We all have a say in what our software does for us

I recently had a follow-up conversation with Jana Eggers, SVP Product Management and Marketing at Blackbaud. This was in regard to the roadmap for The Raiser's Edge. Jana expressed to me her concern that Blackbaud wasn't getting the message to its clients that it is committed to the Raiser's Edge users. She indicated to me that Blackbaud (BB) understands it has a strong client-base using RE and it will support those clients.

I don't know what is coming after RE7. I've heard the term "bluebird" - a new product that Blackbaud is not ready to discuss in detail at this point. We've seen the solution, Altru, for those in the Arts and Cultural venue. But, I will be the first to say that I wanted the enhancements that I saw in the discovery process for the now debunked RE8. Along that line, prior to speaking with Jana Eggers, I spoke with Jenn Mercer,the RE Product Manager at BB. We spoke about the concept of a household record, a record that allows one to see a household grouping with a primary address and contact info. One address to mail, one address for email, one group for overall giving - one way to identify a group of constituents and note the primary contact person for that group - what we saw during RE8 discovery - what is included in the CRM product.

I'm conflicted by the opportunity I've had to speak with such influential people at Blackbaud. I'm human, so of course, I feel good about the chance to give my opinions. However, I am one person, one set of opinions based on mostly my needs. You all have a voice in what you need and want in the solutions from Blackbaud. There are many ways to speak out. I know you are busy, but doing your job well depends on these products. Somehow, our message is getting confused when it reaches Blackbaud or we are not speaking out enough on what we really need. I also realize that there are too many places to let Blackbaud know what you need. Hopefully, that will be somewhat remedied in the future by Blackbaud creating one community online for RE users similar to the newly offered BBNC Community. Here are some ways to get involved and communicate what you want and need:

I really enjoy the discovery process offered by Blackbaud and highly encourage you to get involved with it. I am currently taking part in the pre-release of FE and the beta for RE certification. I recently took part in the mobile app release. If you don't know how to get involved or need to know more, contact your account managers. If your account manager doesn't respond, email me. Blackbaud is working on the account manager program to bring about improvements in communication. 

There is a great Raiser's Edge User Group on Facebook. There are over 500 members in this group. You can share and learn and I do know that Blackbaud looks at this group.

There is a Blackbaud Users Forum on LinkedIn. There is also a Blackbaud Fan Club. The use of LinkedIn is really fired up these days.

I'm learning to tweet. I have been slow to go to Twitter but I realize that I can learn more and reach out to more people in a short amount of time. It is like having a finger on the pulse of the topics that interest you. Start by following Blackbaud. See what is tweeted there and you may want to join in on conversations in the future.

Just as an aside, I use Tweetdeck to get an overview of my Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.

If you are not ready to speak out online, contact your account manager. Express your requirements, your suggestions to him/her. Ask that your account manager make sure your voice is heard. Blackbaud has indicated it wants to hear what you need in the products they offer, let's tell them.

BBCON 2012

I enjoyed a trip to BBCON 2012 last week. With Convio being part of the family now (or should I say Luminate), the Blackbaud conference was combined with the Convio conference. For me, there were some high points and confusing low points. I've been to many BB conferences - I can't even remember how many.  This is my take on this year's conference - I'm sure many others saw it differently.

I wasn't keen on the conference starting on Sunday. I'm traditional enough to think that Sunday is a day many choose to keep special in some way. I thought three days was going to be pretty short, but actually the days were jam packed with sessions and lots to do.

As I mentioned, I've been to many BB conferences. Nothing compares with the ones that were held in Charleston - especially for having a good time. We were truly wined, dined and entertained in a huge way. Over the years, this has been toned down a bit. This year, the dining and entertaining kind of hit bottom for me. The food was pretty unremarkable. We ate breakfast the first morning in a foyer with our plates leaning on a window frame while we stood to eat (or sat on the floor). BB made a point of being into health this year with morning yoga, runs and walks; however, we were served a greasy croissant with (I think) egg on it. We did have a choice of yogurt and fruit also. The lunches were pretty much soup (mine was broth with one noodle) and salad (iceberg lettuce, yuck) - on the last day, lunch in a box was probably the best: sandwich, apple and cookie. We did get to sit at a table for most of the other meals. At the first night's reception, I enjoyed some risotto in a plate eating on a tray balanced next to the trash can. Couldn't get near the slider line - one line and lots of people. Blackbaud, if you are going to host 2,000 people we need more seating and more space.

The sessions were just ok to me; however, I'm not a CRM or Luminate (Convio) customer. The highlight was on these two products in my opinion. In fact, I erroneously went to a Best Database Practices session only to be told that the information was specifically for CRM clients - nothing for RE clients there. Over 3/4 of the room cleared after that statement. Hmmm.... sounds like we RE customers would have liked to have this type of session also.

