Constant Contact constituent without a current RE NXT constituent record

Jane Kidd-Hantscher
Jane Kidd-Hantscher
Third Anniversary
edited January 22 in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussions

We currently have a CC subscription with nearly 10,000 contacts. If we use the RE NXT and CC integration, how are CC constituents brought into RE NXT if they are not currently a constituent in that system? Eg: they are on our CC distribution list however have not ever donated or participated in an event so not in RE NXT? We are concerned about the integration creating many new RE records that may not be productive going forward and using up constituent bandwidth in our subscription

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Answers

  • Matthew Montoya
    Matthew Montoya
    Kudos 1 First Reply Name Dropper Facilitator 1

    Hi there @Jane Kidd-Hantscher !

    The short answer is no, and this is actually one of the most powerful strategic advantages of the integration! The system is designed to act as a smart gatekeeper for your database.

    1. Constant Contact as Your "Cultivation Engine"

    Think of Constant Contact as a high-performance "waiting room" or cultivation space. When new people sign up for your newsletter via your website or social media, they stay in Constant Contact.

    • The Benefit: You can communicate with, educate, and inspire these 10,000 leads without them ever touching your Raiser's Edge NXT constituent limit.
    • The Goal: You get to "audition" these leads. You can use Constant Contact's AI to send them personalized impact stories and see who is actually clicking and engaging before you ever decide to make them a formal part of your database.

    2. Smart Matching, Not Duplication

    The integration uses the Primary Email Address as the "handshake" between the two systems:

    • If they already exist in RE NXT: The two records link instantly. All that great engagement data (opens/clicks) starts flowing onto their existing record so your gift officers can see their interest.
    • If they don't exist in RE NXT: They stay safely in Constant Contact. No "ghost" records or duplicates are created in your Raiser's Edge environment.

    3. Seamless Graduation to "Constituent" Status

    The most exciting part happens when one of those leads finally hits a milestone—like making their first gift or signing up for a high-level volunteer role.

    • When you are ready to bring them into Raiser's Edge NXT, you simply import them.
    • Because the email address is the unique key, the integration will automatically connect the new RE NXT record to their existing Constant Contact history.
    • You don't lose any of that previous engagement data; the system simply "promotes" them from a lead to a constituent and continues updating that same record with any new data moving forward.
  • Heather Reid
    Heather Reid
    First Anniversary Kudos 1 Facilitator 1 Blackbaud Certified

    Can you please clarify how the integration handles multiple RE NXT accounts with the same email address? For example - we have two constituents who have the same Primary Email Address in RE NXT. One is a volunteer with our organization, who wants to receive our newsletters, volunteer emails, etc. And the other is the volunteer's husband who has donated to our organization, using the email address he shares with his wife. If the wife's account is on our Constituent List in RE NXT to use for the distribution of a mass email from Constant Contact that we are sending to volunteers, does the Constant Contact activity show on the Constituent Engagement tile in the wife's RE NXT account, or the husband's RE NXT account?

    What about if our Constituent List in RE NXT includes the husband's account as we are sending a mass email from Constant Contact to all of our constituents who donated this year? Will this email show in the Constituent Engagement tile in the husband's account?

  • Matthew Montoya
    Matthew Montoya
    Kudos 1 First Reply Name Dropper Facilitator 1

    Hello @Heather Reid !

    This is a fantastic and very common "real-world" scenario. Dealing with households that share a single email address is a classic challenge for database managers, and it’s a high-priority area for our teams.

    Here is how you can explain the current data flow and the exciting future of this feature:

    Shared Email Addresses: Who Gets the Credit?

    When two different constituents in Raiser's Edge NXT (RE NXT) share the exact same primary email address, the integration currently follows a "First-Match" logic. Here is how that plays out in your volunteer/husband example:

    1. The Sync: How it Works Today

    Constant Contact identifies unique records by their email address. Currently, when you sync your RE NXT lists:

    • The system identifies one unique contact record in Constant Contact for that email address.
    • Usually, the constituent who was synced most recently is the one "linked" to that record. If both are on the same list, it typically defaults to the first one the system processes.

    2. Where does the Engagement Data go?

    This affects your Constituent Engagement tile:

    • The Linked Record: Engagement data (opens/clicks) currently appears on the RE NXT record that is actively mapped to the Constant Contact contact.
    • The "Shared" Experience: If the wife’s record is the one linked, the engagement from the volunteer newsletter will show up on her tile. However, if you then send a donor appeal to the husband using that same email, those clicks will likely also show up on the wife’s tile because the systems are currently connected via that single shared email identity.

    3. Looking Ahead: A Partnership of Constant Improvement

    We know how important it is for you to have a 1:1 relationship with every supporter, even those sharing an inbox.

    Both Blackbaud and Constant Contact are working closely together to allow for more flexibility in the future. We are constantly upgrading the integration and investing in features that help you maximize your time and efforts—including more sophisticated ways to handle household data and multi-constituent matching. Our goal is to ensure your database reflects the true, individual impact of every person you serve.

    4. Pro-Tip: The "Plus-Address" Workaround

    Until that next phase of flexibility rolls out, you can use Email Plus-Addressing (supported by most modern email providers like Gmail or Outlook):

    • Change the husband’s email in RE NXT to familyname+husband@gmail .com.
    • Keep the wife’s as familyname@gmail .com.
    • The result: Emails still go to the exact same shared inbox, but the integration sees them as unique. This ensures the husband’s donor engagement stays on his record and the wife’s volunteer engagement stays on hers.

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