Salesforce NPSP vs. Raiser’s Edge: Differences & Similarities of Both

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Many not-for-profit organizations use the Nonprofit Success Pack from Salesforce or Raiser’s Edge by Blackbaud to manage fundraising and donor engagement. There are several significant distinctions between these platforms, which can be used singly or deployed in a Blackbaud Salesforce integration. Find out more about the differences and similarities between these software as a service offerings for nonprofits and get pointers for choosing the best nonprofit cloud integration software.

Why the Differences Between Salesforce NPSP and Raisers Edge Matter

The origins of Salesforce NPSP and Raiser’s Edge go a long way toward determining the strengths of each platform. Salesforce NPSP launched in 2005 as a branch off of open-source Salesforce customer relationship management software. Raiser’s Edge dates back to the early 1980s and was developed from the start to track and process donations and payments to not-for-profit organizations.

The open-source origins of Salesforce and the dedicated community of developers focusing on successful implementations in the non-profit sector account for the comparatively low licensing fees for this software. At the same time, the much more recent origins of this platform explain its versatility for tracking online engagement.

Raiser’s Edge is typically used by medium to enterprise-sized nonprofits. The institutional background of this platform goes a long way to explain the more expensive licensing fee, as does the fact that its long tenure in the not-for-profit sector supports more functionality right out of the box, which may shorten and simplify implementation.

Why You Should Consider Using Both

Organizations that have sufficient funding for licensing Raiser’s Edge NXT and Salesforce for Nonprofits will need the right database integration tools to get the most out of both platforms. A cloud-based integration suite that was also developed exclusively for use by not-for-profit groups can facilitate the transfer of constituent, donor or supporter data across these platforms.

Salesforce NPSP stands out for enabling stakeholders to report on and manipulate data, as well as enhanced functionality for tracking engagement across online platforms. Raiser’s Edge comes with most of the fundraising features an organization needs ready to use, down to utilities for processing payments. This software also stands out for the control it makes possible when it comes to checking consistency and validating data.

How To Integrate Salesforce and Blackbaud

A cloud-based suite of data integration solutions can make it easier for any organization to securely share data across Salesforce for Nonprofits and The Raiser’s Edge. In some cases, an organization may benefit from combining the engagement reporting and nonprofit financial processing features of these platforms. It may be necessary to regularly import, export and improve the quality of records across platforms to get the most out of both major nonprofit SaaS platforms and any additional software used by a not-for-profit organization.

The size and funding of an organization are important considerations for choosing whether to use Salesforce for Nonprofits or Raiser’s Edge NXT to manage fundraising, engagement and recordkeeping. If combining these platforms stands to facilitate operations and fundraising, stakeholders should seek out a cloud-based data integration solution that also has its origins in the nonprofit sector.