Pre-Conference Workshops

Have you ever wanted to focus your analysis on a specific group of records?

Query gathers records into groups based on common criteria you define. This session will provide the tools to plan and build effective queries for data analysis.

Learning Objectives:

• Define Query
• Create a query plan
• Build a simple query
• Identify uses for queries

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT / Fundamentals Exam 2026

One of the biggest strengths of Excel is the ability to perform common and complex calculations.

In this session, learn to identify functions and formulas. Discover and utilize the function library to easily add or create calculations to your spreadsheet cells. Utilize the IF function within a spreadsheet. Practice entering custom formulas into spreadsheet cells. Explore how to use the VLOOKUP function within your spreadsheet.

Learning Objectives:

• Differentiate between functions and formulas
• Explore the function library
• Build an IF statement function
• Manually enter and create formulas
• Use the VLOOKUP function within a spreadsheet

Note: Due to differences between operating systems, Blackbaud University courses supporting Microsoft products are best consumed on computers running the Windows operating system.
 

Get started using Raiser's Edge NXT today! In this session, learn how you can use this powerful tool to quickly access vital prospect, donor, and constituent data. Explore the interface to confidently navigate key features and tools. Customize your Home page to streamline your daily workflow. Create and manage constituent records and relationships to maintain accurate and meaningful data.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the basic functionality of Raiser's Edge NXT
• Navigate within Raiser's Edge NXT
• Customize the Home page
• Review and create constituent records
• Add relationships

Financial Edge NXT is designed with nonprofit accounting in mind. With Financial Edge NXT, you can focus on the transaction rather than the account, allowing for mission-based reporting using projects and transaction codes.

This session explores Financial Edge NXT menus and functional areas. You also discover how Financial Edge NXT is designed to support you, and how to locate useful resources to maximize your use of the database. 

Users with little to no experience will benefit from this session.

Learning Objectives:

• Navigate Financial Edge NXT
• Understand the structure of Financial Edge NXT
• Find technical support and useful resources

In this story-driven session, join Blackbaud University as we explore the Payables workflow, from Invoicing to Payment. You’ll take on the role of a Payables associate and work within Financial Edge NXT to ensure your vendors get paid in a timely manner. Along the way, we’ll discuss tips, tricks, and shortcuts that you can take away to make your organization’s Payables Process a breeze. 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify and enter invoices with various entry methods
• Understand the invoice approval process
• Process payments for invoices via Treasury
• Discover the posting method for Payables to the General Ledger
• Fix common payment adjustments and explore best practices

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT / Fundamentals Exam 2026

Queries are the primary mechanism for retrieving information from your Raiser’s Edge NXT database. Learn how to utilize summary fields, parenthesis, and merge queries. Through instructor-led scenarios, session discussions, and practices in the sample database, learn to troubleshoot unexpected query results. 

This session builds on the Raiser’s Edge NXT Fundamentals: Query session. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Use parenthesis to define how criteria are applied 
• Merge two queries to create a new query 
• Group records with no common characteristics 
• Troubleshoot queries with unexpected results 

Why recreate the wheel? We know what works on an online donation form - use it to your organization's advantage!

In this session, learn how to leverage Blackbaud's experience and real-world research in your online form setup. Apply industry best practices to save time and effort and then track your form's success.

Learning Objectives:

• Use parenthesis to define how criteria are applied
• Merge two queries to create a new query
• Group records with no common characteristics
• Troubleshoot queries with unexpected results

In this session, explore how analysis, automation, and AI can help streamline work, reduce manual effort, and support better decision-making. 

Learn how tools differ, where they work best together, and how to identify everyday tasks that are good candidates for automation or AI assisted workflows. We’ll discuss best practices for using AI responsibly and effectively to improve efficiency while maintaining accuracy and oversight. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the differences between tools and how they are commonly used 
• Identify tasks and workflows that are well-suited for automation or AI assistance 
• Apply best practices for using AI enabled tools responsibly in day-to-day work 

This session covers the key concepts of using Microsoft Power Automate. Learn how to set up and integrate the platform with Raiser’s Edge NXT and other software. Discover the Blackbaud Marketplace and the other applications available to extend the functionality and capabilities of numerous software. Get familiar with using templates and how to import and create a flow. Explore the template showcase to see other user-created templates available for your own automated flows.

