Looking for a Raiser's Edge expert to help!

Jennifer Hipp:
Hello everyone!
I work at All Saints' Episcopal Day School in Phoenix, and we are looking for a Raiser's Edge expert to provide some training and assistance (short-term, and part-time) with our database. Does anyone in this area have any good contacts, or know of a resource to find such help?

Thank you in advance!

Jennifer Hipp

Hi there - we have the world's most awesome consultant/trainer.  He has come to Santa Fe a couple of times (for other organizations and to do a training for anyone from the RE User's Group who wanted to sign up), but I did over a year of remote training with him, a couple hours every other week for most of that time.  He continues to work with different staff members here on actual RE workings and campaign strategies (he has wide experience and can advise on many areas of fundraising), and when I need to talk through a weird situation, he always has a good idea for me. On top of all his talents, he's a great guy and lots of fun. He presents at bbcon, as well.  Send me an email (gschild@iaia.edu) if you'd like to get his contact information.

I found remote training great if you're doing one-on-one, but my experience in other venues has shown me that it's not as effective if you have a group. You can't catch the trainer's attention if you're one of a group, and they tend to blather on without the trainees being able to delve into things that interest or puzzle them.  You might as well watch a webinar.  On the other hand, if you're training an entire staff, it's definitely worth it to get a trainer to your location - that way, everyone gets the same training and is on the same page (though we have all experienced the multiple realities of what people hear when they all attend the same lecture or training! ;-))


With regard to Blackbaud's training, I haven't had any of it because it's just too expensive.  I'm the only one in the office who would use it - I doubt it would be cost or time effective for anyone else.  Every time I've seen the price I just cringe, as well as the time requirement for all the courses - not possible in my position.  A pity, because I'd love to move on towards the Professional Certification, but I don't really see a path towards it on my own. YouTube will only take you so far!!


Gracie

Hi Christine,


My name is Gus Figueroa and I support Catholic Charities Community Services in Phoenix with Raiser's Edge.  This includes interfacing with VolunteerHub and our Finance System Microsoft GP 2010.  I am local in Phoenix and have a great depth of knowledge with Raiser's Edge.  I handled the data conversion from transitioning the legacy system to Raiser's Edge and support defining processes and perform business process reengineering efforts to exploit Raiser's Edge capabilities to their fullest.  If you would like to discuss local support, please feel free to call me at (602) 571-8253.


Regards,

Gus FIgueroa