Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge Fundraising Software E-mail
Written by Karen Corey   
Tuesday, 22 September 2009 08:10

Deli.cio.us    Digg    reddit    Facebook    StumbleUpon    Newsvine
Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge Fundraising Software (www.blackbaud.com) is a complete system to handle every aspect of running and managing a nonprofit organization. It is an all in one solution for relationship cultivation, contact, and operational management. This software can be used by any size of nonprofit organization, and there are optional modules available to customize the system to fit organization’s specific needs.

In Use
Raiser’s Edge allows the user to cultivate lifelong relationships with donors, and streamlines the entire donor management process. This system has an interactive database that allows the user to record all interactions they have with prospects and donors. It has a variety of tools and features to save time and effort when doing repetitive tasks. It can be accessed from anywhere and can connect multiple offices through web access.

It has multiple modules, such as the batch feature, which is a customizable spreadsheet style entry screen that allows the user to enter large amounts of data quickly. You can quickly and easily navigate the entire system from the Raiser’s Edge Home Page. With this software the user is able create detailed and summary reports for staff, donors and board members.


Technology employed
System requirements for standalone/workstation are Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista-Business, Ultimate or Enterprise. You will also need MS Office 2000, Office XP, Office 2003 or Office 2007 to use the Microsoft integration features. A Pentium IV or higher processor is recommended and at least 1GB RAM.

The minimum database server requirements are; Windows 2008 Server, Windows 2003 Server, Window 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Small Business Server, NT 4.0 Server and peer-to-peer networks are not supported. A Pentium IV processor or higher, 2 GHz minimum is recommended. If the system will get heavy use and activity a dedicated database server should be considered.

Ease of use, configuration, and deployment
The professional staff at Blackbaud will take you through all the steps of implementing the Raiser’s Edge. They will advise you on hardware requirements and will configure and deploy the application. Different types of training are available for your staff, including classroom, regional, onsite, and instructor led distance learning. There is also an eLearning Library available 24 hours.

Recap
The Raiser’s Edge is a complete donor management system that has built-in features to streamline nonprofit organization’s daily tasks. It has comprehensive relationship management tools and advanced reporting and security features. This software will simplify reporting and communication between staff and donors. It has the ability to pull data from any field using simple plain English queries that can be saved and even modified. This is an all-in-one application to handle the needs of any sized nonprofit organization.

Pricing for the Raiser’s Edge software starts at $7000 and varies depending on the organization’s needs. There are online training and support resources, and different training plans available.


Advantages

  • User friendly
  • Multi-modules
  • Dashboards
Disadvantages
  • The initial cost of the system may increase due to add-ons and additional hardware
My Opinion
I was very impressed with the Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge Software. The layout and design makes it easy to navigate the entire system seamlessly. I was amazed at all that could be done with this application, including customized detailed dashboards and reports. This software can be used by any size of nonprofit organization and can be customized to fit the user’s specific needs. I would highly recommend this software. It is a powerful application that has a multitude of time saving features.

Karen Corey
About the author:
Karen Corey is a freelance writer and researcher with over 10 years experience in marketing research and healthcare. She does reviews, articles, and blogs on a variety of topics and specializes in SEO and all types of software. She resides in Southern California..


< Prev   Next >
 

Add your comment

Your name:
Subject:
Comment:
  The word for verification. Lowercase letters only with no spaces.
Word verification:
yvComment v.1.22.0