Packages in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: What They Are, How to Use Them, and What's Coming Next

Behind every appeal is a story about what matters to your organization. Packages reveal the approach you took and the strategies that proved most effective.

Despite being one of the most powerful tools in Raiser's Edge NXT for understanding campaign performance, packages are also one of the most misunderstood. Some organizations use them extensively. Many use them lightly. And most are somewhere in between—tracking packages but not yet using them to learn and strengthen performance.

This post covers what packages are, why they matter, how organizations are using them today, what's new, and where we're headed next.

What are packages and where did the name come from?

The term "package" comes from traditional direct mail fundraising, where each solicitation was literally a different physical package: a different envelope size, a different letter, a different reply card. Each variation was tracked separately so organizations could answer a simple but critical question:

"Which version of our appeal actually drove the best results?"

That question hasn't changed. But packages have evolved far beyond the mailbox.

What packages mean today

In Raiser's Edge NXT, a package represents any version, variation, or test within an appeal. That could be:

• Email A vs. Email B—different subject lines or messaging
• Postcard vs. letter vs. digital ad—different channels
• Segment 1 vs. Segment 2—different audiences
• Year-end vs. spring renewal—different timing within a campaign
• Event follow-up vs. cold outreach—different engagement contexts

Packages give you a structured way to compare these variations—not just track that they happened, but understand which ones drove gifts, donors, and revenue.How packages support the bigger picture.

Understanding how a package fits into an appeal can make their usefulness much clearer. Fundraising in Raiser’s Edge NXT follows a straightforward hierarchy, starting with the broadest goal and narrowing down to the most specific details:

• Campaign: The big picture goal you are working towards (for example, “2026 Annual Fund”).
• Fund: The specific purpose for the funds raised (for example, “General Operating” or “Scholarships”).
• Appeal: How you asked; a specific solicitation or outreach (for example, “Spring 2026 Appeal”).
• Package: A variation within that appeal; a specific version, channel, segment, or test (for example, “Spring 2026–Email A” and “Spring 2026–Direct Mail”).

The key distinction: an appeal is the ask, and a package is a variation of that ask. The appeal answers “how did we ask?” while the package answers “which version led to this gift?” Since appeals can include multiple packages, you gain valuable insights for comparing results and refining your strategy.

Best practice: Think of packages as experiments

The most effective organizations treat packages like a testing framework:

Define what you're testing—channel, creative, audience, timing

Track each variation as a package within the appeal

Compare results—which package drove the most gifts? The highest average? The best ROI?

Apply what you learned to the next appeal

This approach turns every appeal into a learning opportunity, not just a fundraising effort.

How organizations are using packages today.

We looked at package usage across all Raiser’s Edge NXT customers to understand how packages are being used in practice.

The big picture

Most organizations are now using packages but most are just scratching the surface. A smaller group is taking full advantage and running them at scale.

• 75.7% of organizations have incorporated packages into least one appeal.
• However, only 17.6% of appeals include a package—meaning most appeals still don’t use them.
• For appeals that do use packages, the median number of packages is two, and the most common (mode) is one. The average mean is higher, around 11 packages, but that’s because a few organizations are heavy users.

The most segmented appeal in our data includes more than 180,000 package variations. This reflects extensive, multichannel testing over time, often tied to evergreen appeals, which we generally advise against using.

What the range tells us

The opportunity

The data reveals a clear trend: organizations that use packages extensively gain more value by treating them as a decision-making tool, rather than a simple tracking field. They compare, learn, and refine their approach, appeal after appeal, year after year.

If your organization uses packages lightly or has yet to start, now is the perfect time. Managing them and viewing them is simpler than ever.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

• Focus on what works. An organization runs three packages within a year-end appeal—direct mail, email, and a social media campaign. After reviewing results, they find that email consistently delivers the highest average gift at the lowest cost. The next year, they allocate more of their budget to email and test two new variations within that channel—refining based on evidence rather than guessing.
• Cut what doesn't work. Another organization has been sending out a postcard package for years simply because that’s how they have always done it. When they compare its performance to other packages in the same appeal, they discover it generates the fewest gifts and the lowest ROI. They retire the postcard, reinvest in the stronger channels, and see better results overall.
• Test with purpose. A team isn't sure if major gift prospects respond better to a personal letter from the executive director or a general organizational appeal. They create two packages, track the outcomes, and let the data answer the question.

