As we shared recently, September 15, 2027 is the date when Online Express and Blackbaud NetCommunity will officially shut down, and organizations still relying on either platform need to complete their move to Blackbaud Online Giving before then.
For some organizations, the challenge wasn’t the deadline. It was losing capabilities they depended on every day. Real-time receipting, title and suffix field collection, and write-in funds were among the most common reasons teams stayed on legacy forms. With these enhancements now available in Blackbaud Online Giving, some of the biggest barriers to migration have been removed.
What's new
Collect titles and suffixes on Standard Donation Forms, Constituent Forms, and Membership Forms
For organizations that use formal donor salutations, titles, and suffixes in acknowledgments, this release adds the ability to collect title and suffix information directly on Standard Donation Forms and on Constituent and Membership Forms. These fields give donors an easy way to share the name details your team may need for stewardship, receipts, acknowledgments, and other donor communications.
By collecting this information at the point of giving, organizations can support more accurate addressee and salutation data downstream, whether that means recognizing a donor as Dr., including a professional title, or honoring a suffix such as Jr., Sr., or III when appropriate.
Give donors more flexibility with write-in funds
This release also introduces write-in funds, a top-voted idea in the Blackbaud Idea Bank. Write-in funds give donors the option to enter a fund name directly on a Standard Donation Form when they don't see the fund they want to support.
- This helps organizations support more personalized giving experiences without needing to display every possible fund option on your form.
- Gift processors can change the gift designation from a default fund to the fund that best fits the donor's request in batch or on the gift record.
- For donors, write-in funds make it easier to direct their gift toward a specific program, initiative, memorial, tribute, or area of interest.
- For organizations, they provide a clearer signal of donor intent at the point of giving, helping teams follow up appropriately and route gifts with better context.
Faster receipts, without the wait
Previously, receipts were generated and sent using a Raiser's Edge NXT receipt email template only after a gift batch was approved in Raiser's Edge NXT, a workflow that suited organizations that wanted a review step but could mean hours or days between the gift and the acknowledgment.
Real-time receipting closes that gap. With the option enabled:
- The donor's confirmation email, which is already sent automatically after a donation transaction, now includes the Raiser's Edge NXT receipt PDF attached.
- No batch approval is required, no manual follow-up, and no delay between the gift and the thank-you.
Organizations that still want a review step can keep the batch-approved workflow; real-time receipting is an option, not a replacement.
Part of a bigger commitment to the donor experience
These updates do more than remove migration barriers. They improve the giving experience itself. Donors can receive receipts immediately, direct gifts to the causes they care about, and provide the information organizations need to recognize them appropriately. Fundraising teams spend less time resolving follow-up questions (“Can you send me a copy of my receipt?”) and correcting data after the fact.
It's a better experience for donors, and a more efficient process for the teams who serve them.
We're continuing to invest in the moments that make giving feel effortless, personal, and rewarding, and we'll be sharing more donor experience improvements in future releases.
Availability
Ready to get started? These features are available now in Blackbaud Online Giving.