The big failure at this conference, in my opinion, was that there was no roadmap for The Raiser's Edge. The RE roadmap session followed a fabulous BBNC roadmap session. I was so excited by what was happening and what was coming in BBNC! The RE roadmap session was a q&a session on RE7.92. This version was touted as what we clients asked for; I'm sure it suited many but not me. The ideas sound good: a way to indicate some classification of donors, a query list that allows you to add and remove people, and a duplicate checker that uses a new advanced algorithm. For me, I use Research Point, the query list doesn't allow for adding things like a constituent id or other pertinent info, and well, should we talk about the duplicate checker? There's been a lot of buzz about it on the social sites - it just doesn't work. We are told it will be fixed soon. This session was so obviously NOT a roadmap that the twitter echoed the disappointment and there was astonishment from many who attended or heard about the session.

I was very surprised and honored to spend a good 30 minutes with Marc Chardon. I'm not going to repeat the conversation because it's open for interpretation. However, I can say that I was told there would definitely be no RE 8. I also was told that there would be solutions for the RE clients and they may not be The Raiser's Edge. I had a pretty big reaction to this that got noticed. I was then truly privileged to spend  a few minutes with Jana Eggers. I was assured by both people I spoke with that a roadmap will be given to the BB RE clients. My access to such influential people at BB I believe is directly related to the successful user groups we have in our area. I'm proud of that because it means we're a viable group who can help shape our own future.

I wanted to end this with the highlight of the conference for me. I met some wonderful people. It started the evening before the conference with a great dinner with friends. It continued with many happy moments hugging Blackbaud employees that I feel are friends after knowing them for years and meeting new friends and seeing "old" friends. I met a new "best friend", Janet. A big shout out to Melissa and Sage. A huge hug to the wonderful Harriet. I hope you are feeling better, Jenn. It was so fantastic to spend time with really special people at the conference.

This conference was tough for me. I usually embrace change, but I really love the Blackbaud products. I'm not convinced that clients like me will have their issues addressed or see RE enhanced any time soon.  Luminate and CRM address the issues of the larger clients. We RE clients compose the heart of Blackbaud's client base - at least in the past. I hope we won't be forgotten or compartmentalized in the future.

Let's Talk - some places to join in on the discussion

Sometimes you might not think you know enough or do enough with Blackbaud products to contribute to online discussion. That's usually not the case. Each one of us has probably had an experience that if shared, might help someone else. Here are some places I've had the opportunity to join in or just learn and some of the topics being discussed. The best way to start is to follow and listen. Before you know it, you will be contributing also. you will need to establish an account on most of the sites. 

Linkedin

Raiser's Edge User Group:

• Top Monthly Reports 
• Delaware Blackbaud Users Group Meeting
• Appeals, Campaigns, Funds and Finance Plus Raffle Question 
• Query Lists

Non Profit Professionals:

• Five Types of Nonprofit Tweets Guaranteed to Get Retweeted
• Nonprofits can learn to use LinkedIn to network, increase donations, and find board members who have expertise your nonprofit needs.

Blackbaud Fan Club Members:

• Hi - saw the blog message about Social Sign on for Frineds Asking Friends....
• Free NTEN Membership Give-A-Way!

Blackbaud Users Forum:

• GL Post Report
• Coding gifts for Capital Appeals
• Gifts of stocks/shares

Papersave for Dynamics and Blackbaud:

• When attaching emails through Outlook, I get conflicting confirmation and error messages....
• Can anyone share their document retention policies? ...

Facebook


The Raiser's Edge Users Group Support Forum:

• Breaking Blackbaud News: With the application of Patch 4 (Version 7.92), this now fixes the below captioned challenge. Thank you Blackbaud!; 
• It's a meetup - let's put a face to these names - see you at BBCON2012 
• Greetings Posters! Anyone using Square for credit card transactions? Pros? Cons? Have been reading that they hold the deposit for 30, 60 or 90 days for manual entries. Also, can you capture donor info if you swype? Looking forward to any of your experiences. Happy Weekend!

Philadelphia Blackbaud Users Group:

• I'm going to BBCON2012. Who will be there and when are you arriving? Anyone coming on Saturday night? Want to get together?
• Growing nonprofit out of Camp Hill, PA looking for its first Director of Development. Posting is here. http://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobs/#/detail/4882196
• Charity Dynamics will be hosting a complimentary networking event on Monday night during BBCON. Go to http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4229235758 to learn more.
• Anyone else out there using/testing RE mobile yet?
  I'm curious what others think.

Twitter

@Blackbaud

• 3 tips to make your end of year #fundraising campaign work harder for you
• Join me at "bbcon tweetup" on Sep 30th

@BBSupport

• Register for our webinar about compelling year-end campaigns
• You can mark gifts as not acknowledged with a global change

Blogs

Beth's Blog

• Reflections from Stanford Nonprofit Management Institute: New Skills for a Complex World
• Some Reflections About Civil Society 2.0 and Why I’m Not On A Plane To Tunisia Right Now

Blackbaud Blogs

• FriendsAskingAmy
• BlackbaudKnowHow
• NetwitsThinkTank
• NonprofitTrends
• Blackbaud LearnLink
• ProspectResearch

Other Sites 
Discussion about all Blackbaud products

Blackbus.org

Blackbaud Forums

Raiser's Edge Mobile Application Update
We've been using the app for a bit. We're really in the newbie phase, but I still think it is a great offering. Here is the latest update I received by email from Leah Tomaino at Blackbaud:

Hello RE Mobile Charter and Controlled Release Customers!

