This group is for Raiser's Edge users to connect, brainstorm ideas, share challenges, get feedback, and recommend solutions to one another. This group is run by volunteers and was started over 15 years ago by Robert Reed of the San Diego Natural History Museum. Meetings were held quarterly with Robert and the San Diego Natural History Museum as wonderful hosts. Around 2017 the San Diego Natural History Museum decided to switch from Raiser’s Edge to Altru and our fearless leader had to step down.

Cheri Choy bravely took the torch from Robert so the user group could continue to be a valuable asset to the community. Since then we have graciously been hosted by the San Diego Community Foundation, Girl Scouts of San Diego, and the San Diego Humane Society. In the past few years, Jerry Gombatto and Crystal Chouinard have stepped up to help support Cheri in leading the group. Most recently, Colleen McEniry, Cherly Walczak, and Tim Whipple joined the facilitators committee and it great to see not only the committee but also the group expanding.

During the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic the group stopped meeting. A few months into the pandemic Cheri realized that the community was in need of the group meetings and it was decided to start meeting virtually. The group voiced an interest in meeting for an hour once a month since virtual meetings are so convenient and the extra support was appreciated.

Since then we have been meeting on the first Wednesday of the month at 9:30am to discuss all things Raiser’s Edge, and then some. We have covered topics from basic how-to questions, advanced troubleshooting, analytics, security settings, data clean-up, and general industry hurdles.

All questions are welcome, and we all have something to learn or be reminded about. This is a welcoming environment, and we are all here to support and encourage each other. We were all new to the field at one point and either relied on this group to learn and grow, or wished that we had had this group at the beginning of our Raiser’s Edge journey.

The Raiser's Edge Users Group San Diego is neither supported nor endorsed by Blackbaud, Inc. This group is independent from Blackbaud and other user groups and forums. However, there are a few Blackaud employees that are on the email distribution list.

Join us for this fun and informal discussion. This group is based around the professional roles of database managers, gift processors, and others who want to discuss the day-to-day management of the Raiser's Edge database. The facilitators will prepare a topic to discuss, but members are encouraged to bring questions or topics for the group.

We know how valuable it is to connect with peers that work in similar positions; it can be one of the most valuable resources of a nonprofit professional. We are the people who can relate to the many tactical and strategic challenges you juggle in your work as a professional. We are your people.