Fundraising with The Raiser's Edge E-Book

Bill Connors

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 564

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

A non-technical guide to The Raiser's Edge-the most widely-used fundraising database package on the market-for the fundraising professional The first-ever guide to The Raiser's Edge database package for the fundraising professional, Fundraising with The Raiser's Edge: A Non-Technical Guide educates your nonprofit about what The Raiser's Edge can do for you and will help you more effectively work with the staff who are responsible for data entry and output. * Helps your organization get much greater return on The Raiser's Edge, and use it to raise more money more effectively and with less stress * Contains specific and clear direction on the key areas you should know without technical discussion * Includes numerous checklists to give you practical takeaways Providing you with the non-technical details you need to know to recruit, manage and retain quality database personnel, Fundraising with The Raiser's Edge: A Non-Technical Guide will help you in your day-to-day fundraising work without needing to become a database expert.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Praise

Title Page

Copyright Page

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Introduction

Today’s Fundraising Technology

Overview of Chapters

The Database Administrator

Some Additional Thoughts

Summary

CHAPTER 1 - Organizing Fundraising

Getting Started with The Raiser’s Edge

Accessing Campaign, Fund, and Appeal Records

Defining Campaign, Fund, and Appeal

Funds

Appeals

Campaigns

Other Considerations

Summary

Note

CHAPTER 2 - Prospects, Donors, and Other Constituents

Who Should Be Recorded in The Raiser’s Edge

Who Should Be a Constituent

Constituent Tabs

Constituent Tabs for Optional Modules

Tools for Fundraisers

Summary

CHAPTER 3 - Gifts and Giving

Gift Types

Gift Tabs and Concepts

Functionality by Gift Type

Adjustments

Constituent Giving Totals

Understanding Gift Processing

Summary

CHAPTER 4 - Direct Marketing and Other Mailings

Four Steps

Step 1. Output Format

Step 2. Recipients

Step 3. Fields

Step 4. Field Content

The Mailing Process

Staff Training

Reporting

Putting This Together

Summary

CHAPTER 5 - Events and Membership

Events and Membership in Context

Events

Membership

Summary

CHAPTER 6 - Major Gifts and Grants

Basic Major Gifts Fundraising Tools

The Life Cycle of a Major Gifts Donor in The Raiser’s Edge

Major Gifts Process Reports

A Word to Corporate and Foundation Fundraisers

Making It Happen

Summary

Note

CHAPTER 7 - Reporting, Lists, and Other Output

Output Tools

Dashboards and Reports to Run

Event, Membership, and Volunteer Reports

Custom Reports

Summary

CHAPTER 8 - Database Oversight

Development or IT?

Tip: Database Administrator Roles and Responsibilities

Hiring

Retention

Version 8 of The Raiser’s Edge

Summary

Conclusion

APPENDIX A - Converting to and Implementing The Raiser’s Edge

APPENDIX B - Database Administrator Task List

APPENDIX C - Policy and Procedure Documentation Example

Bibliography

Index

Additional Praise forFundraising with The Raiser’s Edge

“Bill Connors has written the Raiser’s Edge book we’ve all been waiting for...to help all of us as fundraisers use this powerful software more effectively. It’s the book that tells you how to do the things you really want to do in The Raiser’s Edge, and more importantly, why to do it the way he recommends. Bill’s background as a fundraiser means he’s grounded the book in what is practical and useful for fundraisers on the front lines of raising funds in challenging times.”

Theresa Nelson, Founder and Principal, Theresa Nelson & Associates

“Bill Connors’ book is a long overdue contribution to the fundraising world. If you are a novice Raiser’s Edge user, this is a mandatory starting point. If you are a seasoned development professional, you will discover indispensable information to help you focus on raising money. Bill has written a uniquely practical and logical guide to The Raiser’s Edge system.”

