Is Blackbaud the new Network for Good?
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose..."
Turns out there is a whole lot in a name. I just recommended a client to use the emarketing service with Network for Good called EmailNow, which utilizes the Emma emarketing engine to provide a strong solution for nonprofits. A few days later, I get an email back from the client asking me "Which EmailNow should I use?" I thought there was only really one choice, so I asked for more clarification.
Meanwhile that same day, I learned about a new online fundraising suite from Blackbaud called BlackbaudNow, which offers, guess what - EmailNow! Also part of the suite is DonorNow (Network for Good offers DonateNow) and WebNow. Turns out my client had been forwarded the same information and did not know what to buy. Having not spoken with either Blackbaud or Network for Good, I am not sure whether this is consensual name sharing or infringement. But I do know it is confusing.
The BlackbaudNow suite offers a very simple web donation system. WebNow allows you to select from handful of web templates and customize the content of the 6 stock pages available. DonorNow allows you to connect your PayPal account to the online donation page on your site. And email now tracks first name, last name and emails for folks donating. Thats it. Very basic, very easy. The service itself is free - Blackbaud will take 4.95% plus 30 cents per donation received as compensation. In just a few minutes, I was able to have a very simple website created, link to my PayPal account up and begin accepting donations online. It remains to be seen if the simplicity of setup and implementation will outweigh the costs of limited flexibility, but I can see this service being appealing for very small/startup nonprofits without any fundraising program yet.
For me, it is very difficult to move past the name issue. Without additional explanation, it smacks of infringement and dilutes the EmailNow brand we know from Network for Good. I will look forward to learning more from the vendors clarifying this point.
Turns out there is a whole lot in a name. I just recommended a client to use the emarketing service with Network for Good called EmailNow, which utilizes the Emma emarketing engine to provide a strong solution for nonprofits. A few days later, I get an email back from the client asking me "Which EmailNow should I use?" I thought there was only really one choice, so I asked for more clarification.
Meanwhile that same day, I learned about a new online fundraising suite from Blackbaud called BlackbaudNow, which offers, guess what - EmailNow! Also part of the suite is DonorNow (Network for Good offers DonateNow) and WebNow. Turns out my client had been forwarded the same information and did not know what to buy. Having not spoken with either Blackbaud or Network for Good, I am not sure whether this is consensual name sharing or infringement. But I do know it is confusing.
The BlackbaudNow suite offers a very simple web donation system. WebNow allows you to select from handful of web templates and customize the content of the 6 stock pages available. DonorNow allows you to connect your PayPal account to the online donation page on your site. And email now tracks first name, last name and emails for folks donating. Thats it. Very basic, very easy. The service itself is free - Blackbaud will take 4.95% plus 30 cents per donation received as compensation. In just a few minutes, I was able to have a very simple website created, link to my PayPal account up and begin accepting donations online. It remains to be seen if the simplicity of setup and implementation will outweigh the costs of limited flexibility, but I can see this service being appealing for very small/startup nonprofits without any fundraising program yet.
For me, it is very difficult to move past the name issue. Without additional explanation, it smacks of infringement and dilutes the EmailNow brand we know from Network for Good. I will look forward to learning more from the vendors clarifying this point.
Labels: fundraising, software
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3 Comments:
Eric - thanks for the review. I can't get past the 4.95%, which strikes me as rather a lot, especially compared to:
Google Checkout: Free for now
Paypal and Amason: in the 2.9% range
Skipjack (via Tech Soup) in the 2.35% range.
Each has different prices for volume and so on -but still. 4.95% seems rather steep!
Agreed, its a lot of money as far as transaction fees go. By the way, Michelle writes some interesting comments on her blog. I agree that it may be in part a strategy for hooking nonprofits into bigger services. I expect though, if they get lots of signups, that it will not need to be a lost leader given the fees.
We all had better hope that Blackbaud is not the new Network for Good! :)
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