We wanted to give you two important bits of information:

·         What we’ve changed based on your feedback, and when you’ll see those changes

·         Notification of a short, planned outage this afternoon

Short outage this afternoon.

We are doing some backend work that will require us to pause mobile services on our side.  This should only take a few hours.  Please pass this on to anyone using the RE Mobile app at your organization.

Changes for the official release of Raiser’s Edge Mobile

The far more exciting news is what we’ve heard from you and what we’re doing with that feedback!

·         We heard you wanted us to handle licensing more gracefully and make it easier to log out of RE Mobile app.   We’re taking a big step in that direction by enabling auto log-out from the mobile app when a user signs into RE proper.

·         We heard that you wanted to be able to see giving score queries in lists.  Done!

·         We heard that you needed to be able to see inactive records in the app.  Done!

·         We heard that if you have action fields required in RE that aren’t available in the app, you would prefer to be able to enter actions without those fields instead of not being able to add the actions at all.  Done!

·         We heard that notes entered through RE Mobile weren’t as easy to identify as you’d like them to be.   We are updating note titles to be Mobile specific. 

·         We heard Year-to-date (YTD) giving totals weren’t aligned with your fiscal year.  We are going to change the YTD calculation from a calendar year calculation to a fiscal year calculation.

There are some requests that we heard from you that we are investigating further, but will need some additional time and information to incorporate.  If you gave us feedback in these areas we may be reaching out to you to get further information or talk to you about participating in discovery as we consider if/how we build out this functionality.

·         Ability to view org records

·         Ability to view module information (membership, events, alumni)

·         Ability to manage events

I also want to mention the bugs we are fixing.    These weren’t about the design of the app, but were bumps in the road that some of you encountered along the way.  Thank you for your patience with us as we worked through these issues:

·         Windows Auth users will now log on with their usual network login—no more having to include the domain name/ in the username field.

·         International customers will see their correct currency symbols instead of all currencies showing with $.

·         Actions and notes that were truncating have been fixed.  You will be able to scroll through results that don’t fit on the screen as would be expected.

·         Emails that were missing will now be available.   We corrected the issue by ensuring that all phone types designated as emails in Configuration will show up regardless of what they’re named (email, e-mail, E mail, etc.)

·         All known timeout issues have been resolved

When can you get all these changes?

We will officially release Raiser’s Edge Mobile this Tuesday, September 18^th.    Changes to the app will be pushed through automatically, but there will be an RE patch and a web service update that you will have to load before seeing all the changes, including the license release change.  When everyone receives the release announcement on Tuesday, there will be update instructions.  Patch 5 will be available for on-premise customers at that time and, if all goes as planned, hosted customers will be updated to patch 5 during the Tuesday evening maintenance window.    Any changes to these plans will be included in Tuesday’s announcement.

Thank you so much to each of you who took the time to pick up the phone and call us, fill out a survey, or shoot us an email.    We really appreciated hearing from you, and appreciated knowing how we could improve your experience with RE Mobile.    We hope that your experience in the Charter/Controlled Release program was a positive one.   If you would like to be included in other programs going forward, for any of our products or have any additional feedback please let me know.

Best wishes,

Leah Tomaino

In Market Learning- Product Management More on the Mobile RE app

FAF: How far can we go?

I can honestly say that Sphere Friends Asking Friends came along at exactly the right time for us. We had used Net Community's Team Fundraising for a year. Now I really like BBNC; however, the team fundraising just didn't work well for our 'thon' events. Our major issues were the synchronization (which left us never knowing our real event totals), the reporting (or should I say "lack of") and the general confusion of our constituency/users.

So, when I heard that Blackbaud acquired Kintera, I was a happy camper. I got approval for the move and signed up right away. It's been all good for us from that point forward. The first, most obvious benefit was the lack of emails and phone calls from our participants. They got it - they could use the application and it made sense. We were hosting 7 walks on our FAF site. We immediately noticed we were getting a lot more donations online. Setup was pretty easy and the reporting was huge improvement.

Our next step was to begin an email campaign that started with our past walkers, continued through the participant signups and the fundraising efforts, and ended with the outstanding results shared with all. We added Boundless Fundraising so our participants could use social media to improve their fundraising efforts. Our staff began posting to Facebook and Twitter sharing our upcoming walks. And most recently, we worked with Blackbaud to add the Essentials package to make our site even more friendly and appealing.

Sphere Friends Asking Friends has really worked for us. So much so, that we are now looking at using it for a third party event venture. We're in the feasibility stage of the project so its early times yet, but I have high hopes. If we move forward, I'll post the process here. Stay tuned and good fundraising to all!