Blackbaud Online Express vs. GoFundMe Pro

For 100% tax-deductible donations, I 9.5/10 recommend Blackbaud Online Express. The only thing is that it does not charge debit cards automatically, so I have to do it myself. Using Blackbaud Online Express forms for events gets more complicated. The way events work in Raiser's Edge in general is already complicated, so maybe it's more on Raiser's Edge than it is Blackbaud Online Express.

Incentivized

Well suited for organizations with large fundraising programs or many recurring donors, especially those who have the staffing to devote to reporting and fundraising data analysis. Variety of payment options is good for mobile-first or younger audiences who may be taking more frequent advantage of payment methods like Venmo and Apple Pay. Most useful if it is used in tandem as an event registration/event hosting platform (Classy Event Registration or Classy Live) as attendee data and fundraising is kept in a single place. Less appropriate for smaller organizations, or folks that will not be doing crowdfunding/peer-to-peer/events. There are other platforms that do standard donation pages well that have fewer bells and whistles but are accordingly cheaper.

Incentivized

• Automatically matches the donor to a constituent in the database, if there is one, and gives you the opportunity to search if a match isn't found.
• If gift is in honor or memory of someone, it matches the tribute in the database, if it already exists. If not, you are able to easily create a new one.
• Transaction reports are easily accessible on the Blackbaud Merchant Services site.

Incentivized

• The Classy platform is easy to use, both for the staff and our volunteer fundraisers
• It's easy to build a great looking fundraising page
• Classy support (particularly chat and phone) are attentive and responsive. Every one there is smart and nice!

Incentivized

• Access via Blackbaud's web portal, and to Citrix, is clumsy and slow.
• User creation and management is also clumsy, slow, and error-prone.
• Integration with Raiser's Edge is a pro, but it also can make using Online Express more complicated than necessary for users just looking for a simple email marketing tool.

Incentivized

• Campaigns lack customization options which can be limiting- while you can add code to make some changes, there is a basic framework that you can't always override.
• Slow to roll out some donor payment options like Venmo.
• Not inexpensive price point and on an annual contract, so the software is definitely an investment.

Incentivized

VERY easy to use, but lacks flexibility. But very easy to learn and master, even for someone with technical skills. They offer live chat which is a great help for on-demand support. At higher call volumes, you may wait 10 minutes, but I’ve never waited for more than that and the support if 90% of the time very helpful.

Incentivized

Customer service for all of Blackbaud's products has really lacked over the years. They are starting to get better in the last year but it can very frustrating. The online knowledge base community is the best resource for information. At times it can take hours for a customer sect even rep to help with questions or problems which is not at all ideal in this industry.

Incentivized

Classy's team was very helpful as we transitioned over, and helped us get everything set up quite easily. The few times we've had issues or questions, their online chat feature has been a quick way to get answers. On Giving Tuesday last year, the site went down, but Classy was quick with communication to its clients and had the problem resolved in about an hour. I know that if we have any problems or questions, the company and its team will be responsive and helpful. That makes a difference to me and our small team. We don't have time to troubleshoot or stay on hold for a long time waiting for support.

Incentivized

Blackbaud's Online Express is MUCH easier to use than NetCommunity. Having the ability to "drop" donation forms directly into our existing website is a big improvement over NetCommunity's web pages. Only wish Online Express offered the ability to track constituents sign up for different email communications rather than just one option.

Incentivized

I have not used any other platforms like Classy. Given I came into this organization after Classy was already chosen, I was pleased with how easy it was to learn the platform and how user-friendly the entire thing is. Although I haven't used any other platforms like it, I would highly recommend it.

• Regardless of project or initiative, all fund-raising efforts are managed in one place for the entire organization.
• Donor management is concise, thorough, and systematic - no individual or organization is overlooked.
• Snapshot reporting of successful grant applications and fund-raising are readily available.

Incentivized

• This has been nothing but positive. We use the basic version so there is no fee associated with it other than a percentage of each transaction. So everything that comes in is added revenue where the only investment is staff time, but there is no monetary investment.

Incentivized