Studying for a Blackbaud Fundamentals or Pro Certification?

Brandon Frank
Brandon Frank
Sixth Anniversary Kudos 1 Participant Facilitator 1
in Organizational Best Practices General Discussions

Are you actively preparing for a Blackbaud Fundamentals or Pro certification? I finished a few Fundamentals exams recently and want to venture into Pro certification soon!

https://www.blackbaud.com/training-support/training/blackbaud-certification

Comments

  • Brandon Frank
    Brandon Frank
    Sixth Anniversary Kudos 1 Participant Facilitator 1

    Hello, Lia. I fall into the same category with CRM in really on daily experience. I'm hoping that CRM Fundamentals & Pro certification become available for CRM in the future!

  • Allison King
    Allison King Blackbaud Employee
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant

    Hey Lia,
    You are certainly welcome to try your hand at the Pro certification without taking any courses from Blackbaud University. You have two chances to pass the exam. If you pass it on the first try, well done. If not, you should be able to recognize which areas you were less familiar with and take the corresponding courses before you attempt it again.

  • Lia Wilson
    Lia Wilson
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 1 Participant Facilitator 1

    Thanks, Allison. I have been able to take the certification and pass it in the past based on my experience. Although if time ever allows, I'd like to take some of the classes just to learn more. :D

  • Miki Martin
    Miki Martin Community All-Star
    Kudos 5 Fifth Anniversary January 2026 Monthly Challenge bbcon 2025 Attendee Badge

    I did both Fundamentals and Pro certifications last year since I was new to Raiser's Edge. I felt like between the courses and my daily use that helped me prepare. Having the ability to reference materials during the exam was nice to just double-check some things.

  • Lia Wilson
    Lia Wilson
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 1 Participant Facilitator 1

    Miki, it was great to take it with an “open book.” I definitely took advantage of being able to reference the database. :D

  • Lia Wilson
    Lia Wilson
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 1 Participant Facilitator 1

    Patti, I would LOVE to know that information because it would tell me what I need to work on learning.

  • Patti Hommes
    Patti Hommes Community All-Star
    Seventh Anniversary Kudos 5 Commented in Discussion PowerUp Challenge #3 Gift Management

    Patti, I would LOVE to know that information because it would tell me what I need to work on learning.

    Right???? It's very frustrating to not know what you got wrong.

  • Crystal Bruce
    Crystal Bruce admin
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Commented in Discussion First Reply

    Great discussion, I'm moving this over to Organizational Best Practices for more eyes. Thanks!

  • Chris Nungesser
    Chris Nungesser
    Fifth Anniversary Kudos 3 Name Dropper Participant

    I was interested in going to Pro certification when I was using Raiser's Edge. However, it's not something I've considered much since moving over to Altru. The Altru system just does so many things and much of it does not intersect with my area of focus (I don't mess with Group Sales, Ticketing, etc.). So I feel like it would be challenging to pass or would take time away from me focusing on my real responsibilities. Perhaps I'll go for it one day.

  • Austen Brown
    Austen Brown Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 PowerUp Challenge: Product Update Briefing Feedback Task 3 bbcon 2025 Attendee Badge

    I took both exams without going through the recommended course track for BBU. I reviewed the exam outlines prior to trying the exams, and read user guides on the areas I felt I was less familiar with. The Pro exam is much harder than the Fundamentals, but there is plenty of time to work through questions and reference what you need to along the way. Pay particular attention to True/False questions, as they tend to have tricky wording.

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