Marilyn Cahill, Director of Membership, California Academy of Sciences

“This is a really useful book. Bill Connors was a successful fundraiser before he became a fundraising software guru and you can see that from the way he writes this book. His enthusiasm for fundraising, and for The Raiser’s Edge’s role in supporting fundraisers, shines through on every page.”

John Kelly, President, Brakeley—International Fundraising Consultancy

“Fundraising with The Raiser’s Edge: A Non-Technical Guide is a must-read for current users or anyone considering The Raiser’s Edge. It is filled with tips and tricks and gives plenty of real-world examples from nonprofits that have used The Raiser’s Edge to work more efficiently and improve their fundraising results.”

Dawn Bailey, Senior Consultant, Blackbaud, Inc.

“The next best thing to having a Raiser’s Edge consultant and expert in your office? This book! Welcome to what I call the Fundraiser’s Official Bible! I’ve had the pleasure of working with Bill as he helped us—now you can benefit from his wisdom and guidance as well. This will help you raise money—and help you contain costs. A CEO and Development Director’s best friend.”

Patricia Wilson, Executive Director, Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation

“Connors comprehensively reveals how fundraisers can better understand and deploy the many capabilities of the Raiser’s Edge software. As a Blackbaud RE user at my institution for nearly a decade, I truly didn’t know how much I didn’t know until I reviewed Connors’ book. With Fundraising with the Raiser’s Edge serving as a useful guide, I and countless other “non-technical” fundraisers will be equipped to better understand and utilize the robust capability of Blackbaud’s fundraising software. Connors has produced a great book which should be of significant value to the advancement profession.”

Dick Johnson, Executive Vice President, U.S. Naval Academy Foundation

Copyright © 2010 by Bill Connors. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada.

Screenshots from The Raiser’s Edge software are used by permission of Blackbaud, Inc. All rights reserved. The Raiser’s Edge and other Blackbaud product and service names are trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries, and are used with permission.

This book is based upon the Raiser’s Edge version 7.91.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Connors, Bill.

Fundraising with the raiser’s edge : a non-technical guide / Bill Connors. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-60231-7

1. Fund raising. 2. Nonprofit organizations-Finance. I. Title. HG177.C66 2010 658.15’224-dc22 2009038772

Acknowledgments

As with most worthwhile things in life, this book is by no means just my own creation. It is only possible because of the support, education, and experiences shared by many good people in my life over many years. Although I alone am responsible for any mistakes and shortcomings in this book, I wish to give public thanks, as all good fundraisers must, to those who made this book possible. My apologies to the people whose names should be listed here but are not.

I have been fortunate to work with many outstanding co-workers and colleagues over the years who have taught me much about fundraising, The Raiser’s Edge, and so much more. They include Mark Anello, Lou Attanasi, John Auwaerter, Dawn Bailey, Jim Ballou, Tracy Barry, Sally Beckett-Jeffery, Loraine Brown, Kevin Brunson, Suzanne Bryer, Jim Bush, Joy Clay, Cathleen Collins, Bill Conner (yes, I worked for someone with almost exactly the same name), Rich Conte, Michael Culler, Maurin Dajani, Reggie Daniel, Derek Drockelman, Frank Evans, Carolyn Ferrell, Mark Fetner, Anne Finch, Paul Finch, Leslie Franchs, Richard Geiger, Peter Gross, Kyle Haines, Keith Heller, Lawrence Henze, Debra Holcomb, Amy Jajuga, Kathryn Johnson, Adria Kamau, Lisa Lane Kasperzak, Martin Kaufman, John Kelly, Kevin Knight, Kevin Kreamer, Marty Lee, David Loring, Stu Manewith, Liz Marenakos, Amy Matthews, Jason Metcalfe, Cindy McElhinney, Trit Mulligan, Nicci Noble, Beth Parsons, Heather Paul, Leslie Payne, Karen Powell, Deepa Ranjith, Esther Ratterree, Andy Sabine, Cindy Scarbrough, Glenda Scott, Kimberley Sherwood, Renee Simi, Wayne Smith, Suzann Squire, Scott Staub, Jeff Stowe, John Stubbs, Shaun Sullivan, Steve Swain, Gina Tan, Jon Temple, Mark Terrero, Jeff Terry, Marc Van Baar, Tom Walker, Dorie Wallace, Robert Weiner, Brad West, Brandon Woods, David Zeidman, and Jerry Zink. Although the names are too numerous to mention and many of them aren’t known to me, I have also learned much from the many members of the Blackbaud professional services; customer support, particularly electronic support; product design and development; and documentation teams.

