This article was written by Matt Hui, President at Belmar Consulting.
If you’re a nonprofit executive staring at a proposal to migrate from Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge to Salesforce, there’s probably a knot in your stomach.
It’s not just the implementation cost. It’s not even the learning curve of a new interface. It’s the history.
You’re looking at ten-maybe twenty-years of data entry, reports, queries, and carefully engineered workarounds. You’re thinking about long-tenured team members who know Raiser’s Edge inside and out, shortcuts included. You’re also thinking about the sunk cost: the time, money, and institutional knowledge embedded in the system you already have.
Walking away from Raiser’s Edge doesn’t feel like a simple technology upgrade. It feels more like tearing down a house you’ve spent a decade renovating. You worry about what gets lost in the process. You worry about the inevitable productivity dip during a transition. And you worry that you might be trading a system you understand for something more complex, more expensive, and harder to control.
Those concerns are completely valid. Nearly every Executive Director and Development Leader who has made this move has felt exactly the same way. If I could count the amount of times this concern has come up, well, let’s just say it’d be a lot.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: staying where you are is often the bigger risk. Complacency leads to regression.
Moving from Raiser’s Edge to Salesforce isn’t just a simple software change. It’s a functional shift in how your organization operates. It’s the difference between managing fundraising in a silo and running your organization on a connected platform. It’s a move from a closed and unconnected ecosystem to one designed for flexibility, integration, and long-term growth.
This article is written for you-the decision-maker. We’ll move past feature checklists and sales pitches and focus on the real strategic, financial, and human implications of this transition. Why the move matters, what it actually changes, and how to lead your team through it with confidence. This is a long one, but if you make it to the end, I promise you’ll leave with some tangible takeaways.
Part 1: The Strategic Case (Or, Why Your Board Should Care)
When you present this migration to your board, do not talk about “better reporting” or “cloud access.” That’s a baseline expectation, especially in our currently technology landscape. You need to talk about Risk, Talent, and Future-Proofing.
1. The Talent War: Why Your Best Staff Want Salesforce
For years, the nonprofit sector treated databases as filing cabinets. As long as the drawers opened, it was fine. But today, your CRM is the engine of your employee experience.
We are currently witnessing a massive shift in the nonprofit labor market. Raiser’s Edge professionals are becoming a niche, shrinking pool. Conversely, the Salesforce ecosystem is exploding. There are over 200,000 Salesforce-certified professionals globally.
Why does this matter to an executive? Or as I like to otherwise say What’s in it for me? (WIIFM) Retention and Recruitment.
Younger, tech-savvy fundraisers and data analysts view Salesforce skills as a transferable, valuable career asset. They want to learn it. It boosts their resume. When you ask a modern data manager to work exclusively in Raiser’s Edge, you are effectively asking them to pause their career development. You risk struggling to hire top talent, or worse, paying a premium for a “legacy” specialist who can manage the system but cannot innovate within it. This is where the brain drain occurs and the complacency I referenced above, well that’s where this creeps in.
Moving to Salesforce signals to your staff (and future hires) that you are a forward-thinking organization investing in modern tools. It transforms your database from a chore into a career-building opportunity. I’ve seen some of the best stories come out of some of the clients we’ve worked with in which a front line admin, took an interest in Salesforce, and fast-forward to today, is a full-time Salesforce Project Manager. Now THAT is the definition of up-skilling.
2. The Innovation Gap: R&D and The AI Revolution
Blackbaud and Salesforce are both publicly traded companies, but their trajectories and track records are different. Salesforce is consistently ranked as one of the most innovative companies in the world. Their Research & Development (R&D) spending is astronomical, fueling advancements in Artificial Intelligence (Einstein, Agentforce), Data Cloud, and integration capabilities. You only need to attend a single Dreamforce to see this firsthand. Each year, it becomes clearer how much broader-and more ambitious- Salesforce has become. It’s truly incredible.
