Does an event registrant need to be a constituent in RE in order for them to register online using RE NXT form?

Deidre Goodrich
Deidre Goodrich
Fourth Anniversary Facilitator 1
in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussions
Hello all,

I don't have the event module, but we are able to use the event registration form in RE NXT. This is our first time. When someone registers via this online form, do they need to be a constituent in our database for the registration to go through? I see this message below, which concerns me.


Also, most people will register their company, then provide a contact name and information. Does the company need to be in the database? Does the contact name need to be in the database?


Thanks from the newbie! ?
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  • Faith Murray
    Faith Murray Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 First Reply Name Dropper
    Hi Deidre, the answer is yes and then again, maybe not.


    Yes, NXT requires you to link your participant to a constituent record. See the Knowledgebase articles here on Guests and on Participants. So, if you are playing by the book, you would need to either add a bunch of new constituent records, OR, you may be able to create one Master participant record with all non-constituents listed as its guests. Organizations are the same way. Most times, the Organization will be the participant or Sponsor, with a constituent record, and the contact will be entered as a guest.


    That being said, in OLX in database view, we have a workaround, and I'm not sure if NXT events work the same way. But, in OLX when you search for a constituent (in the process of linking the registrant to a constituent record), you have the ability to over-write the participant's name with any value. This is done so that you can link the donor-misspelled "Tom Wildnig" with your "Thomas Wilding" record, or the "St. Marys Church" with the "Saint Mary's Parish" record in RE. What this also allows you to do is to re-write the name value to anything you like - so you can, hypothetically, replace the registrant's name with a value already in the database (perhaps a new record called "General Registrant"); then you may be able to go back into the participant record after download and adjust the Name Tag values and Custom fields to the appropriate name values. A lot of work - but, if you don't want to create a bunch of new registrants with minimal address data that you'll never see again, it might be worth it. We don't actually do this for our events, but we do do this for a number of our Tributes, which also must be linked to an existing constituent record.
  • Deidre Goodrich
    Deidre Goodrich
    Fourth Anniversary Facilitator 1
    Faith, thank you very much for this information!


    One thing I'm trying to understand is that if a person registers for our event online, using the NXT event form (not Online Express), and they are NOT yet a constituent in our database, what happens? Will their registration be accepted and we can add them later? Or will they be told they cannot register? We're working on testing this afternoon, but haven't gotten to that point yet.
  • Faith Murray
    Faith Murray Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 First Reply Name Dropper
    They can still register, but you will need to add them during the download process afterward.
  • Miki Martin
    Miki Martin Community All-Star
    Kudos 5 Fifth Anniversary January 2026 Monthly Challenge bbcon 2025 Attendee Badge
    Deidre, are these individuals and/or organizations ones you foresee having interactions with later? If they are possible donors or in another way have a relationship with your organization, it may be worth it to add them as Constituents. I completely understand not wanting to add everyone, but if they end up writing a check they will need to be in the database anyway, per my understanding. You could always create a Constituent Code to note them as a Friend or Individual or something that easily shows they're perhaps just starting a relationship with you all or something. These new relationships could end up being an open door for new donors, maybe even major ones.


    I have had to add many new Constituents lately because people are sending in memorials for an alum that passed. They won't receive any of our mailings because of solicit codes we add and the constituent code we use but I still have to add them since they' re giving us money. As for the organization and contacts, if the contact has no separate interaction with your organization apart from being the contact for the organization, I would just add them as a contact under the organization (like a spouse is added when they're not both constituents). That way you have their information but don't need the additional information a constituent requires.


    I've only been using RE a year now so there's still a lot to learn. I think Faith has some really helpful information, too. Good luck!
  • Deidre Goodrich
    Deidre Goodrich
    Fourth Anniversary Facilitator 1

    Thank you, Mike! Appreciate your advice.

    Dee
    Goodrich

    (she/her)

    Foundation Director

    Office 860.827.4826

    Cell 860.348.6743

    dgoodrich@hfsc.org


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