I have also learned much from and with hundreds of clients from consulting since 1998—thank you for what you shared and what you enabled me to experience and learn. Of particular note I wish to mention Beth Basham, Lindy Ebbs, Paul Greenblatt, Linda Hulten, JC Minton, and Janice May Pinkowski. I especially have to thank the staff of the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation including Lynne Durie, Rachael Brent, and executive director Patricia Wilson—an amazing fundraiser and visionary leader for supporting the importance of the fundraising database.

The drafts of this book have been reviewed by colleagues who have contributed many hours of their own time to make this book better: Dawn Bailey, Rachael Brent, Kristin Caid, Rachel Hutchisson, Lisa Lane Kasperzak, Shawn O’Hara, and Gail Yates. Their work has been an invaluable contribution and I can’t express my appreciation enough. I would also like to thank others who reviewed and commented on specific chapters: Beth Basham, Kevin Brunson, Marilyn Cahill, John Kelly, Nicole Leventhal, Theresa Nelson, and Trini Ramos.

Since this is my first book, I am indebted to the team at Wiley & Sons who guided me gently and patiently through the process: Susan McDermott, who instantly embraced the idea for this book and became an internal champion; and Judy Howarth and Michael Lisk, wise and patient editors.

Although this book is a production independent of Blackbaud, Blackbaud’s leaders believed in the value of this project for its customers and have supported it every step of the way. Particular thanks to Rachel Hutchisson, who spearheaded Blackbaud’s involvement and was an editor extraordinaire; Marc Chardon, President; Charlie Cumbaa, Senior Vice President; Dawn Bailey, Professional Services; and the many other “Blackbaudians” who helped.

As every fundraiser knows, it is about relationships. And no more important relationships exist than those in our personal lives. To be energetic, present, and positive fundraisers requires good people in our lives at home. The same is true with writing a book.

There are two people who deserve very special mention, the two people most responsible for this book. Shawn O’Hara has been a friend, “big sister,” colleague, mentor, and inspiration. No one has provided me more professional guidance and encouragement since I was a high school participant in Junior Achievement when she worked there. And Gail Yates—friend, former boss, mentor, encourager—someone who put my interests above her own early in my career and truly made possible my entrée into the world of The Raiser’s Edge, supporting it every step of the way.

My thanks and love to Andy, Kris and her family, Brian, and my partner Jeff—thank you, Jeff, for your patience, support, love, and laughter—lots and lots of laughter!

And finally, to the two people to whom this book is dedicated, my mother and father Isabelle and Tom Connors. No son could have more support, encouragement, and love than they have given.

To all these special people and many more not mentioned, two words that no fundraiser can say too often: thank you.

About the Author

Bill Connors, CFRE, is an independent consultant and trainer on The Raiser’s Edge.

In high school Bill was in Junior Achievement, an international organization that teaches students about business, economics, and personal finance. After participating in the after-school program and summer conferences, he began working for the national headquarters in the summers during college and graduate school. That led to a full-time job after graduate school as the assistant director of the international student conference.

Bill knew the real work of Junior Achievement happened in the 165 field offices of the organization throughout the country. He left the headquarters and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he became director of development for the central Arizona office in 1991.