Advanced Preparation:

• Students wishing to build a flow during this session must have the necessary Power Automate license. Use this link for more information on license options.

Learning Objectives:

• Navigate the Marketplace
• Build a new Power Automate flow
• Identify help resources

Consider registering for Power Automate: Exploring Formats, Hyperlinks, and Variables / Microsoft  in Session 2 and/or Power Automate: Architecting Automated Flows / Microsoft in Session 3 to continue your learning.
 

Has your organization received a group of gifts and needs to enter them efficiently into Raiser’s Edge NXT? 

In this session, learn how to use grid view batch to streamline your gift entry, simplify your process, and standardize your data entry.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify how grid view batch streamlines gift data entry
• Create a gift batch

Journal entries are the foundation for the financial activity of your organization. Knowing how to organize and manage your journal entries keeps your organization financially sound. In this session, learn how to use the journal entry functionality in Financial Edge NXT. Practice creating, editing, and posting journal entry batches. Leave this session with the confidence to manage your journal entry process efficiently.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the journal entry process
• Create and edit journal entries
• Approve, validate, and post batches
• Expedite your journal entry process with time-saving tips

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT / Fundamentals Exam 2026

In this session, discover what exports are and how they support your day-to-day work in Raiser’s Edge NXT unified view. 

You’ll explore how queries and exports work together to select the right data and extract it from Raiser’s Edge NXT. Learn how exported data can be used for tasks such as deeper analysis and creating communications to engage your constituents. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Explain what exports are and when to use them 
• Use queries to select and export specific data 
• Identify common ways exported data can be used for analysis or communications 

Suggested Prerequisites: Raiser’s Edge NXT / Query Instructor-Led or Raiser’s Edge NXT / Query eLearning

Make your donation forms an invitation—not a barrier—to online fundraising. In this session, learn how to use Raiser’s Edge NXT Online Giving to create easy to use, mobile-responsive standard donation forms that match your organization’s branding. Explore how Raiser’s Edge NXT updates and creates records for online donations and how to track your online fundraising efforts with reporting.

This is an advanced session; users should have working knowledge of gift records and constituent records. An understanding of batch gift processing is helpful but not necessary. Recommended prerequisites include Raiser’s Edge NXT Fundamentals sessions.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the importance of having mobile-friendly online giving forms
• Design standard online donation forms with the simple drag-and-drop editor
• Create thank-you emails
• Understand how to publish the donation form on an organization’s website
• Set up and add related website components
• Explain how constituent and gift records are created or updated when a donation is made
• Use reports to track success

Make the data contained in your Excel spreadsheet look its best with impressive charts and tables.

In this session, explore the data visualization tools built into Excel. Create customizable charts with your spreadsheet data. Use historical data to build a forecast sheet to plan for the future.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore data visualization options
• Create a chart using the data within a spreadsheet
• Adjust the look of a chart
• Build a forecast sheet

Note: Due to differences between operating systems, Blackbaud University courses supporting Microsoft products are best consumed on computers running the Windows operating system.
 

Records are the keystone in Financial Edge NXT. Whether it’s records of Accounts, Projects, Invoices, Vendors, or Assets, understanding and navigating the information contained on their tiles will go a long way toward getting the most out of Financial Edge NXT. 

In this session, identify and define the records within the system. Explore and edit tiles that make up a record. Add alerts and notes to an existing record. Create and build a new record. Understand the similar structure and navigation of all records. 

Users with little to no experience will benefit from this session.

Learning Objectives:

• Define records
• Identify record locations
• Understand the relationship of lists and records
• Reorganize tiles on a record
• Edit a record
• Create a new project record

In this session, learn how to clean up an existing Raiser’s Edge NXT database and apply key database configuration considerations to support your organization’s ongoing needs. 