The common thread? Packages turn opinions into evidence. By focusing on what works and letting data drive decisions, you can plan smarter and achieve stronger results.

We want to hear from you. How does your organization use packages to make decisions? Have you discovered something surprising by comparing package performance? Share your insights below. Your experience could inspire another organization to get started.

Available now: the packages list on the appeal record

Before you can analyze package performance, you need a clear view of what you're working with. That’s why the appeal record now includes a dedicated packages tab—available to everyone today—giving you a clear, organized view of all the packages associated with your appeal.

With the Packages tab, you can:

• See all packages associated with an appeal in one place, with key details visible at a glance.
• View package descriptions, goals, total raised and recipient counts without leaving the appeal record in the web view.
• Understand how packages relate to gifts, donors, and overall appeal performance.

The Packages tab works alongside the other appeal tabs—Overview, Gifts, Donors, and Analysis—so you can move between strategy and results without switching tools. It's designed to help you see what's happening within an appeal, not just what happened overall.

Already managing packages in database view? Every package created in database view appears in the web view Packages tab, where you can view and edit them—no extra setup or migration needed.

You can now fully manage your appeal variations without leaving the web view experience.

• Add packages. Create new packages directly within an appeal. Capture key details like description, channel, dates, and cost, right where you're already working.
• Edit package details. Update descriptions, costs, dates, and other attributes as campaigns evolve. Keep your data current without switching experiences.
• Remove packages. Clean up test, duplicate, or outdated packages to maintain data quality. (Packages can only be removed when no gifts, expenses, or constituent appeal records reference them.)

Why this matters: Managing packages in web view lets your team set up, adjust, and maintain appeal variations in the same place you review results, reducing friction and keeping data clean.

Premium preview: package performance on the Analysis tab

As organizations expand their use of packages, the next question becomes inevitable:

"Which of these packages delivered the best results and which fell short?"

We're introducing a package performance experience on the Appeal record's Analysis tab, built to give clear answers to customers with access to Premium features.

The package performance view compares your top-performing and lowest-performing packages side by side across key fundraising metrics. It helps you quickly spot success and areas needing improvement without digging through reports or exporting data.

Premium metrics you'll see

This premium experience is especially useful when you need to:

• Evaluate which solicitation approach drove the strongest results
• Identify underperforming packages before planning your next appeal
• Justify budget allocation based on actual ROI
• Report to leadership on what's working with real numbers

We will continue to invest in packages for all customers as a core part of the Raiser’s Edge NXT fundraising experience. Expect these upcoming enhancements

• Managing benefits tied to packages. You'll be able to create, update, and manage benefits connected to individual packages—keeping fulfillment aligned with your campaign setup and removing the gap between how you plan and how you deliver.
• Smarter tools for interpreting package performance.We're exploring ways to help you go beyond the numbers and understand why a package performed the way it did. Future capabilities will focus on:
• Helping you interpret performance patterns across packages
• Surfacing insights you might not spot on your own
• Guiding next-best actions based on what the data shows

The goal: move from tracking what happened →understanding why→knowing what to do next—without needing to be a data analyst.

Whether you're just starting or already using packages, these practices will help you get more value:

1. Use packages intentionally for testing. Don't create them just to track data. Define what you're comparing—channel, creative, audience, timing—and structure your packages to answer a specific question.
2. Track cost when you can. Adding cost to your packages unlocks ROI analysis. Even rough estimates are better than nothing because they let you see which variations are worth the investment.
3. Review performance at the package level, not just the appeal level. Appeal-level results show you the total. Package-level results reveal what contributed to the total and that's where real learning happens.

Learn more about packages

Learn more about the new Package tab on the Appeal record in Help documentation.

The bottom line

Packages started as a way to track different envelopes in the mail. Today, they're how you test ideas, compare strategies, and learn what works.

With the packages list available now on every appeal record, full management in web view, a new performance view on the way, and smarter tools ahead, packages are a practical way to improve your fundraising efforts, one appeal at a time.