Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Reviews

“Powerful platform but at a premium cost

Pros

One of the things I appreciate is how user friendly the platform feels, I can search by any data point and quickly find what I need. I also trust the payment gateways' security and I value how the system lets me control every part of our records from entering data and processing gifts to managing donor officers. It's handy that I can tag and maintain information across users to make sure coverage is complete and donor facing work stays prioritized. On top of that being able to spin up personal or departmental dashboard reports on the fly is excellent for accessing data when I'm out and about. I can build large, data-heavy reports for forecasting and to dig into each campaign's details. Having worked with several donor management platforms, I find this one both powerful and easy to use.

Cons

my main drawback is the price point, it feels a bit prohibitive for smaller organizations that would really benefit from all the features. In my experience those smaller agencies could put the tools to good use but the cost may be a real barrier to adoption.

“Worth the investment for growing nonprofits

Pros

All in all my time using Raiser's Edge NXT has been extremely positive. The system delivers a lot of power for donor management, reporting and planning strategic fundraising campaigns. It feels user-friendly, can be reached from anywhere and gives meaningful insights that inform our development strategy. Although pricing can be a hurdle at times but the suite of tools and the support that comes with it have genuinely uplifted the quality of our fundraising work. This is a full-featured platform that keeps us organized and helps nurture stronger donor relationships which ultimately advances our mission. What stands out most to me about Raiser's Edge NXT is how easy and efficient it is to work with donor records. Since it's cloud-based, accessing data whenever I need it is simple and the dashboards provide an up-to-the-minute view of how our fundraising is tracking. I particularly value how effortlessly it logs giving histories and donor interactions which enables our team to make smarter and more strategic choices. It really simplifies development tasks and lets our staff stay focused on mission-driven priorities. Generating reports is also extremely easy!

Cons

The main drawback I've noticed is its price. Even though it delivers strong features and solid capabilities it can require a sizable investment, particularly tough for small nonprofits that operate on tight budgets. Still the benefits in donor management and reporting are noteworthy but the cost may make it out of reach for certain organizations.

“Smooth implementation with scheduling limits

Pros

the system helps our registrar to keep the student database up to date. the yearly summer refresh feels smooth and rolling courses forward is simple to do. we transitioned from PowerSchool to Blackbaud as our student information system without much fuss that has been a huge relief. also, one noteworthy thing is Blackbaud's online training and courses were excellent and made getting everything configured a lot easier.

Cons

I find it's hard to manage several distinct schedules within the platform..for example separate ones for middle school and high school.

“A powerhouse for serious fundraising

Pros

We achieved genuine success with this tool. In our line of work those intricate details simply shouldn't and can't live only in a single fundraiser's head..they need to be recorded, tracked and kept as a nuanced but adaptable history. Raiser's Edge NXT strikes that right balance between sensitivity and flexibility. I really value how it brings order to complicated data and helps me work through complex information. This software has been an important asset in the organizations I've been involved with. It allows me to capture both the big-picture items and the tiny meaningful notes and I can also rely on it for shaping specific campaign plans. in short this platform punches above its weight and has become a vital component of the contemporary fundraising operation I work in.

Cons

the system's complexity can make it intimidating to use without substantial training. the first-time user experience would likely feel much more satisfying if the vendor invested a bit more in simplifying the onboarding or offering clearer and more approachable guidance for beginners

“More than a CRM but complex to manage

Pros

it functions almost like a CRM letting me log every single interaction I have with donors. its integration with outlook makes things further simpler. For managing donations and donor communications it's really solid. It gives a clear view of the info I have and makes campaign planning smooth. The task manager is simple to use and ties into the main communication channels which helps keep follow-ups and outreach organized effectively.

Cons

During the migration I ran into issues where not all of our data transferred correctly and I had to fix many things manually. A lot of actions can only be done in the database view while others are limited to the web view which is frustrating and slows the whole process down.

“Extremely capable but hard to learn

Pros

I found the software pretty solid though I wish I'd been working somewhere different when I used it. At the location where I worked, it wasn't used in a way that made the most of its features. I would advise thinking carefully about exactly what your organization's needs are before committing to Raiser's Edge. The system does support very sophisticated reporting that gave me a fair amount of flexibility in choosing how to enter data into the platform.

Cons

its frustrating that RE wouldn't let me set up recurring lists that automatically refresh after being saved. Because it supports more advanced reporting, the interface can feel a bit harder to learn and get around. I also didn't find any built-in links to major email marketing tools like MailChimp or Constant Contact so integrating with those services wasn't available in my experience.

