily. Our staff really likes the ability to move tiles around, the mapping feature, and integration with outlook.

Cons

The integration with Outlook doesn't allow the ability to change a completed date and add the name of a solicitor when creating an action.
It does not allow searching or lists for fund, campaign, membership, or event records.

Pros

Raiser's Edge is a powerhouse for the management of donor data. It is easy to track a donor's contributions and see their giving history at a glance. I especially like the ability to identify each donor with a constituent code, which makes it very convenient to pull reports on specific groups of people who donate (like volunteers, board members, or staff). With the ability to see giving trends in multiple ways, data analysis is much more comprehensive and quicker to review than with other similar software types I have used.

Cons

Certain custom reports or queries can be difficult to design for the desired output, requiring help from Customer Service. Unfortunately, the wait time to speak with a live customer service representative is always VERY long. The online chat option can work in some instances, but not always. It would be nice if there were more representatives available to help via phone. The product is also very expensive and there are additional costs to add new components, even modifications like changes to the online interface. Every new development for the product comes with a high price.

Pros

Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT is an efficient and effective way to manage a donor database. It's user friendly for front line fundraisers, and the reports are helpful in retaining current donors and moving new donors through the moves management process.

Cons

While it is user friendly and has some really good aspects, there are still some restrictions on data viewing that could be improved. But Blackbaud is working on these to improve the overall experience.

Pros

The modern interface is intuitive, robust and incredibly mobile-responsive. The reporting options are great for CEOs, board members, and Development departments. The 360-degree view of each constituent is insightful and helpful. Love the ability to log in from anywhere with no additional downloads needed. Real-time constituent updates keep everyone in the loop. Blackbaud is continuing to develop and push out additional features that will make this more and more useful and relevant.

Cons

Honestly, for what I use it for, it's hard to find anything missing that Blackbaud isn't addressing and planning for future releases.

Pros

- So many features, reports, queries, and fields.
- Highly customizable.
- Basic functions are fairly intuitive and easy-to-use.
- Scalable, with lots of optional add-on features.

Cons

- Complex. If you want to "go deep" with this software, be prepared to invest a lot of time into the process.
- Very expensive, and pricing is not dependent upon things like constituent counts (like marketing automation software is doing).

Pros

Easy to use from the start. Works well on mobile devices. Allow fundraisers to use a talk-to-text app to input contact reports for meetings. Blackbaud keeps increasing the functionality and roll out new features. All of our gift officers are happy with this product and use it daily to manage portfolios.

Cons

This is not a heavy work system for database managers. Still no events management in this version. Attachments added to records in NXT cannot be seen in database view.

Pros

The ease of use for those not accustomed to the traditional Raiser's Edge database, this allows other teams to use it when before they would not have. Ability to access records from anywhere. Reporting is great to easily identify metrics for our organization.

Cons

A large number of features that we are very excited for are not yet fully active resulting in us using both NXT and RE OLX. In particular we are waiting for the ability to create donation forms, as well more functionality in the email platform to allow us to add the responses to the records.

Pros

It provides a comprehensive, detailed account of all interactions, donations, and potential contacts among our donor base. Whenever I've had to call customer support, they have been incredibly knowledgeable and friendly, and typically have gotten to the bottom of whatever issue I'm having.

Cons

There are SO many functions and features that it is hard to utilize them successfully at any given time. Reports can be complicated to produce, and creating queries to generate the specific sets of donor groups you are looking for is difficult at best.