Connecting to Raiser's Edge NXT

12 Sep 2019

Learn how to connect up your Funraisin platform to Raiser's Edge NXT.

The Funraisin Raisers Edge integration comprises of a one-way sync from Funraisin to Raisers Edge NXT CRM that operates on a schedule. This schedule can be altered to accommodate different volumes, with common schedules being anywhere from daily, bi-daily to every 30 minutes.

As part of the standard integration you will be required to install a Raisers Edge application (See below), we can provide links for the package installation or you can provide us with access to your Raisers Edge account and we can install it on your behalf.

This article will cover:

We have another support article on Default Mapping.

Creating a Raisers Edge application

To create a Raisers Edge application you must go to the apps section of your Blackbaud developer account: https://developer.blackbaud.com/apps/. This guide assumes that you have the appropriate credentials to access this section.

Once inside the application section, click the "Add" button under the My Applications heading.

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Fill all of the mandatory fields as shown in the form. Your Funraisin platform will require specific settings for the Application website URL and Redirect URIs:

Application website URL = the base URL of your Funraisin site. E.g. https://your-funraisin-site.com

Note that both of this value must be https and not http.

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When you save the application you will be redirected to the Raisers Edge application settings page. 

The first step on this page is to update the Redirect URIs

The correct Redirect URI is your platform's Raisers Edge callback URL. E.g https://your-charity.org.au/management/raisersedge/savetoken

 

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The second step on this page is to update the Scopes

The application will need full data access, so this option should be selected.

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For th next portion of this process, you will need to note down the values for the Application ID and the Application secret

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Now that you have created your application, log in to your Raisers Edge database (this is typically within the domain https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/) and Click on the hamburger menu icon in the top left.

Then select Marketplace from the dropdown that appears.

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Once the page has loaded, select Manage from the top menu

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Once the page has loaded, select Manage from the top menu

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Enter your Application ID from the previous step and select save. 

Next, log in to your Funraisn platform and navigate to /management/raisersedge/config

Configuration

Once you have created and application within Raiser's Edge and have associated it to your database, you can now configure your application within the Funraisin platform.

Please note: the Raiser's Edge module is not activated by default in most Funrasin platforms. If you cannot see the Raiser's Edge module under Integrations in your administration menu (as shown below) please contact Funraisin support and we can activate it for you.

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Configuration Settings

Once your Raiser's Edge module is installed navigate within your platform to:

Integrations > Raiser's Edge (NXT) 

Here you will be asked to configure your account. 

Step 1. Add the application ID and secret key for your application configured above.

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Step 2. Add Raiser's Edge specific information

When sending records to Raiser's Edge NXT we are required to include some values which are customised to each user's installation. Some of these values do not exist by default in the Raiser's Edge system and will need to be manually created before data can start being synched.

The custom fields required are to be entered on the configuration page of your Funraisin administration account for Raiser's Edge and required the following values.

Consent Category: Used when setting Constituent Consent channels in the Raiser's Edge platform

Constituent Code: Used for the description field when setting Constituent Codes

Funds:

Each financial transaction with Funraisin will be recorded within Raiser's Edge NXT as a Gift (documentation here). When a new gift is recorded it contains a gift splits object, within which a fund ID is required. Funraisin set's the following different fund ids: 

Donation Fund ID: A donation to a cause

Registration Fund ID: A registration fee paid by a member of a cause

Shop Fund ID: A purchase made through your Funraisin shop

Raffle Fund ID: A raffle ticket sale recorded by a raffle event in your Funraisin system.

Please note: The above fund ID's in the configuration section of the Raiser's Edge NXT module are globally used values for the various supported fund types on a platform wide level.

Some clients require different funds to be used for different events or donation drives, in these cases funds ID's can be overwritten in the event administration section of your Funraisin platform.

Mapping

To view our default mapping to Raiser's edge, head to this support article.

Initialisation

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When you have your Raiser's Edge application created and associated to your database and your Funraisin platform configured above you are ready to start sending data to your Raiser's Edge NXT account.

To send data to your account you will need to have a scheduled event active on your platform to have your data start submitting. In some cases where your platform has a large amount of historical data to be synced you may need to have an initial load of data to your Raiser's Edge account to have your new data appear in a timely fashion.

When you reach this point please contact us with a support ticket and we will work with you to load your initial data and set new records to be integrated to your Raiser's Edge database on a set schedule.

De-Duping

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As records sync, de-duping will occur for all Contacts and Accounts to try to avoid duplicate records. De-duping on Contacts will check for an existing match on First name, Last name and Email address. De-duping on Accounts will check on Account name.

ID Handling

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All Funraisin objects support a field known as “CRM ID” which is used to store the IDs from external data sources. As data syncs to Raisers Edge, the CRM ID for each object is stored in our own CRM ID for that object so that you are at any time able to edit an ID within your Funraisin platform.

Limits

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The Funraisin > Raisers Edge sync uses the Blackbaud Sky API so each record that is synced will use at least 1 API call but often a single record will require 2-3 API calls depending on the data being synced.

A site catering for example 10,000 transactions per day could typically require up to 30,000 API calls per day.

Should an API limit be hit when syncing, the sync will retry later which depending on the schedule this could be with an hour or the next day.

For all Raisers Edge related support enquiries please pop in a support ticket in your Funraisin admin.