You’ll explore common data cleanup challenges, discuss strategies for improving data quality and consistency, and examine how configuration decisions can prevent future issues. This session emphasizes thoughtful planning and best practices to help maintain a healthy, sustainable database as your organization grows. 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common data quality issues and cleanup opportunities in an existing Raiser’s Edge NXT database 
• Explain how database configuration choices can support cleaner data and more consistent workflows 
• Evaluate cleanup and configuration considerations to improve long-term database health and usability

Are you wasting time treating symptoms instead of solving the real problem? 
In this gamified troubleshooting session, students will tackle issues for accurate diagnosis, efficient investigation, and clear resolution. 

You’ll practice a repeatable troubleshooting framework that helps you isolate root causes, identify the best next test, and communicate fixes with confidence. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Apply a structured troubleshooting framework to get to the root cause 
• Select and interpret data to determine the most effective next diagnostic step 
• Document findings and communicate a resolution plan 

What if you could offload your payment process and reduce delays and errors when paying your vendors? Payment Assistant strives to do just that. Join us as we showcase all the ways Payment Assistant can make your Payables journey easier. 

Learning Objectives:

• Define Payment Assistant and explore common use cases
• Experience how the payment flow starts from Invoice to Payment
• Discover tips to get the most out of Payment Assistant

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT / Fundamentals Exam 2026

Are you ready to take your Power Automate knowledge to the next level? Come learn how to make your automations powerful with valuable tools that will allow you to further customize flows that connect with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT®, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT®, and other Blackbaud SKY API enabled solutions. In this session, you will build a basic flow from blank, based on the Raiser's Edge NXT Power Automate connector. Learn how to apply Number and Date Formatting to improve the appearance of your output. Use hyperlinks in your output to directly access Constituent and Gift records. Learn how arrays (variables) can be used to retrieve multiple values such as a list of Split Gifts.

Advanced Preparation:
•    Students wishing to build a flow during this session must have the necessary Power Automate license. Use this link for more information on license options.

Learning Objectives:

• Build a new flow
• Use formatting and hyperlinks
• Understand and apply variables

Suggested Prerequisites:

• This session will build on the basics introduced in Power Automate: Overview and Templates / Microsoft during Session 1. Power Automate: Overview and Templates / Microsoft is also offered in BlackbaudU Campus.

Manage gift records in your database, using Raiser's Edge NXT. Learn the basics of gift records and how to add gifts to your database.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the purpose of campaigns, funds, and appeals
• Create a gift record
• Understand the basics of Batch

In this session, explore database configurations that can help your organization tailor Raiser’s Edge NXT to support your unique fundraising, reporting, and operational needs. 

We’ll discuss how configuration choices such as structure, data standards, and administrative settings can impact data quality, consistency, and long-term usability. Learn how thoughtful configuration decisions support organizational goals and maintain a healthy, scalable database. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Describe how database configuration choices impact data quality, reporting, and daily workflows in Raiser’s Edge NXT 
• Identify common configuration areas that your organization can adjust to align with your processes and goals 
• Evaluate configuration decisions to balance flexibility, consistency, and long-term database health 

In this session, explore our instructor expert’s favorite Financial Edge NXT features that can help you work more efficiently and get the most out of the system. This session focuses on practical insights and best-practice use cases that can help you save time and work more confidently alongside AI in Financial Edge NXT. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Identify features in Financial Edge NXT that support common daily workflows 
• Explain how selected features can improve efficiency and consistency in your organization’s use of Financial Edge NXT 
• Apply recommended tips to streamline work and get more value from Financial Edge NXT 
• Utilize Artificial Intelligence to get the most out of your data

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT / Fundamentals Exam 2026

The core of Financial Edge NXT is the transactions we enter. Whether debits and credits in a journal entry or expense distributions on invoices, understanding the principles behind the data we enter is essential.

In this session, learn the mechanics of transaction entry within Financial Edge NXT and add context to the impact of different transactions on an organization’s financial reports.

Users with little to no experience will benefit from this session.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the components of transactions within Financial Edge NXT
• Enter transactions
• Describe the outcome of posting transactions to General Ledger

Balance is essential in life and in accounting. Having the proper tools at hand and knowing how to use the tools is the best way to prepare to reconcile your bank statement to your bank account in Financial Edge NXT. In this session, learn to use the tools available to help you streamline your reconciliation processes.