When you stay on Raiser’s Edge, you are often waiting for Blackbaud to build a feature, release it, and patch it. When you are on Salesforce, you are riding the wave of the entire global tech economy. I like to use the sports analogy of you can either play offence, or you can play defense.
- The “Agentforce” Era: Salesforce is currently rolling out autonomous AI agents that can handle donor service inquiries, draft personalized stewardship emails, and analyze giving patterns without human intervention.
- The “AppEconomy”: If Salesforce doesn’t have a feature you need (e.g., a specific auction tool or volunteer waiver), one of the thousands of partners on the AppExchange likely does. You are not waiting on the vendor; you are shopping in a marketplace.
Remaining on a legacy platform means you are slowly falling behind the technological curve, while your competitors (and they are competitors for donor attention) are adopting tools that allow them to personalize outreach at scale. This is especially true in today’s digital landscape, where competition for attention is constant and earning a donor’s focus is harder than ever.
3. The “Fundraising Island” Problem
In many organizations, Raiser’s Edge sits on an island.
- Development owns RE.
- Programs uses Excel spreadsheets or a completely separate case management tool.
- Marketing uses Mailchimp or Constant Contact.
- Finance uses QuickBooks, Sage or NetSuite.
None of these systems talk to each other. When a Program Officer meets a volunteer who loves your mission, that information rarely makes it to the Major Gifts Officer. When a donor attends a gala, the Program team doesn’t know to thank them when they show up to volunteer the next week. The left arm, is not talking to the right arm and as such – being able to convey impact becomes even more challenging.
Salesforce offers the “360-degree view.” This is a buzzword, yes, but the operational reality is just so…real.. Imagine a world where your Executive Director can pull up a contact on their phone and see:
- Their last donation (Fundraising).
- The last volunteer shift they worked (Programs).
- The last email newsletter they opened (Marketing).
- The gala ticket they just bought (Events).
This breaks down silos. It turns “Fundraising” into an organizational team sport, rather than just the responsibility of the Development team.
Part 2: The Technical Reality Check (What You’re Actually Buying)
To understand the migration, you have to understand the fundamental architectural difference between the two systems. This is often where executives get lost in the weeds, so let’s keep it simple: You are moving from a Flat File to a Relational Database.
The “Square Peg” Problem
Raiser’s Edge was designed decades ago around the concept of a “Constituent.” Everything hangs off that one record. It is transactional. It is excellent at gift processing because that is what it was built to do.
Salesforce is “Object-Oriented.” It is a collection of related tables (Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, Campaigns) that can be connected in infinite ways.
- In Raiser’s Edge: You might have a husband and wife as two separate records linked by a “Spouse” button. Or maybe they are one record with two names. It gets messy.
- In Salesforce: You have a Household Account (the Smith Family) with Contacts (John and Jane) related to it. In Nonprofit Cloud, this allows you to view both individual engagement and giving activity, while also reporting on combined household giving through configurable rollups and reporting.
This difference is why you hear horror stories about migration. You cannot simply “lift and shift” your data. You cannot take the square peg of RE data and force it into the round hole of Salesforce.
But this is actually good news.
The “Square Peg” problem forces you to clean house. It forces you to audit your data. It forces you to ask, “Do we really need those 150 ‘Constituent Attributes’ we created in 2008?” (Spoiler: I can almost guarantee that you don’t).
This migration is your excuse to purge bad data, standardize your coding, and restructure your organization around relationships, not just transactions. I like to use the house analogy when moving systems. This is the best chance to make sure you get rid of, or put in storage, things that just aren’t necessary anymore.
Security and The Trust Factor
We must address the elephant in the room. In recent years, Blackbaud has faced significant scrutiny regarding data breaches and ransomware attacks. For a nonprofit, donor trust is your only currency. If a donor feels their data is unsafe with you, they will stop giving. Full stop.
