With Confidence and Blackbaud’s Instruction, You’ll be Just Fine
Going through the process of a software migration to Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge, or any other donor database, is daunting. For instance, on my first migration, I spent many a sleepless night wondering what would go wrong. Above all, I worried about my role in any mishaps, forgotten steps or otherwise strange outcomes.
The fact is, it feels like you’re in the hot seat. But don’t worry. With confidence, and with support from Blackbaud, you’ll be just fine.
After all, your work on the donor database has a great impact on the organization. If that doesn’t inspire some confidence, then hopefully your Blackbaud consultant will.
Expectations and Your Blackbaud Team
On the most recent migration, my supporting team at Blackbaud was phenomenal. There was Tim, who helped with conversion and testing, and Vered, who led the training and design. By the end of the engagement I wanted to be their friend, and go skipping hand-in-hand at Disneyland!
I appreciated their style, knowledge and confidence. They were very direct. And they let me know what to expect at every moment along the implementation timeline.
Don’t Forget about Your Confidence
Know in advance that you have to empower yourself to make many decisions on behalf of your organization. Your team can’t be on every call and in every session. In other words: Don’t forget about your confidence during this heavy process.
Blackbaud will support you with the tools you need to migrate successfully, including:
• Step-by-step calendar of events that expressly states when each action item is due
• Pre-Implementation Workbook to work on with your colleagues, and then review with your Blackbaud consultant
• eLearning courses on implementing a new donor database
But nothing compares to your own confidence and swagger during the process. Be firm in your commitment, and resolute in your decision-making. Then, you will see the payoff.
Be firm in your commitment, and resolute in your decision-making. Then, you will see the payoff.
Signing Off…
At the end of the day, just remember why you’re migrating to a new donor database software. This donor database gives you the keys to mine critical data that enable your team to make more informed fundraising decisions.
This donor database gives you the keys to mine critical data that enable your team to make more informed fundraising decisions.
Much like a mullet, a database migration is business up front and party in the back. After the migration:
Your fundraising team can make more money.
The marketing team can better communicate with your donors, volunteers and other constituents.
The overall organization can support its mission by helping that many more in need.
About Jill Collins Jill Collins at j.comm marketing is a marketing and data professional who specializes in breathing new life into brands, and finding money in nonprofit donor databases. She is a proven and trusted partner when it comes to understanding an organization and its culture. Her talent lies in marrying a client’s wants and needs with logistics. Give Jill a shot. She won’t let you down.
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