At the time, Junior Achievement had an old DOS database that was more for accounting purposes than a true fundraising database. A team in the Phoenix office embarked on a project to develop a better tool, which got subsumed into a national project. The national organization bought 200 copies of The Raiser’s Edge for Windows in 1995, one for each field office.

Bill left the Phoenix office after five years of successful fundraising, program management in the rural areas of Arizona, and doing some IT work for the office. He returned to the national office overseeing the rollout of The Raiser’s Edge to the field offices. He and his colleague developed and delivered a training curriculum, wrote documentation, developed custom reports, and worked with Blackbaud on Junior Achievement’s needs.

After his experience at Junior Achievement, Bill moved to San Francisco in 1998 and joined Blackbaud to help start the consulting program for the company. Previously Blackbaud had customer support over the telephone from Charleston, South Carolina, and on-site trainers. However, there was no one to help organizations with on-site implementation, customization, and use of the software to accomplish each organization’s specific objectives. Bill spent the next seven years doing that in addition to helping build the Blackbaud consulting practice.

During a one-year break from his employment at Blackbaud, Bill was a senior consultant for fundraising technology in the United Kingdom and Europe for Brakeley Ltd., a fundraising consulting firm in London.

During his time at Blackbaud, Bill consulted with hundreds of organizations of all types and sizes in their use of The Raiser’s Edge throughout the United States and Canada. He also taught classes, moderated user groups, and spoke at conferences. As principal consultant he was the chief liaison for the consulting department with the product development department. In the process he contributed to the development and design of the software.

After 10 years of national and international travel for Junior Achievement, Blackbaud, and Brakeley, Bill left Blackbaud in 2005. Later that year he became an independent consultant and trainer on The Raiser’s Edge. To this day he works exclusively on The Raiser’s Edge with clients, helping them convert to, set up, clean up, learn, and use The Raiser’s Edge.

Bill is an honors graduate of Yale University with a master’s degree from Brigham Young University. He is actively involved in the Association of Fundraising Professionals and has served on the board of directors of the Golden Gate Chapter. He continues to speak at Blackbaud and fundraising conferences.

Bill lives in San Francisco. He can be reached at [email protected] and www.billconnors.com.

Introduction

The Raiser’s Edge is a large, sophisticated database. There is no question about that. But the premise of this book is quite simple: if you are smart and capable enough to be a fundraiser in the twenty-first century, you are smart and capable enough to learn what every fundraiser should know about The Raiser’s Edge.

Perhaps it is a fair expectation to assume that, if you are like most fundraisers, you have never opened a software book. You have never gone into a bookstore, walked to the computer section, and pulled off the shelves one of the dozens of books about Microsoft Word, Excel, or Windows. Well, that is okay, because this is not one of those books.

This book is written by a fundraiser for fundraisers who work in development and advancement offices that use The Raiser’s Edge. This book is not written for the database administrators, gift processors, “power users” who generate the mailings and reports, or support staff. I do hope these Raiser’s Edge users will also read the book and learn more about the fundraiser’s perspective on The Raiser’s Edge. I hope it will improve their abilities to understand and work with fundraisers. However, this book is written for fundraisers, using fundraising terminology and fundraising concepts, with a focus on accomplishing fundraising objectives.

This is a non-technical guide to make your life easier. It will help you, as a fundraiser, do three things:

1. Understand the capabilities, terminology, and concepts of The Raiser’s Edge so you can work with your database staff to meet your fundraising objectives with the greatest results and the least confusion and stress.

2. Learn a few of the areas of The Raiser’s Edge that you—yes, you—can and should use yourself without having to become a database expert.

3. Manage the database staff to ensure this critical tool for your department’s success is set up, maintained, and used as it should be.

The screenshots that appear in this book should not imply that this is a typical software manual. The screenshots are intended to help you visualize the fields and functions discussed so the concepts are more concrete. For those fundraisers who do love computers, do not worry. The concepts in this book will be just as applicable, meaningful, and informative to you.