Salesforce operates on a “Trust First” architecture. It is the same platform used by major banks, governments, and healthcare providers. While no system is immune to risk, Salesforce’s security protocols, multi-factor authentication (MFA) enforcement, and encryption standards are world-class. Moving to Salesforce is a proactive governance step that you can tout in your annual report: We are investing in the security of your data.
Part 3: The Financial Picture (Calculating the Real ROI)
The proposal on your desk likely shows that Salesforce, especially when you add in implementation costs, is expensive. When you compare the annual license fee of RE to Salesforce + Consultants + Apps, the math can look daunting.
However, you need to look at Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and the Cost of Inaction.
1. Managing “Technical Debt”
In the software world, “technical debt” is the implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy (or old) solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer.
Right now, your organization is paying interest on technical debt every single day.
- How many hours does your staff spend manually exporting lists from RE to Excel to Mailchimp?
- How many hours are spent reconciling Finance and Development because the systems don’t sync?
- How much potential revenue is lost because a Major Gift Officer didn’t know a prospect attended a program event?
This interest stacks over time, and it’s the slow leak. These inefficiencies are invisible line items in your budget, but they are real. Salesforce automates these processes. If you save your Data Manager 10 hours a week of manual entry, that is 10 hours they can spend on prospect research or data enrichment. That pays for the license fee.
2. The Cost of Customization
In Raiser’s Edge, if you want to do something unique like track a complex grant application process or manage a rental property inventory you often have to hire a developer to build a custom “plug-in” or buy a separate module.
In Salesforce, you can often build these things with “clicks, not code.” A savvy Administrator can build a custom object to track “Scholarship Applications” in an afternoon. The platform is designed to be molded to your mission, reducing the need for expensive external development over time.
Part 4: The Roadmap (How to Survive the Migration)
If you decide to proceed, how do you ensure you don’t become one of the horror stories? The success of a migration is 20% technology and 80% people.
Phase 1: The Audit (Before You Sign)
Do not sign a contract with Salesforce until you have done two things:
- Check your Blackbaud contract end date. You often need to give 90 days’ notice. If you miss that window, you might be on the hook for another year of RE while paying for Salesforce.
- Audit your data. You do not move a hoarder’s house without cleaning it first. If you move “dirty” data into Salesforce, you will just have a more expensive version of your current mess. As you may have heard before, garbage in – equals garbage out.
- Executive Action: Mandate a “Data Amnesty” period where staff identifies broken codes, duplicates, and unused fields.
Phase 2: The Partner (Don’t DIY)
Do not try to implement Salesforce yourself.
Salesforce is a Ferrari. If you don’t know how to drive it, you will crash it into a wall. You need a driving instructor.
You need an implementation partner like Belmar who specializes in nonprofits. (Yes, I’m plugging us). You need someone who speaks both languages. You need a partner who knows that “Attributes” in RE become “Custom Fields” in Salesforce, and that “Appeals” become “Campaigns.”
- Executive Action: Interview at least three partners. Ask them specifically about their experience migrating from Raiser’s Edge. Ask for references who have made that specific jump. Key takeaway – experience matters.
Phase 3: The “MVP” Approach
Do not try to launch everything at once. This is a recipe for burnout.
Adhere to the concept of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
- Phase 1: Migrate core fundraising data (Donors, Gifts, Contacts). Get the Development team up and running.
- Phase 2: Integrate Marketing (Mailchimp/Marketing Cloud).
- Phase 3: Build out Program Management or Volunteer Management.
By staging the rollout, you get “quick wins.” Staff can see the system working for the basics before they are overwhelmed by the complex stuff.
Phase 4: Change Management (The Secret Sauce)
This is where you, as the Executive, earn your paycheck.
Your staff will be frustrated. For the first three months, they will be slower in Salesforce than they were in RE. They will say, “In Raiser’s Edge, I could do this in two clicks, now it takes four!”
