Online Express vs. Luminate

Kathy Geffen

Does anyone have materials or information they can point me to that explains the difference between Online Express vs. Luminate? Why are there two products? What does one do that the other doesn't?

Austen Brown

Hi Kathy - Luminate Online (LO) is a CRM that has built in capabilities to send emails and create donation pages. Whereas, Online Express (OLX) is an add-on to Raiser’s Edge (RE), which provides the option to send emails and create donation pages.

With LO you can do everything in one place, and depending on how customized you want to go with your email formatting you can view the code (HTML/css) and make specific changes. With OLX email data pulls have to happen in RE and then are uploaded into OLX, the email editing in OLX is easier to use but you get less functionality/customization.

There is also a significant cost difference between the two products especially if you already have RE-NXT, where OLX is usually included in the NXT contract.

Kathy Geffen

Thank you. We already have RENXT, so I am trying to understand why would I consider Luminate vs. what is already built in? Are there benefits to LO that one would not get from OLX?

Austen Brown

Hi Kathy - The primary differences between the two would be LO is its own CRM but has the potential to customize every part of the email process from list built in segmenting to email design, where as OLX is an add-on product to RE and provides a more out-of-the-box experience. The primary trade off is customization/complexity vs. out-of-the-box functionality/simplicity.

Take a look at the resources below; if you still have questions reach out to your Account Rep or Customer Success Rep and ask for a side-by-side comparison of the products.

Resources:

• Luminate Online Info Page
• Online Express Info Page

Faith Murray

It has been a few years since I have researched the differences. LO seemed to have a much more robust internet marketing toolpack, specifically with its “behavioral campaigns” that “track every click and every action” and include “automated, action-triggered follow-up messages”. I seem to remember there was the ability for donors to update their own credit card info in LO as well, through a Donor Self Service Center – both big pluses. However, the price point difference between our existing RE subscription, and the quote we got for LO was vast, and we determined that the potential revenue increase did not merit the increased costs for our situation.