“at times it gets overwhelming

Pros

I've found Raiser's Edge does exactly what it promises, it provides a management platform that lets me build and, to some degree, tailor a comprehensive database of information. There is so much detail you can store that it opens up the ability to generate reports and analyze nearly anything you can think of. I also appreciate the web view for quick, on-the-fly access to data, while the full database view works well for team members who need to dive into the finer points and examine the records more thoroughly.

Cons

In my experience it is a capable database management system but it comes with a steep price tag and is likely more feature-heavy and intricate than many smaller organizations need. Because it is so complex, pulling together all the data you want can become confusing and time consuming. I've learned that creating and running queries and producing detailed reports really takes time, you pick it up gradually and only after a lot of practice. On top of that, the customer support has been disappointing. Our assigned Blackbaud customer success manager seems to rotate every six months or even sooner and there's about a fifty-fifty chance I'll reach someone who can actually help when I open a chat to resolve an issue.

“Feature-rich but needs smoother workflows

Pros

Using it I've found it packs a wide range of features and capabilities if you take advantage of them all. That said it really depends on keeping your information fully updated for it to shine. Once I've got everything current and accurate it works really well.

Cons

I'd like the option to review the emails I've generated later on. Right now the only way to keep a record is to copy them manually which gets a bit annoying. Also the event management section feels somewhat clunky and confusing to navigate.

“powerful tool

Pros

I've used it and it is a very powerful and sophisticated donor management program. It reached a point where it did more than I needed which made our processes feel over-complicated yet overall it wasn't a bad system.

Cons

It ended up being almost too feature-rich for what my organization actually needed and I found that many of the advanced tools were unnecessary for our day-to-day work.

“Improving but not fully there yet

Pros

From my perspective as they keep improving, accessing and manipulating data is going to become an excellent experience for users.

Cons

Right now I feel it's roughly sixty percent complete compared to the RE features.

“Powerful yet unnecessarily complicated

Pros

I've found Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT to be a very comprehensive platform that provides an abundance of features tailored for charities and non-profits.

Cons

As someone fairly comfortable with technology I still found the backend of this software overwhelmingly complicated and hard to navigate. It didn't feel that the tool is smooth at all which is disappointing given that many modern tools are leveraging AI to simplify workflows. The system is so convoluted that you're sometimes required to pass exams before you can access certain training modules for different features which struck me as excessive. On top of the steep learning curve, the pricing is sky-high and that's particularly troubling because this product is marketed toward charities and non-profit organizations.

“Useful but outdated

Pros

I find it useful for tracking donors for fundraising purposes and managing gifts. It can also integrate with our enrollment system to track alumni and parents of alumni.

Cons

It is clunky and not intuitive to use, with an outdated design.

“No customer support - aggressive re-subscription

Pros

It offers a lot of functionality for large nonprofits, but there is little to no customer support.

Cons

Their sales tactics are very aggressive, and their re-subscription process is very misleading. They tried to re-subscribe us at a very high price, quoting a timeline by which we had to decide not to re-subscribe. When we tried to unsubscribe, they claimed we were bound by a contract. Despite using RE for over a decade, they showed no consideration. They insisted we missed the unsubscribe timeline and demanded a very high fee for the next period. Eventually, we reported them to the Better Business Bureau, and they could not produce a signed contract from our agency or even a template. After a back-and-forth through the BBB, RE stopped contacting us, realizing they had no basis for their demands.

“Quick access with room to customize

Pros

I find RE NXT to be a fast, web-based tool for quickly checking the essential details of a constituent.

Cons

Beyond making gift information quicker to retrieve I'd like to have greater control over customizing the display layouts in NXT. For example, what each person needs to see in search results or on the top display bar changes depending on their role and responsibilities so those views should be adaptable.

“Clean and friendly CRM experience

Pros

Access is so easy, it's very user-friendly and visually appealing so I find it easy to use.

Cons

I sometimes struggle to navigate certain reporting and query features because they can be confusing and hard to locate.

“Useful features locked behind add-ons

Pros

I use it easily on trips. The layout shows clear tiles I can scan. Dragging uploads is simple and lists easy to pull.

Cons

We can't build most custom lists ourselves. We would prefer lists organized by fund and I want donor contact details displayed on a single line including name, ID, phone, email and any exclusions. To pull that information today requires extremely complex queries against the database view which makes routine data extraction impractical for a typical office user. The software is really pricey and our team doesn't even fully understand how to use all its features. We need more personalized training and responsive support to learn the functionality we pay for but our database manager currently handles this and effectively acts as a gatekeeper.