I use the word “fundraiser” in the loosest of terms. Your organization might be a “nonprofit” or “school.” Your department might be the “development” or “advancement” or even “resource generation” office. And your title might be Vice President of Advancement, Director of Development, Annual Fund Manager, Major Gifts Officer, Special Events Director, Membership Manager—maybe even Executive Director! I use “fundraiser” and “fundraising” in the broadest sense and, for variety, use some of the other common terms in our profession. The intent is to cover everyone who does fundraising in any form.

Today’s Fundraising Technology

Sometimes in the fundraising profession we sell ourselves short, not quite believing that we are and should be professionals engaged in a profession. “Fundraiser” does not mean “bake sale” for us. We are engaged in a serious, sophisticated profession that is a combination of art and science. To do that job well, we need serious, sophisticated tools. Although perhaps not as hip and sexy as the constant discussion about what the Internet offers, the fundraising database is the technological workhorse that keeps development departments going day in and day out.

How would you feel if you walked into your bank, it was the teller’s first day on the job, and she had yet to receive training? Would you entrust her to take your deposit, properly process it, and get it into your account using the bank’s software? What if you walked up to the check-in desk at the airport and discovered it was the agent’s first day on the job, and he had yet to receive training? Do you think you’ll have the right seat on the plane or your luggage will arrive as scheduled?

The software that we use in today’s development offices is just as sophisticated as these niche database products. The bank’s database software tracks you, your accounts, deposits, and withdrawals and creates your monthly statements. The airline’s database software tracks you, your ticket purchases, and your seat assignments. These activities are similar to the tasks we use for our fundraising databases to track gifts and events. In the for-profit world the programs are called customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Fundraisers should not hire someone off the street, regardless of background, and expect that person to sit down to The Raiser’s Edge and start using it. The Raiser’s Edge is not Microsoft Word where all you really have to know is how to start the program, type, and save the document. The Raiser’s Edge is not Microsoft Internet Explorer where all you really have to do is start the program, enter a web site address, and click on little blue text with underlines. The Raiser’s Edge is a sophisticated database that helps us manage the myriad details that are necessary to run a successful development office. You do not have to have a degree in Information Technology (IT) to be successful with The Raiser’s Edge. However, you and your staff need to know some things awfully hard to learn by just sitting down and trying to figure them out on your own. This book addresses the critical elements you as a fundraiser should know about The Raiser’s Edge.

Overview of Chapters

The organization of this book is not directed by the screens and “pages” of The Raiser’s Edge itself. The software is organized as it is for a reason. This book is going to walk you through The Raiser’s Edge in the order that will resonate best with a fundraiser.

Any well-run fundraising department starts each new fiscal year with a fundraising plan. Chapter 1 explains how the process of fundraising is structured and organized in the software. How does your office raise money? What solicitation methods do you employ over a year and toward what ends? We don’t want “the tail to wag the dog.” The Raiser’s Edge should reflect how you fundraise, not vice versa. With that in mind, the first chapter is about understanding the concepts and terminology behind setting up The Raiser’s Edge to track and measure your fundraising performance.

All fundraising involves people and organizations. The second chapter addresses how The Raiser’s Edge stores biographical and contact information. The primary objective of this chapter is to help you confidently open the record of a person or organization in The Raiser’s Edge, know where to go to find what you want, understand what you are looking at, and access a few tools to help you use that data. We do not get bogged down in the details of proper data entry because most fundraisers are not doing the data entry themselves.

As a fundraiser, you should be recording your interactions with your prospects and donors. If you are capable of using e-mail, I promise you are capable of entering notes and interactions in The Raiser’s Edge. The second chapter also helps you learn how to do that.

