Margaret
Posted
Sketchy ethics, new scammy fees to donors
I'm reviewing the company as well as Raisers Edge. I've worked with them for 3+ years, and oh how I despise Blackbaud. When I joined my current nonprofit, they had just switched to Blackbaud systems. I am an end user, not a decision-maker nor a manager. The big take-aways are (1) Warn your constituents to ALWAYS scroll to the bottom and look at the fine print for what boxes are checked by default. I found out just a few weeks ago during my recent fundraising campaign that Raisers Edge has just added a new "contribute to them" button which is a contribution to BLACKBAUD, not the nonprofit. The wording is such that a normal person wouldn't really know who "them" is. I have no doubt that they intentionally worded it that way... PLUS, the charge ranges from 9 to 12% based on the person's wealth rating. According to "them", it's not a "fee" but a "contribution"... that means instead of an additional contribution to the nonprofit, the people get to send a bonus to the FOR PROFIT VENDOR just for kicks and giggles. We have a contract with the vendor that processing fees are 0 if the total is under $3,000. This company is raking in $25 to $30+ when someone donates $250 to my nonprofit. What a scam! (2) Blackbaud is partnering with all sorts of other companies who can connect to them. They offer subpar tools so that you can upgrade for even MORE money if you want better features. I would not be surprised if they got a percentage from the handshake. Let's take the Raiser Edge email tool for instance - very un-user-friendly and doesn't give you many options to make a pretty eblast. You can connect to Constant Contact for another fee. If you want better wealth data and analysis, you can connect to another vendor for an additional fee. And so on. When you sign up, you get locked into a software lifestyle so intertwined that if you decide to leave, you have to unravel all of your systems. READ THE FINE PRINT. I don't find their business practices ethical at all. If I were a manager and decision-maker, I would report them to the state attorney general, the Better Business Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission for what I consider unscrupulous practices. But I am just me and speaking on behalf of my own experiences. I do not represent my company with this review.



