Common Ground Discontinuation: Partner Info & FAQ

Kate Harwood · September 2012

Partner Webinar on Client Transition offers: Recording & presentation NEW 10/9
Documentation on Getting Data Out of Common Ground NEW 10/18
Documentation on Uninstalling the Common Ground Package NEW 10/18
Transition Offers being presented to clients NEW 10/3
View the recording of Common Ground Town Hall NEW 9/19
Client FAQ, Including information presented in Town Hall NEW 9/19
Attached is a presentation you can share with clients about the history of Common Ground, CG Enterprise and Luminate CRM that can help determine what version they are on and product they have. NEW 9/19
Luminate Managed Upgrade Program - recorded in January 2012 about the upgrade process for clients moving from Common Ground Enterprise to Luminate CRM
Differences between Luminate CRM and Common Ground - high level feature comparison of Common Ground and CGE/ Luminate CRM
CGE Connector and Luminate Integration Comparison

Frequently Asked Questions

Partner & Client Communication

Q: When will the partners receive talking points for their customer base?

A: Please see the talking points provided in the Client FAQ

Q: Which clients have been communicated to and when and can I see a copy of the communication?

A: Clients with different solutions were communicated to on different dates:

All Common Ground clients received an email on August 30,2012. The email is provided at the bottom of this post.
All Common Ground Enterprise clients received an email on September 5,2012 The email is also provided at the bottom of this post.
Town Hall webinar was held on September 12, and the recording is located here: View the recording of Common Ground Town Hall
Email sent September 19 as a follow up to the Town Hall is provided at the bottom of this post

Q: Where should I direct questions?

A: Questions should be directed to cgtransition@blackbaud.com

Q: Do you want us (partner) to reach out to clients proactively?

A: No. Please coordinate communications with us – use cgtransition@blackbaud.com if you would like to pull someone from the Blackbaud team into a call.

Q: Blackbaud has already talked with my client and I am getting follow up questions on what is possible. What should I do?

A: You can discuss with them and their Blackbaud representative the Offers being presented to clients NEW 10/3

Q: Do you want to know what clients we (partner) hear from and what their temperatures is – to continue deployment,debook and have alternative to implement etc.

A: Fields have been added to the Partner Portal to aid in information sharing. Please see the presentation attached for more information on those fields.

Q: Who should we direct clients to at Blackbaud?

A: Questions should be directed to cgtransition@blackbaud.com

Q: How should I respond when the customer calls looking for a refund?

A: We will honor refunds. Please direct their questions to cgtransition@blackbaud.com

Client Path Forward

Q: Will all Common Ground engineering development cease?

A: TBA

Q: Why is Raiser's Edge or eTapestry solutions a good alternative to Common Ground? Is there a feature comparison you can provide?

A: TBA

Q: Is Luminate CRM a path for the client considering they do want to stay with the Salesforce platform? Can Luminate CRM be purchased as a standalone product without Luminate Online?

A: Yes, a client can choose to migrate from Common Ground to Luminate CRM. Yes, Luminate CRM can be purchased without Luminate Online.

Q: What are the offers that are being extended to clients?

A: Offers have been developed for migration to Raiser's Edge, eTapesty and Luminate CRM. See: Transition Offers being presented to clients NEW 10/3

Q: What happens a client that recently migrated from Raiser’s Edge or eTapestry to Common Ground? They don’t want to go back to either of those solutions.

A: TBA

Q: What is the migration strategy when the customer chooses not to stay with Blackbaud?

A: TBA

Miscellaneous

Q: How is Blackbaud going to support the implementation partners who have collected fees for services completed that the customer now wants to back out of and either go to a non-salesforce product or outside of Blackbaud?

A: We know that many of our partners are affected by this decision and that they are on the front lines fielding questions from our mutual customers. We sincerely appreciate this. We also commit to including our partners in conversations with customers as we work together to determine the right options. Our partners bring insights that are important both to our customers and to us.

Q: Will any other products be sunset?

A: Not at this time.

Q: How do we get trained/ certified on other Blackbaud products?

A: At this time authorization in the Convio Solution Provider program is offered for Luminate Online and Luminate CRM. Other certifications are being evaluated.

Q: The other products the clients are being offered are not products that I am able to get training on to implement. So, I would like to recommend one that I can, is that possible?