Although gifts are the outcome of fundraising efforts (at least that’s what we hope for), we talk about gifts in Chapter 3 before getting into the fundraising processes. It is important to understand how gifts work in The Raiser’s Edge to understand how to perform and track your fundraising efforts in the system. The purpose of this chapter is not to teach anyone how to be a gift processor. Its focus is to teach you how to look at the gifts in The Raiser’s Edge and understand their complexity and nuances. This enables you to properly understand a donor’s history, work with the database staff to get mailings out correctly, and request reports—and get them!—that really reflect what you want to see. Because fundraisers are ultimately responsible for the proper controls over the money, we also take a high-level walk through the typical gift-processing steps. This includes discussion about how The Raiser’s Edge relates to accounting and assists you in preventing fraud.

In Chapter 4 we address mass communications with constituents. Every development office does many mailings. In fact, “communications” is often part of the department head’s responsibility. Direct mail appeals, event invitations, newsletters, magazines, annual reports—these mailings should come from The Raiser’s Edge. To reduce the headaches and mistakes I often see, we talk about the concepts you should understand as a fundraiser when providing direction and review of other’s work to ensure the mailings are being generated correctly. The content here also applies to other mass appeals like telemarketing (phonathons) and e-mail campaigns.

Chapter 5 discusses two specialized uses of The Raiser’s Edge that raise money for organizations: events and membership programs. Because the system is used by so many organizations for these purposes, the chapter explains how these activities are integrated into the larger system. The chapter also discusses the functions and concepts unique to events and membership.

Chapter 6 addresses major gifts and grants fundraising from individuals and institutions. We discuss tools that can be used to help you ask for and get the big gifts, however you define “major” and “big” for your organization. We walk through the process in the life cycle of a major gifts prospect and show how The Raiser’s Edge can be used each step of the way. We also look at some management tools for overseeing this process.

In Chapter 7 we address getting data out of The Raiser’s Edge in useful ways. I believe that The Raiser’s Edge, like all databases, is simply a tool and not the end in itself. We fundraise to support the programs that meet our organization’s mission, not to raise money in and of itself. Likewise we use the fundraising database to support our fundraising, not just to manage data. Getting meaningful, actionable information out of The Raiser’s Edge is important. The output capabilities of The Raiser’s Edge are one of the facets that set it apart from its competitors and why many clients have told me over the years they have converted to The Raiser’s Edge. Yet, sadly, there are so many reports and other output tools in The Raiser’s Edge that, in my experience, most users get overwhelmed and don’t put them to use. In Chapter 7 I break down the Reports and Dashboards features with a practical focus on results. I suggest specific reports and dashboards you and your organization should consider running and a suggested schedule for running them. Key concepts are discussed so that when you ask for a report you get the information you are expecting and can be assured the results are correct.

In Chapter 8 we discuss the fundraiser’s role in managing the database administrator. Someone in the development office, not IT, has to be responsible for The Raiser’s Edge. It just does not take care of itself any more than any other technology does. Although that day-to-day responsibility usually does not lie with a fundraiser, usually a fundraiser is that person’s manager. Is your database set up and maintained the way it should be so your organization and its data are safe? Chapter 8 discusses recommendations in a non-technical way about what someone in your office should be doing to get The Raiser’s Edge in tip-top shape.

At the end of the book are three appendixes that should be of practical use for you and your organization. If you are implementing The Raiser’s Edge or considering such an undertaking, there is an appendix that walks you through what the process should look like. There is a checklist that your database administrator should be following daily, weekly, and monthly to keep your database healthy and happy. And there is an example of my recommended approach to creating policy and procedure documentation for The Raiser’s Edge, a process discussed in Chapter 8.

The Database Administrator

The roles and responsibilities of the database administrator are discussed in great detail in Chapter 8, but the position is referred to many times in the earlier chapters. In summary, the database administrator is the person responsible for the database, for its setup, use, and maintenance. This person is usually the most knowledgeable about The Raiser’s Edge and for things not known, is responsible for finding the answers. Large organizations might have a person in a full-time job with this responsibility, while smaller organizations often combine this role with responsibilities for data entry and reporting. In some organizations this person is a fundraiser. Whatever the job title, someone in your organization should have final responsibility for the database. That is the person referred to in this book as your database administrator.

