# Leaving Raiser's Edge NXT: How to Plan a Blackbaud Migration

By EvolveFundraising editorial team

Published: 2026-10-27

Updated: 2026-10-27

Category: Software migration

Canonical: https://getevolvefundraising.com/blog/raisers-edge-migration

## Summary

Migrating off Raiser's Edge NXT is very doable, but it rewards early planning. Start at least six months before your renewal date, confirm your data export rights, plan how recurring gifts held by Blackbaud Merchant Services will move, and simplify your constituent codes, attributes and fund/campaign/appeal structure on the way out. Most organizations take four to six months end to end, because Raiser's Edge databases tend to be large, old and heavily customized.

## Key takeaways

- Review contract and export requirements early.
- Map gifts, pledges and credits explicitly.
- Treat recurring-payment continuity as a separate workstream.

Migrating off Raiser's Edge NXT is very doable, but it rewards early planning. Start at least six months before your renewal date, confirm your data export rights, plan how recurring gifts held by Blackbaud Merchant Services will move, and simplify your constituent codes, attributes and fund/campaign/appeal structure on the way out. Most organizations take four to six months end to end, because Raiser's Edge databases tend to be large, old and heavily customized.

## Why are organizations looking at Raiser's Edge alternatives?

Raiser's Edge has been the default donor database for decades, and many teams know it well. The reasons we hear for leaving are consistent:

- **Renewal cost.** Reviewers on [Capterra](https://capterra.com/p/247647/Blackbaud-Raiser-s-Edge-NXT/reviews/) describe steep renewal increases and difficulty leaving mid-contract.
- **Add-on pricing.** Online giving, events, email and analytics often sit in separately priced products.
- **Disconnected systems.** Associations and membership nonprofits typically run membership, events and accounting elsewhere and reconcile by export.
- **Complexity.** Years of codes and attributes make reporting slow and training hard.

None of these mean Raiser's Edge is wrong for everyone. They mean it's worth pricing the alternative before you sign another multi-year term.

## Step 1: Read your contract before anything else

- **Renewal date and notice period.** Many contracts auto-renew if you miss the notice window.
- **Data export rights.** Confirm what format you'll receive, whether a full export carries a fee and how long you keep access after termination.
- **Payment processing.** If you use Blackbaud Merchant Services (BBMS), find the terms for transferring stored payment data to a new processor.

Put your questions to your Blackbaud account manager in writing and keep the answers.

## Step 2: Export your data

Use every export route available to you:

- Queries and exports for constituents, gifts, relationships, actions, notes and attributes.
- Gift reports by year, fund and campaign as your reconciliation baseline.
- Ask Blackbaud about full database export options for your plan.

Export early and test the files. You don't want to discover a missing table after your contract ends.

## Step 3: Map the Raiser's Edge data model

| Raiser's Edge NXT concept | What to decide in the new system |
| --- | --- |
| Constituent codes | Simplify into a short list of types or tags |
| Attributes | Keep the ones used in the last 3 years; retire the rest |
| Relationships (individual and organization) | Map to relationships and employer affiliations |
| Households (spouse relationships, addressees and salutations) | Household records plus formal and informal salutations |
| Funds, campaigns, appeals, packages | Rebuild a clean hierarchy; this is the moment to fix inconsistent codes |
| Gift types (cash, pledge, pledge payment, recurring gift, stock, gift-in-kind) | Map each to the new gift and commitment model |
| Soft credits and matching gifts | Preserve credit and recognition rules |
| Actions and notes | Migrate recent and meaningful ones; archive the rest |
| Tributes | Migrate with tribute type and honoree link |

Raiser's Edge organizations often have hundreds of appeal codes. Group them into a manageable structure before you import.

## Step 4: Plan recurring gifts and open pledges

- **Recurring gifts.** List every active recurring gift with amount, frequency, next date and fund. Request the transfer of stored payment data from BBMS to your new processor well before cut-over. [Post 18: How to Migrate Recurring Donations Without Losing a Single Donor](https://getevolvefundraising.com/blog/migrate-recurring-donations) covers the process.
- **Open pledges.** Move each pledge with its original amount, balance and installment schedule, not just the balance.

## Step 5: Reconcile against finance

If your finance team uses Financial Edge or another general ledger, reconcile gift totals by fund and year between the old system, the new system and the ledger before you go live. Moving to a platform with a built-in general ledger can remove this reconciliation step from future months entirely.

## Step 6: Train on new habits, not old screens

Long-time Raiser's Edge users will look for familiar screens. Train by task ("enter a batch," "find LYBUNT donors," "pull a campaign report") rather than feature by feature.

## Raiser's Edge migration timeline

| Month | Work |
| --- | --- |
| 1 | Contract review, vendor selection, export test |
| 2 | Data cleanup and code consolidation |
| 3 | Mapping and first trial import |
| 4 | Second trial import, reconciliation, report rebuild |
| 5 | Recurring gift transfer, cut-over, training |
| 6 | Stabilize, decommission old access after 90 days |

## Why associations are choosing Evolve Fundraising

Evolve Fundraising handles the core Raiser's Edge concepts (gifts, splits, soft credits, households, pledges, recurring gifts, tributes, matching gifts, and a campaign, appeal and package hierarchy) on the same platform as membership, events and accounting. Gifts post to a real general ledger by fund with QuickBooks sync and exports for other ledgers. Pricing doesn't scale with your record count, and the AI assistant lets staff ask questions of the data instead of writing queries.

## Frequently asked questions

### How long does it take to migrate from Raiser's Edge NXT?

Typically four to six months for a mid-size database, including cleanup, two trial imports and recurring gift transfer.

### Can I export all my data from Raiser's Edge?

You can export most data through queries and exports. Confirm full export options, format and any fees with Blackbaud in writing before you give notice.

### What happens to recurring gifts processed through Blackbaud Merchant Services?

Stored payment data must be transferred securely from BBMS to your new processor. Request it early; this is the step most likely to delay cut-over.

### Should we migrate all our constituent codes and attributes?

No. Keep the ones used in the last three years and consolidate the rest.

### When should we start planning?

Six months before your renewal date, so you can give notice with confidence.

**Considering a move from Raiser's Edge?** Get a migration assessment from the Evolve team: [Request information from EvolveFundraising](https://getevolvefundraising.com/request-information).

*Raiser's Edge, Raiser's Edge NXT, Financial Edge and Blackbaud Merchant Services are trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc. Evolved Systems is not affiliated with Blackbaud.*

## Sources and further reading

1. [Capterra](https://capterra.com/p/247647/Blackbaud-Raiser-s-Edge-NXT/reviews/) — capterra.com

## Related reading

- [Fundraising Software Migration: The Complete Guide for Nonprofits and Associations](https://getevolvefundraising.com/blog/fundraising-software-migration-guide)
- [Donor Database Migration Checklist: 40 Steps From Contract to Go-Live](https://getevolvefundraising.com/blog/donor-database-migration-checklist)
- [How to Migrate Recurring Donations Without Losing a Single Donor](https://getevolvefundraising.com/blog/migrate-recurring-donations)
- [The Real Cost of Switching Fundraising Software, and How to Build the Business Case](https://getevolvefundraising.com/blog/fundraising-software-switching-cost)
- [Discuss your fundraising goals with the Evolve team](https://getevolvefundraising.com/request-information)

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