Set Up Blackbaud ID
Blackbaud ID (BBID) unlocks access to Blackbaud.com, Training, Support and other resources. Your project's first administrator should accept their email invitation to create their BBID and invite other teammates.
Begin Project Checklist
Every customer is unique, but most projects begin with basic preparation. Use the tiles below to review the Project Prep Checklist specific to your solution. Our team is here to help you every step of the way.
Onboarding Resources
Whether you are new to Blackbaud or have been a customer for years, you may have questions about Blackbaud resources and need some guidance. Here are some helpful resources to Help You Get Started!
Start with what you need to do in Raiser's Edge NXT. Each objective includes only the terms you’ll use for that task — so you can learn without feeling overwhelmed.
Find a Supporter
Look up a record and understand how they’re connected.
Record a Gift
Capture giving details so reporting and acknowledgements work.
Manage Activity
Log interactions and pull lists so nothing falls through.
See Progress
Understand how your efforts are adding up over time.
Start here if you’re searching for a person or organization and trying to understand the record.
Constituent The umbrella record
What it means: Any person or organization you track — donors, prospects, volunteers, and more.
Why it matters: It’s the “home base” for history, relationships, giving, and actions.
Individual vs Org Record type choice
What it means: Constituents are stored as either Individuals or Organizations.
Why it matters: It affects fields you’ll see and how relationships and giving are represented.
Relationship Connections & context
What it means: Links between constituents (spouse, employer, board member, household, etc.).
Why it matters: Relationships help you understand influence, networks, and real-world context.
Quick tip for this Objective
If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, start with the Constituent name and scan relationships for context.
Take the eLearning course:
Fundamentals of Raiser’s Edge NXT: Overview and Constituents
Start here when you’re entering or reviewing donations and want clean reporting.
Gift The donation record
What it means: A record of a donation — money, stock, or other contributions.
Why it matters: Gifts power receipts, acknowledgement, reporting, and analysis.
Batch Grouped entry & review
What it means: A way to group gifts together while you enter or validate them.
Why it matters: Batches help prevent errors before anything becomes final.
Fund Where credit goes
What it means: The designation or bucket a gift is credited to (often tied to restrictions/purpose).
Why it matters: Funds ensure gifts are reported accurately and support the right programs.
Campaign Big initiatives
What it means: A top-level grouping for fundraising efforts, typically tied to a specific goal, initiative, or time period.
Why it matters: Campaigns help you group related activity together and track progress toward larger fundraising goals.
Appeal The “why” behind giving
What it means: The message/source that inspired the donation.
Why it matters: Appeals help you measure what messaging drives results over time.
Quick tip for this Objective
If you’re unsure, get the basics right first: Gift amount + date, then choose Fund and Appeal.
Take the eLearning course:
Fundamentals of Raiser’s Edge NXT: Gift Management
Start here if you’re logging interactions or pulling lists for follow‑up.
Action Tasks & follow‑ups
What it means: Tracked outreach and next steps (calls, emails, meetings, reminders).
Why it matters: Actions keep work visible, organized, and consistent across a team.
Opportunity Potential gifts & next steps
What it means: A potential gift or fundraising effort tied to a supporter, helping you manage the process from identifying a prospect to making and completing an ask.
Why it matters: Opportunities help you stay organized on upcoming asks, track progress with key prospects, and understand what may contribute to your overall fundraising goals.
Work Center A fundraiser's daily workspace
What it means: A centralized area that helps you organize and focus your work, often bringing together tasks, records, and priorities in one place.
Why it matters: Work Center helps you stay focused on what needs attention next, making it easier to manage outreach, follow up with supporters, and keep work moving forward.
Query Find records fast
What it means: A filtered list of records that match criteria you choose.
Why it matters: Queries power follow‑ups, reporting, and smart decision‑making.
Quick tip for this objective
Actions capture what you're doing, opportunities track what you're working toward, and queries help you group the right records to take action on.
Use them together to stay organized, focused, and moving forward with your outreach.
Take the eLearning courses:
Start here when you want to step back and understand progress across gifts, supporters, and activity.
Report Structured view of your data
What it means: A formatted way to view and summarize your data based on specific criteria, such as time period, fund, campaign, or constituent details.
Why it matters: Reports help you answer specific questions, understand performance, and share consistent information with others.
Dashboard At‑a‑glance insights
What it means: A visual snapshot that displays key data points and metrics in one place, often using charts, graphs, and totals.
Why it matters: Dashboards let you quickly see how things are going without running multiple reports or digging into individual records.
Lists Grouped records
What it means: A saved or dynamic group of records based on specific criteria, often used to organize, review, or take action on a defined set of supporters.