“Basic tasks made harder than needed

Pros

I'm able to keep a record of donations throughout the year and then distribute the appropriate tax forms when year-end arrives.

Cons

the reporting tools were confusing and I struggled to understand how to generate and interpret the reports.

“Modern and easy but limited

Pros

Although my job means I don't use NXT very often but I find it far easier to work with than the older Raiser's Edge platform. The whole interface looks more modern and the WYSIWYG editor is simple to use yet quite comprehensive. Even after stepping away from the site for a while I can jump back in and pick things up again without much trouble which I appreciate for occasional use.

Cons

From my perspective NXT doesn't include every feature that Raiser's Edge offers and that lack of certain functionalities can feel somewhat restrictive when I need to complete specific tasks.

“client lookup is tricky

Pros

What I like is that it presents a clear summary of all donations and makes the whole picture easy to understand. I find it really simple to navigate and pull up that information when I need it.

Cons

I often struggle to locate clients unless I type their name exactly as it's stored including specific formatting. Because of that I frequently spend far more time hunting for a client than seems necessary.

“disappointingly poor customer support

Pros

i have found it packed with tons of features and extra functionality.

Cons

dealing with Blackbaud's customer support has been an incredibly frustrating experience

“Sets a new standard for CRMs

Pros

we relied on Raiser's Edge across several nonprofits since 2007 and in my experience it's been an indispensable system for keeping tabs on donors and other constituents and their relationships.

Cons

Personally I find putting together and extracting reports from RE to be tricky. I wish the platform made reporting more easy and invested in improving its user-friendliness.

“Stronger than old versions

Pros

For more than twenty years I have used different editions of Raiser's Edge and in my experience the NXT edition is significantly better than the older releases. It covers everything we require for advancement and fundraising operations and it also integrates smoothly with our other Blackbaud systems.

Cons

customer support isn't what it used to be anymore.

“Powerful tools with data challenges

Pros

I've been using both the database view and NXT and I really appreciate how powerful the query tools and reporting features are.

Cons

At times I've found that running a query can be tricky depending on how the data was entered into the database.

“User friendly with viewing limits

Pros

as far as i talk about my experience blackbaud offered a smooth and practical way for me to oversee our donor database. i find it simple for front-line fundraisers and i rely on its reporting tools to help keep existing supporters engaged while guiding new contributors through the moves management workflow.

Cons

I do like how user-friendly it is and appreciate many strong features but I still run into limitations when trying to view certain data fields and reports. although I know Blackbaud is actively addressing these visibility constraints to make the overall experience better but at times that can be frustrating

“Not for large enterprises

Pros

the software is easy to pick up and very simple and it offers reasonably good reporting features.

Cons

it is clearly limited for bigger nonprofits.. its feature set is too restricted for larger operations and the APIs feel outdated compared with industry expectations.

“Good but costly

Pros

Raisers edge NXT is quite user-friendly and I really love the fact that it provides several useful reporting options.

Cons

Although it has a lot to offer but still I would say that its quite expensive and lacks a few features I need, such as certain reports that I can't pull when required. I would prefer if they included more one-on-one or group training as part of the contract since their other training is fairly expensive.

“Just pathetic!

Pros

To be honest NXT looked okay visually but there's not a lot I can praise..

Cons

I found problems across the board from lousy data reporting and buggy query tools to poor integration with other apps and weak donation management.

“Friendly front end, confusing backend

Pros

it links with grant management via opportunities

Cons

I'd really like a simpler way to monitor grants and their status. I'm finding the backend harder to navigate and a bit confusing to use.

“Better for larger organizations

Pros

NXT provides a lot of capability and its visual layout is easier to digest than classic Raiser's Edge

Cons

I still struggle with constructing reports in NXT. it's an improvement over classic Raiser's Edge but it remains difficult.

“powerful data at a high cost

Pros

I appreciate the functionality...the donor records felt useful and I could enter split gifts easily.

Cons

Price price pirce! its steep. Also the interface is glitchy and it was hard to use. Customer support isn't really helpful.

“Great visibility with workflow gaps

Pros

I'm really happy with the level of access we have to donor and constituent profiles since I can quickly pull up and review the full history we hold for any donor associated with our organization.

Cons

Transfers of constituents between fundraisers could be much smoother... I find the current handoffs awkward and would appreciate a more smooth process.