Learning Objectives: 

• Locate the tool necessary for reconciling
• Walk through the steps of reconciling in a sample database
• Generate reconciliation reports after reconciling

Suggested Prerequisites:

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT / Fundamentals Exam 2026

Pledges and recurring gifts are key sources of revenue for your organization. 

In this session, learn how to create, schedule, and manage pledge and automated recurring gifts in unified view. Grasp how payments are processed and applied to each gift type.

Learning Objectives:

• Compare and contrast pledges and automated recurring gifts
• Understand the relationship between commitments and contributions
• Create pledge and automated recurring gifts
• Understand how ongoing payments are added to the database

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Raiser’s Edge NXT / Fundamentals: Gift Management Instructor-Led or Raiser’s Edge NXT / Fundamentals: Gift Management eLearning

A lot of our time is spent trying to notice trends within our spreadsheet data, to varying degrees of success. But with Microsoft Excel’s built-in PivotTables, you can narrow down and focus on the data most important to you.

In this session, explore the benefits when a PivotTable would be helpful. Understand the PivotTable workflow. Create and modify PivotTables. Summarize and analyze your data with filters and slicers. Visualize your PivotTable table with a PivotChart.

Learning Objectives:

• Define and recognize uses for PivotTables
• Utilize the Recommended PivotTables feature
• Create a PivotTable from existing data
• Visualize PivotTable data with a PivotChart
• Filter and refresh results to keep your PivotTable data up-to-date

Note: Due to differences between operating systems, Blackbaud University courses supporting Microsoft products are best consumed on computers running the Windows operating system.

Suggested Prerequisites: 
•    Calculate Data with Microsoft Excel Functions and Formulas

Create smarter processes with intuitive, customizable flows. In this advanced session, learn how to build effective automated cloud flows using Microsoft Power Automate. Explore how triggers work to launch processes and how connectors and connections enable communication with other applications. Create automated flows from scratch and apply conditional True/False logic that guides actions down separate paths. Test flows both manually and automatically to ensure they run as intended.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain how to use triggers to automate cloud flows
• Describe how Power Automate uses connectors and connections to talk to other programs
• Build automated cloud flows from blank
• Add conditional True/False statements to flows and add actions to both paths
• Include dynamic content in flows
• Test automated flows both manually and automatically

Advanced Preparation:

• Students wishing to build a flow during this session must have the necessary Power Automate license. Use this link for more information on license options.

Suggested Prerequisites:

• This session will build on the basics introduced in Power Automate: Overview and Templates / Microsoft during Session 1. Power Automate: Overview and Templates / Microsoft is also offered in BlackbaudU Campus.

In this session, discover what exports are and how they support your day-to-day work in Raiser’s Edge NXT unified view. 

You’ll explore how queries and exports work together to select the right data and extract it from Raiser’s Edge NXT. Learn how exported data can be used for tasks such as deeper analysis and creating communications to engage your constituents. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Explain what exports are and when to use them 
• Use queries to select and export specific data 
• Identify common ways exported data can be used for analysis or communications 

Suggested Prerequisites: Raiser’s Edge NXT / Query Instructor-Led or Raiser’s Edge NXT / Query eLearning

Raiser’s Edge NXT has had a lot of features released and updated and it may be difficult to keep up-to-date with all that’s going on. In this session, we’ll discuss updates to gifts and get hands-on experience with the new functionality. 

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about new features and capabilities 
• Brainstorm a plan to drive awareness and adoption at your organization 

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Raiser’s Edge NXT / Fundamentals: Gift Management Instructor-Led or Raiser’s Edge NXT / Fundamentals: Gift Management eLearning

In this session, learn what queries are and how to use them effectively in Raiser’s Edge NXT unified view. Explore how to create groups of records and use them to curate your efforts to the right records.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the role of queries in Raiser’s Edge NXT
• Create a simple query
• Construct an advanced query using combining operators

You put a ton of information into your Financial Edge NXT database and then you need to get it out.

Having a good understanding of how reports are built and run will help you optimize your information and make good decisions. In this session, learn about the various types of reports available, how to edit and add new reports, and explore your exporting options.

Users with little to no experience will benefit from this session.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore report types
• Explore report parameters
• Add and edit reports
• Differentiate Export file types

Financial Edge NXT is a highly customizable system that lets you tailor your Receivables processes to fit your organization’s unique mission. In this session, learn how to streamline to create a deposit, add payment records, apply payments to your Client records, and make adjustments to your records after posting.

