Resources

Here are free resources to help you with Raiser’s Edge. No login or questions must be answered first, but please consider joining Bill’s email newsletter list (form is below right). He promises practical, useful content in every newsletter for both fundraisers and database staff, including notices when new resources are added to this page.

Newsletter Back Issues

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May 2021 re: final follow-up from the Security webinar series and update on the move from blackbaudhosting.com to Blackbaud ID/blackbaud.com
September 2021 re: the role and responsibility of a database manager and preparing for bbcon
January 2022 re: learnings from the past month on preparing for the removal of Microsoft applications from Blackbaud hosting
April 2022 re: recommendations for attendance at upcoming Blackbaud events

Raiser’s Edge NXT

Why Fundraisers Want Raiser’s Edge NXT DOWNLOAD
Raiser’s Edge NXT – Moving to and Mastering the Next Generation of RE (bbcon presentation slides) DOWNLOAD
Raiser’s Edge NXT Pricing – To Delete or Not Delete Constituents DOWNLOAD
Raiser’s Edge NXT: What’s Called What? DOWNLOAD
Why Database Managers Should Use Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT Web View (bbcon 2021 presentation slides) DOWNLOAD

Non-Technical Resources for Fundraising Managers and Leaders

The interview of Bill on Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership podcast on the “Three Technology Traps All Nonprofit Leaders Must Avoid”
Reports from Raiser’s Edge for a New Head of Fundraising DOWNLOAD

Role of the Database Manager

Managing the “Manager” Part of Database Manager in the Fundraising Profession Today (bbcon 2019 presentation slides) DOWNLOAD
Why Database Managers Should Use Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT Web View (bbcon 2021 presentation slides) DOWNLOAD

Removal of Microsoft Applications from Blackbaud Hosting

In December 2021, Blackbaud announced they would be removing Microsoft applications like Word and Excel from the Blackbaud hosting environments on February 28, 2022. Bill has prepared his perspectives and recommendations on this change in a question-and-answer format to help with this transition. You can find that information here.

Also see the January 2022 newsletter on learnings from January on preparing for this change.

Raiser’s Edge Security

Bill presented a free webinar series in partnership with Blackbaud in March and April 2021 on Security in Raiser’s Edge. The recordings and other resources from the series are below and are free to access, although the recordings require registration with Blackbaud.

Resources from webinar 1, Creating a Culture of Security, on March 23, 2021, with Ashley Wyand from Blackbaud’s cybersecurity team:

Raiser’s Edge NXT: What’s Called What? DOWNLOAD
Adding and Inactivating Users in Raiser’s Edge NXT DOWNLOAD
Bill’s slides from the presentation DOWNLOAD
(The recording of the presentation is no longer available)

New resources from webinar 2, Understanding Security in Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge, on March 30, 2021:

Bill’s slides from the presentation DOWNLOAD
The recording of the presentation can be watched here
This presentation discusses a move then in progress from what it called “Not Azure” and “Blackbaud Hosting Services” (with database view login directly from blackbaudhosting.com) to Blackbaud ID (with database view only available through the web view). In December 2021 that process was completed, so all access to the database view must be through blackbaud.com using Blackbaud ID where multi-factor authentication can and should be turned on. Blackbaudhosting.com no longer functions. The term “Blackbaud Hosting Services” is today being used more broadly to refer to all the Blackbaud environments where RE is hosted: Azure, Boston, Vancouver, etc. Otherwise, the content of this presentation is still accurate and applicable.

New resources from webinar 3, Deep Dive into Raiser’s Edge Security Options, on April 6, 2021:

Bill’s slides from the presentation DOWNLOAD
The recording of the presentation can be watched here
Bill’s answers to two questions that arose during the webinar for which there was not time to answer then

The series FAQ can be found here. Thanks to Taylor Francis and others at Blackbaud for doing the hard work of taking 700 questions that arose during the series and producing this document.

Policy and Procedure Documentation

Blackbaud Conference presentation available on YouTube
Policy and Procedure Documentation (bbcon presentation slides) DOWNLOAD
Documentation Example 1 — Process for Generating Direct Mail Files DOWNLOAD
Documentation Example 2 — Annual Report Process DOWNLOAD
And see Chapter 8 and Appendix C of Bill’s book on Raiser’s Edge

Constituent Codes

Best Practices in the Use of Constituent Codes (Blackbaud K12 Conference 2019 presentation slides) DOWNLOAD
“Former” Constituent Codes? (post to fundsvcs) DOWNLOAD