Lists are often created from queries, which define how the group is built.
Why it matters: Lists help you focus on the right group of records at the right time, making it easier to review progress, spot patterns, and take informed next steps.
Key Metrics Important numbers to watch
What it means: The most meaningful data points that show progress, trends, or activity—such as totals, counts, or comparisons over time.
Why it matters: Key metrics help you focus on what matters most and quickly understand where things stand right now.
Trends Patterns over time
What it means: Changes or patterns in your data when viewed across multiple time periods, such as growth, decline, or consistency.
Why it matters: Trends help you spot progress early, identify potential issues, and make more informed decisions moving forward.
Quick Tip for This Objective
If you’re not sure where to start, begin with a dashboard to spot patterns, then use reports to explore the details behind them.
Take the eLearning courses:
- Quick Overview of Standard Reports
- Fundamentals of Raiser's Edge NXT: Dashboards
- Fundamentals of Raiser's Edge NXT: Lists
Chat for Blackbaud AI within Raiser’s Edge NXT can help you ask questions about your data and quickly understand trends, totals, and progress—without needing to run multiple reports. Check out this under 4-minute video on how to enter prompts into the Chat:
Chat for Blackbaud AI
What it really means
A constituent is any person or organization you track in Raiser’s Edge NXT — donors, prospects, volunteers, and more.
Why it matters
Instead of separating people into lots of categories, NXT uses one umbrella term. That makes it easier to see the full relationship over time.
When you’ll see it
You’ll see “Constituent” everywhere — search results, records, reports, and dashboards. Once you recognize the word, the interface starts to feel much less intimidating.
Ready for more?
Once you’ve built a little confidence with those first wins, Reignite can help you go deeper — at your own pace. Explore additional tools, training, and next‑step resources when you’re ready.
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Quick Win
Campaign Starter KitFrom goals to outcomes — get a campaign out the door this week. Download Plan |
Explore the Resource Library
When you’re ready to go deeper, the Resource Library brings together all Reignite workshops, guides, challenges, and on‑demand learning — organized so you can move at your own pace.
Go to the Resource LibraryStep 5: Develop a Strategic Fundraising Plan
You have learned about main features of Raiser’s Edge NXT designed to help you manage donor relationships, increase donations, and streamline fundraising efforts. Now, let's put all this information into action!
It is critical that your development and fundraising teams have a common Strategic Fundraising Plan that:
- Identify your Fundraisers: Tag constituents who interact with others on behalf of your organization
- Use Work Center and Actions: Assign tasks, track progress, and ensure timely follow-ups
- Cultivate growth and new opportunities using Prospect Insights: Analyze donor data to develop targeted strategies and maximize fundraising potential
Get Started
Let’s start with the Fundraising Work Center that allows you to manage tasks and relationships efficiently in one central location. Track fundraising efforts at a glance, allowing fundraisers to gauge their performance across multiple areas. Use Actions and Opportunities to assign and monitor qualified prospects to fundraisers.
To learn more watch this on-demand webinar Raiser’s Edge NXT: Power Your Fundraising with Actions and Opportunities.
For those with access to the comprehensive data intelligence in Prospect Insights, use this tool to identify and prioritize top candidates for major giving. Use data analysis to develop targeted engagement strategies for high-priority prospects. For more details, refer to the Get Started with Prospect Insights guide.
Take Action
Now, it’s your turn to begin using Work Center, Actions and Opportunities:
- Begin by setting up Fundraising Work Center if your organization has not already done so
- Assign yourself as a fundraiser to a specific constituent or prospect to cultivate
- Add an Action (meeting, phone call, email) from the Needs Attention Section of the Work Center
- Once you have added a few actions, create an Actions List
Expand Your Knowledge
To learn more about the Raiser’s Edge NXT tools that will help you transform your Fundraising Strategy, take these Blackbaud University courses:
- Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT: Fundraisers (Live, Instructor-led)
- Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT: Funds and Fundraising Structure (Live, Instructor-led)
- Raiser’s Edge NXT: Prospect Management Configuration (eLearning)
- Raiser’s Edge NXT: Basics of Prospect Insights (eLearning)
Blackbaud Resource Spotlight
Blackbaud’s award-winning Customer Support is committed to your success and has the resources, knowledge, and expertise your organization needs to excel. Blackbaud Customer Support offers:
- Comprehensive digital resources and hundreds of highly trained associates
- Availability Monday through Fridays from 8:30 A.M. – 6:00 P.M. (ET), excluding holidays
- Generative AI in our chatbot and Knowledgebase for easy resolution of basic questions
- An easy-to-use chat interface for direct assistance