“Polished results despite limitations

Pros

I can say that after spending some time and getting used to the software it felt quite simple and user-friendly

Cons

There are times when I hit limitations on what I can accomplish like when I try to build a giving page and although those constraints can be frustrating nd the final result still looks fairly polished

“non existent customer support

Pros

When I started here I inherited this system and to be honest nothing positive about it comes to mind right now.

Cons

Honestly I found the interface unfriendly, the search feature awkward to use and generating reports extremely difficult.

“Industry standard

Pros

I've found it useful with many add-ons.

Cons

it's way too expensive for smaller organizations.

“feels outdated

Pros

the tool is really simple and easy to use and far less complex than newer CRM platforms that are stuffed with features and can be overwhelming.

Cons

it still feels like it's running on an outdated system architecture even though they've transitioned from the old Raiser's Edge to the newer NXT version.

“Easier front end but limited

Pros

RE NXT is much simpler to navigate than the traditional database view and I like that I can personalize work tiles so my most-used tasks are right at hand. Building Lists feels easier than writing queries. I'm only beginning to set up workflows but I can see real promise for them to drive actions.

Cons

Not every feature is present in RE NXT yet so I still have to switch back to the database view when I need to enter certain pieces of information. Getting help from customer service is often slow and I've found chat agents can come across as curt. It would be helpful if the documentation included troubleshooting steps and I struggle to find real-time examples outside of classes which aren't always offered when I need them.

“database view still needed

Pros

I'm really fond of the interface and how I can drag and drop items inside constituent records to arrange the information the way I prefer. The dashboard looks great and, after overcoming a bit of a learning curve, it becomes a handy way to surface really useful metrics and details for fundraising teams.

Cons

From my perspective this isn't a finished product yet and I wouldn't rely on it without access to the RE 7 database view. RE NXT provides the core features fundraisers need to work solely in the app but it doesn't meet the needs of database administrators. A large portion of gift-processing tools and even several reporting fields remain in RE 7 and haven't been migrated. Whenever I need detailed reports that use OR/NOT logic, custom attributes, or specific gift amounts, I have to switch back into the database view to run queries, exports, or canned reports.

“Organized fundraising with reporting friction

Pros

For me the tool is extremely user-friendly and I notice it consistently organizes my content in a very clear and concise way.

Cons

I've struggled at times to generate reports and extract data from the database which has been fairly problematic for my workflow.

“Evolving platform that needs guidance

Pros

Over the years we've used Raiser's Edge I've noticed it keeps growing and improving, adding broader and more impactful criteria that help our fundraising efforts. NXT is much more user-friendly than the older Raiser's Edge system.

Cons

Wish there were video tutorials because they would make things easier to learn. Our experience with the knowledgebase has been frustrating it's not simple and doesn't help me find quick, clear answers when I'm building a list tailored to our constituency. Once again, having video guides included would really improve the product.

“Great for front-end, weak reporting

Pros

As a front-end user I find it really easy to navigate and retrieve individual donor information without much fuss.

Cons

I find the reporting module unnecessarily complicated and could use a much smoother workflow and on top of that I feel the range of actual reporting capabilities is pretty limited.

“Best-in-class fundraising software

Pros

Finding it easy to use, the interface feels very friendly and I can print any reports that I need.

Cons

Honestly I can't think of anything negative to say about this program.

“Easy to start, hard to migrate

Pros

I've noticed that records in Raiser's Edge are pretty rigid, they're actually quite hard to tweak or personalize. That rigidity can be useful when I'm just getting started because it forces a consistent way of storing information and stops team members from making messy entries. Also putting new details into a record is easy and uncomplicated.

Cons

One big frustration for me is that a lot of Raiser's Edge features are only available in the Database view which is far less user-friendly and means I have to open an entirely separate program to do basic configuration. For example, when I want to add a new kind of relationship, I'm forced to go into Database view. On top of that, records are so rigidly structured that when I'm moving data over from a different system, my information can quickly end up looking like a total mess unless I force everything to conform exactly to Raiser's Edge's categories.

“Built for large organizations

Pros

From my experience the platform's dynamic data capture, tracking and reporting tools make sharing and collaborating with colleagues simple, organizing workflows and helping everyone perform their specific roles more effectively.

Cons

I did notice a learning curve that requires staff training time but luckily Blackbaud provides excellent resources from self-paced materials to instructor-led sessions that make getting up to speed much easier for our team.

“Friendly interface with training needs

Pros

As someone who isn't very tech-savvy I find the interface incredibly approachable and simple to navigate even for users with limited technical skills.

Cons

On the downside I notice it provides very limited customization so it doesn't always adapt well to the unique needs of my organization.