Some Additional Thoughts

One thing before we go much further: please note that the name of the software is The Raiser’s Edge. It is “Raiser’s” and not “Razor’s”—a play on the word fundraiser, of course. If you really want to do things right, such as impress potential job candidates and future employers that you really know what you are talking about, it is The Raiser’s Edge—yes, “The” is an official part of the name, only dropped when the name is used as a modifier, such as,

“Are you a Raiser’s Edge user?”

“Yes! I’m a fundraiser so of course our office uses The Raiser’s Edge, and I’m a Raiser’s Edge user.”

(For you English Lit majors, I have read The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham and watched the DVD of the movie starring Bill Murray. Although money is somewhere among the themes of this work, I think The Raiser’s Edge was chosen for the clever play on the word “fundraiser” and has nothing to do with Maugham’s book.)

Saying and writing The Raiser’s Edge all the time is a mouthful, so the standard nickname is “RE.” I have heard other nicknames and acronyms as well, but “RE” is the most common and closest to an “official” shortened form.

Some mistakenly refer to The Raiser’s Edge as “Blackbaud,” but that’s not correct. Blackbaud is the name of the company that makes The Raiser’s Edge. Just as Microsoft makes Word, Excel, Outlook, Windows, and other products, Blackbaud makes software exclusively for the nonprofit and education market, including The Raiser’s Edge as its flagship product; The Financial Edge, a nonprofit accounting software package; The Education Edge, admissions and registrar office software for independent schools; nonprofit Internet marketing and community building programs, most of which interface with The Raiser’s Edge; and prospect research products and services sold under the Target Analytics name.

The name “Blackbaud” shows the company’s origin in education in the early 1980s, combining the words “blackboard” and “baud,” the old technology term for the speed of a modem (anyone remember those?). With this start, The Raiser’s Edge is now used by the majority of independent schools in the United States. But these days it is also used by hospital foundations, museums, universities and colleges, social service agencies, religious organizations, and foundations that both raise and give away money. More than 13,000 organizations across the world use The Raiser’s Edge, making it by far the most widely used fundraising package.

Some other details of note:

• The Raiser’s Edge is sold in modules so that organizations only have to pay for functionality they need, such as the Alumni module for schools and the Membership module for museums, zoos, and aquariums. Some modules have broad applicability, such as Tribute for honor and memorial giving; Events for special events; Prospect for major gifts prospect research and tracking; and EFT for monthly donor programs. These optional modules are touched on throughout this book in the contexts in which they naturally occur. If functionality is discussed which you cannot find in your copy of The Raiser’s Edge, it is likely your organization has not purchased that module. Check with your database administrator for confirmation.

• The Raiser’s Edge is sold throughout the world. Five major English editions exist, one each for the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Most of the concepts in this book are at such a level that the aspects of fundraising unique to these and other areas of the world should not have an impact. But having done fundraising database consulting in three of these five countries and others as well, there will be occasional references to international differences. For my international readers who sense a preponderance of Americanisms in the book, I apologize. I assure you I respect and appreciate the contributions you are making to our profession (a case in point: I still believe most fundraisers in the United States have much to learn about the value of implementing monthly giving programs; see my Blackbaud whitepaper on this point).

• The current version of The Raiser’s Edge, having been out since 2000, is The Raiser’s Edge version 7. As of this writing, the most current update is 7.91, getting very close to version 8. Version 8 has been in development for years and will be a whole new program of The Raiser’s Edge. It has been written from the ground up with new technology and new design just as version 7 was after The Raiser’s Edge for DOS versions 5 and earlier and The Raiser’s Edge for Windows version 6. Although the future release of version 8 is briefly discussed in the last chapter, my point here is to assure readers who have heard of version 8 that I, too, am aware of it and of two other thoughts:

1. Its release and your organization’s conversion to it are far enough in the future to justify the investment of time and energy in this book to learn more about the current version, to implement those learnings, and to benefit from them.

