Organisation & background
Blackbaud, Inc. was founded in 1981 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and has been publicly traded since 2004. It sells Raiser’s Edge NXT, descended from the original Raiser’s Edge launched in 2000. Blackbaud’s often-cited large global customer count spans its whole portfolio, not Raiser’s Edge NXT specifically.
Functionality
Raiser’s Edge NXT is Blackbaud’s cloud fundraising and donor-management system, built for mid-to-large nonprofits that need to track supporters, gifts and campaigns in one place. It records constituents, their donations, communications and event participation, and organises fundraising work into campaigns, appeals and funds. Two interfaces currently coexist (an older, fuller-featured ‘database view’ and a newer, simpler ‘web view’) as Blackbaud gradually moves everything into the web version. AI tools help flag likely major donors and forecast campaign results; deeper analytics and data-warehousing work is typically handled through the separate Blackbaud CRM product or third-party BI tools connected via the SKY API, rather than being built natively into RE NXT itself. The system connects to accounting, payment and other software through Blackbaud’s own integration marketplace.
Localised features
The web view supports Gift Aid declarations, automated validation against rules from HMRC, the UK’s tax authority, and direct R68 claim submission, plus Gift Aid collection through Optimised Donation Forms, added October 2025.
Implementation model
Delivered by a third-party partner, though this is optional. Self-implementation is possible for smaller deployments. Complex migrations, SKY API integration, or multi-fund configuration more commonly involve Blackbaud’s own professional-services team, or an independent certified partner such as JCA or Heller Consulting.
Hosting
Cloud-hosted by the vendor: Blackbaud-hosted; database view delivered via a Blackbaud-hosted Citrix Workspace.
Links
Last full research
August 2026