It can be terribly hard to keep data sane and organized, and even more so when your team’s working with different platforms to store constituent data.

Moving things across several platforms can be a daunting task, but we’ve got you covered. If your institution uses Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge NXT to store constituent data, Almabase’s state-of-the-art integration with RE NXT makes data management a breeze. The integration works right out of the box, and with a push of a button, you can have your data flow seamlessly between Almabase and RE NXT.

Read how Northwestern Health Sciences University leverages Almabase & Raiser's Edge integration for their engagement and fundraising needs.

Here’s everything you need to know about Almabase’s integration with RE NXT.

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Almabase <> Raiser’s Edge NXT Integration Overview

We started working on this integration with a simple goal – to ensure that your team won’t have to spend resources (and their time) on an expensive third-party solution. That’s why our integration works right out of the box, without the need to set it up manually. With the integration, Almabase and RE NXT can sync multiple data points with the push of a button. What’s more, the data that flows between the platforms is going to be clean and structured, without the hindrance of duplicates. This means that there will be zero compromise on the quality of your data when it flows between systems, which is a huge plus for your IT team.  

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We’ve approached our integration to sync data based on three distinct fields, which are:

• Constituent data
• Event data
• Gift data
  

Each of these fields relates to an engagement touchpoint that a constituent might create through different channels. For instance, imagine an alum makes a gift to one of your campaigns, or another registers to and participates in your next event. All of these data-points will be captured and relayed back to RE NXT through the integration.

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👥How Constituent data stays in sync on Almabase and RE NXT

With Almabase, your alumni have the option to sign up using social sync (either through LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google). By using social sync to sign up, the platform automatically pulls the latest information of your constituent. This information will be fed back to RE NXT, where their records will be updated. Here’s a look at the data that gets collected and updated:

• Full name
• Email ID
• Phone number
• Address
• Profile picture

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However, that’s not all. Any time a constituent updates their information while registering for, or participating in an event, the updated information automatically flows back to their record on RE NXT. All of this magic happens behind the scenes, without you or a team member having to lift a finger. This can be a huge time-saver for Advancement Services professionals.

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🎟️How event data flows between Almabase and RE NXT

Every time you create an event page on Almabase, the integration syncs key data points of this event (event name, date, description, ticketing details, and so on) with RE NXT. This means that all events created on Almabase will also be reflected in your RE NXT database.

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Once an event page is live and open for registrations, you can go to the corresponding event page on RE NXT to view detailed participant information. Here are a few key details that get recorded on RE NXT as soon as your constituent completes their registration:

• Participant information
• Ticketing information
• Payments made for registration
• Accompanying guests
• Associated gifts made for the event

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You can always create custom workflows to dictate how the data should flow back to RE NXT, and which fields they should correspond to. You also have a whole host of options when it comes to printing receipts. All of these features take the stress out of events for your event managers!

💰How Gift data flows between Almabase and RE NXT

Every time a constituent pledges a gift to your giving campaign on Almabase, the data associated with each gift will be reflected on our versatile gift dashboard. Payments made on Almabase can be split into gift amount and services/tickets to accommodate any downstream processes as well. From the dashboard, you have the option of creating a batch of gifts, using a broad set of data filters. Once you’ve created a batch, you can run a workflow to import all the gifts corresponding to that batch into RE NXT. Here are some of the data points that get synced:

• Gift amount
• Fund(s) supported
• Payment method
• Acknowledgement letters
• Tributes and honor messages

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Creating a batch of gifts on Almabase is simple, as you have plenty of filters at your disposal. Once gift data flows to your RE NXT database, you can view all your gifts, and even make edits to gift details wherever needed. This can help professionals working with Annual Fund and Major Gifts to plan more effective campaigns and raise more funds.

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So there you have it – an overview of Almabase’s best-in-class integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT. While we tried to cover most of how the integration works, there’s still a lot we couldn’t fit into this blog post, for obvious reasons.

If you want to learn more about how the integration can help set your Advancement Team up for success, we have a blog post just for that.

Get in touch with one of our Alumni Success specialists if you want to see the integration in action - we have a feeling you’re going to like what you see!

Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge NXT is a popular CRM used by numerous institutions across the country. However, when institutions use RE NXT along with an alumni engagement tool like Almabase, things can get messy when you want data to be uniformly synced across both systems. That’s where our industry-leading integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT comes in.

Because let’s face it - nobody likes working with data first thing every morning when it involves a lot of tedious back-and-forth between multiple systems. We believe this integration is crucial in setting your Advancement team up for success, and this blog post will show you how.

If you're interested in the technical nitty-gritty of the integration, we've got a blog post that you might be interested in.

Here are four ways Almabase’s integration with RE NXT can set your team up for success.

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Say goodbye to tedious, third-party solutions

Almabase’s RE NXT integration works from the get-go, and you won’t have to invest additional resources in third-party integrations. While some of these integrations can be super expensive, others that are cost-effective aren’t very reliable. Your team won’t have to rely on multiple tools (one of these being Importacular) to get data flowing between the two systems. Whether you want a simple integration to work right off the bat, or you want something more customizable to be more flexible with your needs, our integration offers it all.