A: TBA

Emails sent to Common Ground Clients:

Common Ground Product AnnouncementAs you are aware, since the acquisition of Convio by Blackbaud earlier this year, we have been working on a comprehensive effort to integrate the two companies. One of the most important activities has been the integration of the product roadmap. During the course of this integration work, two things became very clear:We have an amazing portfolio of products that serve our nonprofit customers.We must simplify that portfolio to eliminate confusion and to allow us to focus on the products that have the greatest impact for our market.As a result of our product integration analysis, we have made the decision to retire Common Ground. For small to medium-sized nonprofits, eTapestry and The Raiser's Edge will be our go-forward CRM solutions. For larger to enterprise-sized customers, we will offer Blackbaud CRM or Luminate CRM. This decision was made after a thorough analysis led by the product integration team, which included both Blackbaud and former Convio product management. Ultimately, our decision is based on the recognized need to focus our efforts on a discrete number of solutions. This focus will help us invest more deeply in our go-forward solutions and deliver value more rapidly to you.Common Ground customers do not need to make any decisions or changes at this time. We are evaluating your needs to determine the best alternatives for you and will be communicating our recommendations in the coming days and weeks. We will involve each of you in the discussion about your options and the timing specific to them. The Common Ground product will be supported through March, 2014.We will contact you in the coming days to discuss your particular situation and look forward to making this transition as seamless as possible.Meanwhile, you can email questions to cgtransition@blackbaud.com. This email will be monitored and questions will be addressed during the online Common Ground Town Hall on September 12th, 1pm ET. Click here to register for the Town Hall.

Blackbaud, Inc. Charleston HQ - 2000 Daniel Island Drive, Charleston, SC 29492

Blackbaud USA | Blackbaud Latin America | Blackbaud Canada | Blackbaud Europe | Blackbaud Asia Pacific

Email sent to Common Ground Enterprise Clients:

Dear ,Since the acquisition of Convio by Blackbaud earlier this year, we have been working on a comprehensive effort to integrate the two companies. One of the most important activities has been the integration of the product roadmap. During the course of this integration work, three things became very clear:We have an amazing portfolio of products that serve our nonprofit customers.We must simplify that portfolio to eliminate confusion and to allow us to focus on the products that have the greatest impact for our market.Organizations will benefit more and more as we provide better integration throughout our portfolio.As a result of our product integration analysis, we have made the decision to consolidate our Salesforce.com based offerings on Luminate CRM. Luminate CRM is an enhanced version of your current Common Ground Enterprise product, and you are eligible for a managed upgrade to it. If your organization had already elected to upgrade to the Luminate CRM platform, your upgrade is still on track and will proceed as planned.You may also prefer to switch to or add other Blackbaud solutions when the time comes. An exciting benefit of the Convio/Blackbaud merger is our ability to develop new and better integrations between products like Luminate Online and Raiser’s Edge, or Luminate CRM and Financial Edge or ResearchPoint. We will be happy to work with you to determine the exact set of solutions that will best serve your needs.No action is required by you at this time. If you have any questions, please send contact a member of your account team. We look forward to working with you to make your future transition as seamless as possible.

Blackbaud, Inc. Charleston HQ - 2000 Daniel Island Drive, Charleston, SC 29492

Blackbaud USA | Blackbaud Latin America | Blackbaud Canada | Blackbaud Europe | Blackbaud Asia Pacific

Dear ,On September 12, 2012, Blackbaud held the Common Ground Town Hall, an online presentation and Q&A chat session to address the questions and concerns of our clients and partners. As promised, we’re making the recording of that session available. Additionally, we are providing the session presentation and a detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions ("FAQs") and answers.Any differences between the presentation and the companion Town Hall FAQs are related to new information available after the Town Hall or our attempts to clarify and respond to questions and comments submitted during or after the event.We realize that you may have additional questions. Please email them to cgtransition@blackbaud.com. For future updates, please check the Common Ground Resource Center, available to all Common Ground clients who have completed their implementation, or go to www.blackbaud.com/convio.We hope that all of our Common Ground clients will choose another Blackbaud solution, but we recognize that some may want to pursue other options. We are committed to treating every Common Ground client, regardless of their choice, with the sincere and thoughtful care they deserve.Thank you for your understanding as we work to provide clear and appealing options. Our transition team will begin reaching out to customers in early October. We sincerely appreciate your patience, and we are committed to helping you make the best possible transition.Thank you.

Common Ground Discontinuation: Partner Info & FAQ

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