Empower Your Non-Profit with Training for Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and Financial Edge NXT
In today's digital age, database technology and financial accounting software are critical to a non-profit’s success. Ensuring your staff is well-trained to use these tools is paramount to building institutional resiliency and long-term relationships with your constituents. This article will explore the importance of staff training for non-profits utilizing Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT and Financial Edge NXT, the benefits of training, and the expert consulting services that NPact can provide to empower your organization.
Why is Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and Financial Edge NXT Training Important for Non-Profits?
In the non-profit world, budget and allocation of resources are often the top considerations when tough decisions need to be made. Given the significant time and resources invested in or upgrading your database software and accounting technology, it’s a necessity to ensure your organization can use these systems to their fullest potential. Customized training with NPact’s deeply experienced consultants can empower your organization to get up the learning curve more quickly and effectively than online tutorials or self-paced guides. Here’s how we can help:
- Maximize Efficiency: Non-profits rely heavily on database and financial accounting software like Raiser's Edge and Financial Edge to streamline their operations. Staff training ensures your team has the necessary skills to utilize these tools to their full potential, maximizing efficiency and reducing manual work.
- Ensure Data Accuracy: Accurate and up-to-date data is crucial for decision-making, donor relations, and effective fundraising. Training equips your staff with the knowledge to input, manage, and analyze data accurately, minimizing errors and maintaining data integrity.
- Adapt to Technological Advancements: Technology evolves rapidly, and staying abreast of the latest features and updates is essential. Training enables your staff to leverage new functionalities, optimize workflows, and adapt to changing trends, ultimately enhancing your organization's competitiveness.
- Enhance Security: Non-profits handle sensitive data, including donor information and financial records. Proper training on data security best practices ensures your staff understands how to protect this valuable information, mitigating the risk of data breaches and maintaining donor trust.
Benefits of Onboarding and Non-Profit Training
The non-profit sector attracts high-performing individuals who care deeply about others and want to make a difference in the world. Significant drive and dedication paired with limited resources leads to high levels of burnout for non-profit employees.
The World Health Organization defines burnout as a chronic imbalance between job demands and job resources that results in extreme tiredness, reduced ability to regulate emotional processes, and mental distancing. Providing training, resources, and a supportive growth environment for staff not only reduces burnout and turnover, but also provides additional benefits:
- Smooth Transitions: Onboarding training ensures new staff members quickly understand your organization's software systems—reducing the learning curve and enabling them to contribute effectively from the start.
- Increased Productivity: Ongoing training keeps your staff up-to-date with the latest software features, functionalities, and best practices. This continuous learning empowers them to work more efficiently, saving time and resources.
- Staff Retention: Non-profits often experience high employee turnover. Providing regular training opportunities to staff demonstrates your commitment to employee growth. Focusing on employee growth fosters a positive work environment, boosts morale, and increases retention rates, saving your organization recruitment costs.
- Adaptability to Change: Non-profits often undergo rapid organizational changes, such as reporting structure, process reengineering, and software upgrades. Training equips your staff to confidently embrace these changes, ensuring a smooth transition and minimizing disruptions to daily operations.
Certified Non-Profit Training for Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and Financial Edge NXT
At NPact, we are certified to provide training on the following Blackbaud systems and software:
- Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT: The leading CRM solution for non-profits, Raiser's Edge empowers organizations to manage donor relationships, track fundraising efforts, and analyze campaign effectiveness.
- Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT: A comprehensive cloud-based financial accounting tool, Financial Edge enables non-profits to efficiently handle budgeting, fund accounting, grant management, and financial reporting.
Real Non-Profits, Real Training Results
At NPact, our experienced professional consultants will provide your staff with powerful tools and know-how to drive philanthropy. No project is too big or small, and training can be performed on-site or remotely. Find out what some of our customers have to say about working with NPact:
Moraine Valley Community College Foundation
Located just 22 miles southwest of Chicago, Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) is the second-largest community college in Illinois. After transitioning to Blackbaud Raiser's Edge a few years ago, the Moraine Valley Foundation found it difficult and time-consuming to navigate software updates and train on the system’s new acknowledgment letter tools.
This led staff to create a manual procedure for processing a few hundred donor acknowledgment letters individually each month. The team knew they would benefit from automating the process but needed help setting it up, building an efficient workflow, and following best practices.
"We had Blackbaud's Learn Everything training subscription, which gets you to a point, but acknowledgement letters are very complex, and the included examples didn't always translate to our needs," said Moraine Valley Foundation Director Kristy McGreal. "NPact was very good at asking the right questions in a language we understood. They offered advice that we didn't know we needed."
Pike County Public Library
Pike County Public Library in Petersburg, Indiana, serves approximately 13,000 residents. Libraries have unique accounting needs because much of their funding comes from taxpayer dollars, and regulations are stringent. Financial Edge NXT was on the Indiana State Board of Accounts' approved vendors, so Pike County Public Library transitioned to Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT in January 2020.
They liked that the software was cloud-based, but their transition to the cloud wasn't seamless and posed unique challenges for the library – their general ledger wasn't balancing, and it wasn't clear why. Eventually, an account executive at Blackbaud recommended that the library contact NPact to help resolve the problem.
"Our data was not converted correctly when we initially implemented FE NXT, so our balance sheets weren't balancing," said Pike County Public Library Director Stephanie Rawlins. "After spending a year in our system and it still not working, I didn't think a solution was possible. Blackbaud suggested we contact NPact, and now our balance sheet balances! My data is accurate, and I am better equipped to fix errors."
Get Started with NPact’s Training Services
We understand that every team has different needs, so we offer customizable on-site and virtual training packages so you can choose the best option for your team’s schedule and learning preferences:
- On-Site Training: Our team of experts will visit your organization and deliver hands-on training sessions tailored to your team's specific needs. This personalized approach ensures your staff receives practical guidance, fostering confidence and skill development.
- Virtual Training: We offer live online sessions conducted by experienced consultants who deliver customized training content based on your organization's requirements. These interactive sessions allow participants to ask questions and engage with the material effectively. Additionally, all sessions are recorded for your future reference and convenience.
Investing in non-profit training is crucial to empower your staff and ensure efficient database and software management. NPact, a certified training provider on Raiser's Edge and Financial Edge, provides comprehensive training services tailored to your organization's needs.
Whether via on-site or virtual training, NPact equips your team with the skills and knowledge to optimize these essential systems, maximizing efficiency, data accuracy, and security. Embrace the power of training, unlock your organization's full potential, and accelerate the positive impact in your community. Contact NPact today to embark on your non-profit training journey. Book a discovery call today.