You must hold the line. You must remind them of the vision.
- Invest in Training: Do not skimp on this budget line. Buy the “Premier Success” plan from Salesforce. Pay for your Admin to get certified.
- Identify Champions: Find the staff member who is most excited about the change (usually the one tired of manual Excel exports). Make them the “Super User.” Empower them to train their peers. Gamify the learning and get everyone involved!
- Celebrate the Wins: When the first automated receipt goes out, celebrate. When the first dashboard shows real-time giving data, share it with the Board.
Conclusion: The “Graduation” Mindset
Moving to Salesforce is not “undoing” your work. It is graduating.
Think of Raiser’s Edge as the reliable sedan that got you through university and your first job. It was sturdy, it worked, and you have fond memories of it. But now, you have a family, you have a commute, and you need a vehicle that is safer, faster, and connected.
You aren’t losing 20 years of data; you are unlocking its potential. You are taking that data out of a flat, transactional container and pouring it into a dynamic, relational engine that can power your organization for the next 20 years.
The transition will be challenging. There will be days when you question the decision. But on the other side of that friction lies a future-proof organization. An organization where data isn’t a chore, but a strategic asset. An organization that knows its donors not just as checkbooks, but as people. That’s innovation- but more than that, it’s cultural. And that energy is contagious; teams feel it and respond to it.
Your Next Steps:
- Review your current contracts: Know your exit date.
- Start the “Great Data Cleanse”: Do not wait for the consultants. Start merging duplicates today.
- Rally your leadership: Share this article with your Board and your Development Director. Align on the “Why” before you worry about the “How.”
If you’ve made it this far, I hope my passion for seeing the impact sector continue to evolve comes through. I often say that being a nonprofit doesn’t preclude innovation-if anything, it demands it. Nonprofits are frequently the most inventive organizations precisely because they’re forced to do more with less.
The future of fundraising is connected, automated, and increasingly intelligent. The door is open. The question now is whether you’re ready to walk through it.
FAQ
What is Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge?
Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge is a fundraising and donor management system widely used by nonprofit organizations. It helps teams track donations, manage donor records, create reports, and support fundraising campaigns. Many nonprofits have used it for years as their primary donor database.
Why are nonprofits moving from Raiser’s Edge to Salesforce?
Many nonprofits are moving to Salesforce because it offers a more flexible and connected platform. Unlike traditional fundraising databases, Salesforce allows organizations to integrate fundraising, marketing, volunteer management, and program data in one system. This creates a more complete view of supporters and improves collaboration across teams.
What are the main benefits of using Salesforce for nonprofits?
Salesforce helps nonprofits manage relationships with donors, volunteers, and partners in a single platform. It provides advanced reporting, automation, integrations with other tools, and the ability to customize workflows. These features help organizations streamline operations and make better data-driven decisions.
Is migrating from Raiser’s Edge to Salesforce difficult?
Migrating systems can be complex because the two platforms are built differently. Data often needs to be cleaned, restructured, and mapped correctly before it can be moved. However, with proper planning and an experienced implementation partner, organizations can complete the transition successfully and build a more scalable system for the future.
How does Salesforce help break down data silos in nonprofits?
In many organizations, fundraising, marketing, finance, and program teams use separate systems. Salesforce allows these departments to connect their data in one platform. This gives staff a 360-degree view of each supporter, including donations, volunteer activity, event participation, and communications.
What is the long-term return on investment of moving to Salesforce?
While the upfront implementation cost can be higher, Salesforce often provides long-term value through automation, improved reporting, and better collaboration across teams. Organizations can reduce manual work, improve donor engagement, and use their data more effectively to support fundraising growth.
What should nonprofits do before starting a CRM migration?
Before starting a migration, organizations should review their existing contracts, clean up duplicate records, remove unused fields, and evaluate their current processes. Preparing data in advance makes the migration smoother and helps ensure the new system is set up correctly.