Does the Raiser’s Edge Help Raise Money?

Does any fundraising software really help raise money? Should it?

Perhaps it would help to put these questions in context; how would you defend the expense of purchasing, maintaining and managing your fundraising software to your Board?

Consider the typical organization that decides to buy The Raiser’s Edge from Blackbaud.  The investment can be significant. The organization needs to purchase software licenses for all of its users (usually paid up-front) and face recurring annual fees of roughly 22.5% for technical support and software updates. However, before using the software they must incur the expense and disruption to their business of converting data, documenting policies, training users and re-writing reports. And let’s not forget that The Raiser’s Edge is a sophisticated product, requiring many organizations to hire dedicated staff to manage the system.

So where is the ROI?