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Automatically capture clean, structured data

Picture this – you have a thriving alumni community that is creating hundreds and thousands of engagement touchpoints on your platform. Imagine if every event registration or profile update had to be MANUALLY synced with RE NXT by your Advancement Services team.

That would be a dystopia we wouldn’t like to think about. With our integration, you get to choose how and when your data flows between Almabase and RE NXT, with zero human intervention. Furthermore, the data you import will automatically rid itself of duplicate entries and junk data. This smooth integration means your Advancement Services team can say goodbye to messy .CSV imports/exports all day long.

Two different systems, one source of truth

At this point, you might wonder whether it’s worth maintaining data on multiple platforms if each of them were to store different data. Fortunately, this isn’t the case. Almabase’s integration with RE NXT ensures that the data you see on both platforms will always be in sync with each other. This means you won’t have to worry about making sure the data is uniform across the systems. The integration also has provisions in place to ensure there are no duplicates or junk data on either of your systems, which can take a massive load off your IT team’s shoulders.

Besides, Almabase is so much more than an online community for your constituents, or a CRM for your team. With powerful alumni-centric engagement tools, Almabase empowers your team to unlock higher participation and donations. That’s why many institutions prefer to use Almabase in tandem with RE NXT.

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Our integration, your rules

When it comes to integrations, we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Every institution will have unique guidelines in place to handle data. That’s why our integration allows you to create custom workflows to dictate when, and how, data flows between Almabase and RE NXT. The customization is limitless and can be tweaked to fit your needs. If you’re feeling particularly experimental, you can tinker around with APIs to build your workflow, or you can use Microsoft Power Automate for that tailor-made fit that works best with your processes.

So there you have it – an overview of how Almabase’s best-in-class integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT can set your Advancement team up for success. While we tried to cover the most obvious advantages of the integration for your team, there’s still a lot we couldn’t fit into a blog post.

If you have any specific queries about the integration, or you want to see it in action, you can always get in touch with one of our Alumni Success Specialists. We have a feeling you’re going to like what you see!

Read Blackbaud's official statement here.

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Ten months into an eventful 2022, we’ve got some big news to share. Blackbaud, the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, and Almabase, the world’s most loved digital-first alumni engagement solution, are here to officially announce an expanded partnership. This will provide a modern solution for advancement teams to unlock higher alumni engagement and better fundraising.
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| “Our vision at Blackbaud is to put our customers’ needs first and provide innovative solutions for the market by creating the best outcomes across digital engagement, Advancement CRM, and financials. Our partnership with Almabase is an integral part of that vision.”

Chris Krackeler, President and GM of Higher Education at Blackbaud‍

| “Our mission at Almabase is to make education affordable by helping every institution increase alumni participation. The education fundraising landscape is evolving rapidly, and the best institutions are proactive in engaging their alumni, using data to drive decisions, and meeting alumni where they are. Our expanded partnership with Blackbaud and strong integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT will be a game changer for any institution that wants to create a constant pipeline of donors and drive more donations.”

Kalyan Varma, Co-Founder and CEO of Almabase

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How the expanded partnership will impact our industry

Even before the expanded partnership, both brands have closely worked with each other over the last few years, trying to perfect their industry-leading integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT (more details below).

Here’s why the partnership’s timing is opportune – in the last two decades, alumni donor participation has halved, and the reason is hardly surprising. In a digital-first world, your alumni want more from the relationship with their alma mater – more tailored programs, and engagement that puts value at the front.

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Almabase and Blackbaud’s Expanded Partnership, powered by a digital-first solution and a connected Advancement CRM, aims to reverse this downward trend. The partnership puts you in the driver’s seat, letting you take control of your data, craft personalized alumni experiences at scale, and unify your advancement team’s efforts. 

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A digital-first solution for advancement teams

In a nutshell, we believe that a digital-first engagement platform, coupled with a strong fundraising CRM for higher-ed, is the game-winning combination you need to drive value-led alumni engagement and fundraising.

Blackbaud has a suite of digital tools that are popularly used by advancement teams across the country. Several of Almabase’s partner institutions today use Raiser’s Edge NXT as their Advancement CRM. Both our teams have been hard at work, creating seamless integrations that enable advancement services professionals to move constituent, gift, and event data between systems, without friction. With the expanded partnership, the capabilities of these integrations are only going to grow more powerful.

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Two intelligent systems, one source of truth

Almabase’s integration with RE NXT has already received an exciting (and heavily requested) feature that we can’t wait to talk about. Almabase and RE NXT can now sync bi-directionally, meaning constituent data can move both ways (i.e., from Almabase to RE NXT, and vice versa). This is applicable to basic data fields like constituent name and DOB, and also other properties like education/employment information, and even a few custom fields. 

We don’t want to bore you with the technical details of how this works (here’s a detailed article if you’re really interested), but all we’d like to say is that this a first-of-its-kind for the industry.

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The future of alumni relations and fundraising

Almabase and Blackbaud continue to work towards a larger objective – unifying advancement teams with modern digital tools that unlock higher alumni engagement and better fundraising. 

Having inked this partnership, we’re making a bold prediction – the industry is stepping into a new age of alumni relations and fundraising. One where your alumni will be at the heart of your programming. Advancement teams need to take a value-driven, engagement-first approach if they want to build stronger relationships.