2. The Raiser’s Edge version 8 is still The Raiser’s Edge and still designed by Blackbaud. As noted in this introduction, this book is much more conceptual than about button-clicking. The concepts in this book will largely carry over to future versions of The Raiser’s Edge and will most assuredly assist in the implementation and use of version 8 of The Raiser’s Edge. Having provided some guidance to the designers of version 8 and having had some hands-on and other exposure to it, I feel confident this is true.

• There are many examples throughout the book based on my consulting experience with organizations of all types. However, two organizations are frequently named to provide examples of how everything discussed came together in a “real” environment. Some mention is made of Junior Achievement, my first implementation of The Raiser’s Edge and my first experience as a user of it. More mention is made of the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation in San Francisco, California. I recently completed several years there as contract database administrator for The Raiser’s Edge in addition to my other consulting work. This gave me a long-term opportunity to “practice what I preach,” the results of which I share with you in this book with their permission.

Summary

Blackbaud has assisted in the production of this book and provided permission for the screenshots, for which I express my gratitude. But as a former Blackbaud customer and employee and as a current Raiser’s Edge consultant and occasional Blackbaud competitor, my objective is to share with you what I honestly think of The Raiser’s Edge as I have always tried to do. You deserve honesty and directness as you invest your organization’s money into this software and your time into reading this book.

The Raiser’s Edge is not without its challenges. It is by no means perfect. My list of recommendations for things to add, change, and remove is endless. The passion with which I feel this is almost endless as well (as many of my colleagues at Blackbaud, especially in product development and support, will tell you). But no software package is perfect. I believe The Raiser’s Edge strikes a good balance of affordability, ease of use, and needed functionality.

In summary, I think that The Raiser’s Edge is a terrific piece of software. On a daily basis I am reminded of the level of sophistication this product allows us fundraisers to achieve. What we do as fundraisers is not easy and anyone who says otherwise has clearly never been a fundraiser. This software strives to find the impossible balance between the high degree of functionality needed by the larger and more sophisticated organizations and the accessibility and usability needed by smaller and more basics-oriented organizations. That perfect balance is unachievable, but from my observations The Raiser’s Edge does it better than any other product.

Furthermore, our needs change over time as we become more sophisticated users, our organizations grow, and our fundraising strategies get more creative and advanced. The Raiser’s Edge is well poised to support you as that becomes true for you and your organization. This book is not about helping you use all or even most of The Raiser’s Edge (a comment I hear often from prospective clients). This book is about helping you understand the parts of The Raiser’s Edge you and your organization should be using now so you can focus on raising money to support your mission rather than fussing with data.

So with that, let us get started learning more about fundraising with The Raiser’s Edge.

Additional Resources and Follow-up to the Book on the Web

Given the technology subject matter of this book and the book’s purpose to be a resource for fundraisers and their organizations, more information and resources can be found on Bill Connors’ web site at www.billconnors.com/book at no charge. Included are:

• Bill’s answers to frequently asked questions from readers of the book.

• More examples and documentation for the concepts discussed in the book.

• Other resources for The Raiser’s Edge Bill has developed from his consulting and training practice, for both fundraisers and database administrators.

CHAPTER 1

Organizing Fundraising

The Raiser’s Edge has been designed as both a “front office” and “back office” system. What do we mean by that? Think of the back office as tasks such as gift entry and acknowledgement, interfacing with accounting, and running after-the-fact reports of money received. The front office is you, the frontline fundraiser out raising money. The Raiser’s Edge was designed to be used by and for you and not just as an administrative system.

Therefore gift coding in The Raiser’s Edge is not just about gift data entry fields. Gift coding should represent how you and your organization fundraise. It has two purposes: