This might seem like a no-brainer, but the first question to ask yourself when deciding between posting in Community and contacting support is "can I still work within my Blackbaud product"? If the answer is yes, I recommend asking your question in the Community first. That way you can continue working while the awesome members of the Community respond with their ideas, tips, tricks, and feedback. If the answer is no and you are hosted by Blackbaud, I recommend checking the hosting status pages (linked from community) first and then making your decision from what you learn there. If the answer is no and you are not hosted by Blackbaud, I suggest contacting your IT team first and then working with them to determine if you need to engage support.

The second question should be "do I know how to do this"? If you don't know how to do something in your product, I recommend asking the Community first. There are a ton of experts in our site, including our education team, who would be happy to share resources, ideas, tips, and tricks with you to help you learn how to do something. If you think you know how to do something, but aren't getting the result you expected and you have some time before you need to deliver the result, I'd recommend asking the Community first. Community members are pretty great at helping troubleshoot tricky situations. Finally, if you aren't getting the result you expected and you're on a tight deadline, you might consider contacting support. 

This third question comes from the unique scenarios that may arise, based on how your organization works. These idiosyncracies sometimes cause unexpected results. In these cases, the Community should be your first stop. The volume of users in the site means that there is most likely someone else who has encountered something similar and can help you work through those unexpected surprises. Plus, you'll get the perspective of other users who may have appraoched the same goals in many different ways. With more information, you can determine what will work best for you and your organization. 

Do you have an idea that you would like feedback on? This is a purely Community-type question. Post it and then sit back and watch the ideas and feedback roll in!

And finally, if you are hoping to connect with other people who have similar work experiences to your own, the Community is the place to be! The Community is the best place to build out a network of peers to help you succeed!