Best Of

Hi All,

This is my social media post from yesterday:

The one-year countdown begins today. Blackbaud will pull the plug on RENXT Database View for good. No extensions, no last-minute reprieve. Web View aka Unified View becomes the only view.

If you've spent any time in the forums, you know how a lot of people feel about that. It reads like a wake: "Please don't end Database View." "I got all the tools I need." "RIP to the thing that actually worked." I get it. I've sat with fundraising staff who treat Database View like a beloved coworker who's retiring—except this coworker isn't leaving quietly; they're being escorted out.

But here's the thing about the next year: it's the same amount of time whether you spend it grieving or building. So start building. Here is a high-level plan to consider. The caveat: as Blackbaud adjusts its rollout, you may need to adjust your preparation tasks. However, the core fundamentals still apply. From the king of using sports analogies, you're in the boxing ring for 12 rounds (months) so you need to roll with the punches.

Months 1–3: Take real inventory, not inventory of complaints. If you haven't already, get everything down on paper. What are your critical processes, daily tasks, queries, reports, exports, etc. Document everything that's critical to your business and track it over the next year.

Months 4–6: Watch the gaps close and reassign the work. Blackbaud has been closing functionality gaps faster than ever. Don't assume the gap you complained about in March is still there in July. Re-check the list quarterly, perhaps even monthly, and as each capability lands in Web View, formally move that task off Database View.

Months 7–9: Run parallel, on purpose. This is the part everyone skips and regrets. Pick your most Database-View-dependent staff members and have them run their real, everyday work exclusively in Web View for a defined stretch — not a training sandbox, their actual gift entry, their actual queries. You'll surface the workflow problems now, while you still have a fallback, instead of in month 12 when you don't.

Months 10–12: Budget for the human part, not just the technical part. Change management will be so important in helping people who've built years of muscle memory around a screen layout let go of it without feeling like their expertise is being erased.

All Months and beyond: Keep engaged with the forums, user groups and the RENXT Idea Bank. Remember, 9/15/27 will come and go but product updates will continue.

The next year will probably fly by, but a year is still a long runway. Remember that there is no data to convert and no switch your organization needs to flip. Blackbaud will handle the final switch, and in many ways the transition has already been underway for several years.

September 15, 2027, isn't a deadline to dread. It's the day the training wheels come off. You have exactly one year to make sure your organization is ready to work cleanly, quickly, and confidently in Web View when it does.

As schools, we rely heavily on Import/Export functionality to keep our records accurate, efficient, and scalable. In Database View, this feature has been essential for managing bulk updates, onboarding new students and families, and ensuring data integrity across advancement and operations.

With Blackbaud’s transition to NXT beginning next year, I’ve noticed that Import/Export isn’t yet fully available in web view. This raises important questions for schools that depend on these workflows:

1. How will Import/Export in NXT differ from Database View?
2. What’s the timeline for full availability in NXT?
3. How should schools prepare for the transition period when both views are in use?

Import/Export is not just a convenience. It’s a cornerstone of effective data management. As institutions, we need clarity on how this functionality will evolve to support our operational and advancement needs.

I’d love to hear from Blackbaud and other schools: how are you planning for this change, and what strategies are you considering to ensure a smooth transition?

See this is what Blackbaud is doing with this whole RE NXT chaos, vultures are swooping in circles as they smell this. Bad enough so many have to use third parties and all these other connectors and shell out even more money. GOOD GRIEF.

Just keep Database View and make it better. BUT at the same time, why are people predicting what may or may not happen or "break", when the migration is not even completed yet. I get being prepared, but the RE NXT thing has not been complete yet, so to "predict" something is not helpful. Wait till all the facts are in.