Learning Objectives:

• Create a Receivables deposit
• Add Payment records
• Apply Payment to Client records
• Post Receivables to the General Ledger
• Void Payment records

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT / Fundamentals Exam 2026

Join Blackbaud University in this fast-paced and informative session to learn about some of the troubleshooting tips you should know to fix some common problems you may (but hopefully won’t) run into. 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify self-help resources in and outside of Financial Edge NXT
• Explore settings areas used to prevent future issues
• Diagnose common errors and learn options to combat them

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT / Fundamentals Exam 2026

Accurate reporting is crucial for measuring success and creating a strategy for the future. Learn how to use popular reports to analyze and assess your organization’s constituents, gifts, and overall trends. Develop a fuller understanding of how accurate reporting benefits your organization.

Learning Objectives:

• Create reports
• Process reports
• Export reports

Have you ever asked yourself, “Where is this setting?” or “How can I change this coding?” In this session, we’ll uncover some of the mysteries of Financial Edge NXT and shine a light onto lesser-known tools available in Security, Settings, and more.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore Security Role Management and its impact
• Identify key business rules in various subledgers
• Define default accounts for subledgers
• Configure organizational information in fields and tables

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT / Fundamentals Exam 2026

In this session, learn how to clean up an existing Raiser’s Edge NXT database and apply key database configuration considerations to support your organization’s ongoing needs. 

You’ll explore common data cleanup challenges, discuss strategies for improving data quality and consistency, and examine how configuration decisions can prevent future issues. This session emphasizes thoughtful planning and best practices to help maintain a healthy, sustainable database as your organization grows. 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common data quality issues and cleanup opportunities in an existing Raiser’s Edge NXT database 
• Explain how database configuration choices can support cleaner data and more consistent workflows 
• Evaluate cleanup and configuration considerations to improve long-term database health and usability

Has your organization received a group of gifts and needs to enter them efficiently into Raiser’s Edge NXT? 

In this session, learn how to use grid view batch to streamline your gift entry, simplify your process, and standardize your data entry.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify how grid view batch streamlines gift data entry
• Create a gift batch

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Raiser’s Edge NXT / Fundamentals: Gift Management Instructor-Led or Raiser’s Edge NXT / Fundamentals: Gift Management eLearning

Drastically reduce the time you spend cleaning up cluttered raw data by harnessing the power of Microsoft Excel’s built-in Power Query. With Power Query, you can script your own step-by-step alterations to view your data the way you need it.

In this session, identify which types of source data you can modify with Power Query. Explore the options contained within the Power Query Editor. Clean up messy raw data with a few quick steps. Transform and adjust your data for readability, importing, or reporting.

Learning Objectives:

• Define and recognize uses for Power Query
• Identify View options to quickly identify trends
• Manage duplications and missing information within raw data
• Split and merge cell data
• Add new columns based on existing data
• Filter and refresh results to keep your tables up-to-date

Note: Due to differences between operating systems, Blackbaud University courses supporting Microsoft products are best consumed on computers running the Windows operating system.

Suggested Prerequisites: 
•    Customize and Format Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets

Raiser’s Edge NXT has had a lot of features released and updated and it may be difficult to keep up-to-date with all that’s going on. In this session, we’ll discuss updates to gifts and get hands-on experience with the new functionality. 

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about new features and capabilities 
• Brainstorm a plan to drive awareness and adoption at your organization 

Suggested Prerequisites: 

• Raiser’s Edge NXT / Fundamentals: Gift Management Instructor-Led or Raiser’s Edge NXT / Fundamentals: Gift Management eLearning

In this session, explore instructor favorite features of Raiser’s Edge NXT that can help you work more efficiently and get more value from the system. This session focuses on practical insights and best practice use cases that can help you save time and work more confidently in Raiser’s Edge NXT.
Identify features in Raiser’s Edge NXT that support common daily workflows
Explain how selected features can improve efficiency and consistency in your organization’s use of Raiser’s Edge NXT
Apply recommended tips to streamline work and get more value from Raiser’s Edge NXT