Ask the All-Stars: Tips for Using the Blackbaud Community

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Crystal Bruce
Crystal Bruce admin
Tenth Anniversary Facilitator 4 Name Dropper Photogenic
in Blackbaud Community Feedback Forum

The Blackbaud Community All-Stars are sharing their best tips for using and engaging in the community. What are some ways you utilize the community? Share your tip and earn June's exclusive badge!

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  • Crystal Bruce
    Crystal Bruce admin
    Tenth Anniversary Facilitator 4 Name Dropper Photogenic

    I can't wait to read all the tips!

  • Jeanette Rodriguez
    Jeanette Rodriguez ✭
    Eighth Anniversary Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce The idea bank is my go-to as I navigate the transition between RE 7.96 and RE NXT. I appreciate having a place where I can vote on the suggestions of others, and, if necessary, add my own.

  • Bianca Gonzalez
    Bianca Gonzalez ✭
    Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary

    @Crystal Bruce
    I am freshly new to RE (been at it for over 2 months now) and the BB Community has been crucial to my learning. I always come with a question to search and more often than not, this wonderful community has already discussed most topics I have questions on! I look forward to adding questions of my own and contributing as I continue to bolster my knowledge. Have a wonderful week, all!

  • Rachel Kauer
    Rachel Kauer ✭
    Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary

    @Crystal Bruce
    I started out utilizing the Blackbaud Community to review the discussion threads for answers to questions I might have - that others have already asked. I love the knowledge base as a starting point, but it is so valuable to be able to go to the community and read the real experiences of other users when I have a question. It has saved me so many times from overcommitting my time to puzzling out something that a community member has already encountered and solved. More and more I enjoy reviewing the experiences of others to expand my knowledge of potential pitfalls, upsides and downsides to certain tools.

  • Vicky Lopuchowycz
    Vicky Lopuchowycz ✭
    Ninth Anniversary Facilitator 2 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce - I log in every morning and see what new discussion threads have been posted. I also will search for answers when I run into a problem or something is wonky to see if anyone has any insight. The Community is always helpful!

  • Marie Stark
    Marie Stark ✭✭✭✭✭
    Ancient Membership Facilitator 3 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce Often look to see if someone else has asked about a subject I am wondering about.

  • Monica Jordan
    Monica Jordan ✭
    Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary

    @Bianca Gonzalez Welcome! There is so much knowledge within the community!

  • Monica Jordan
    Monica Jordan ✭
    Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary

    @Kim McAmis I will add to your note that I like the idea of the weekly digest - I lasted about a day and a half with the “on-demand” or “immediate” setting and this is a very active community! lol

  • Monica Jordan
    Monica Jordan ✭
    Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary

    @Crystal Bruce I echo the comments encouraging the use of the search bar - sometimes the question has already been answered!

    When I was newer, I also carved out some time to just read thru the past posts in Grantmaking (a bit less busy than some others!) as it's really interesting to learn how others are using the system!

  • Miki Martin
    Miki Martin ✭✭✭✭✭
    Facilitator 4 Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce as many have already mentioned, searching for answers to questions was how I first became active in Community. I also use the Bookmark feature through Community so I can refer later to really helpful topics by viewing my profile. Now that the location option has returned for Members I will be utilizing that again to help connect with others locally. In the past I have also searched Members with similar verticals to where I was working.

    Receiving notifications for The Buzz and other communications helps me stay engaged, although not necessarily as much as I would like. Doing the monthly challenges also helps me visit Community and take a look at other things while I'm here.

    I have a Blackbaud folder on my bookmark bar in my browser where I have the idea bank and unanswered questions saved under Community. That way I do not have to keep searching for things. I also typically keep Community open on a tab in my browser.

  • Jennifer Kluh
    Jennifer Kluh ✭
    Fifth Anniversary Facilitator 2 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce
    The Community has been very welcoming and has guided me whenever I have reached out over the almost 5 years. Many members have shared screenshots that helped me learn to build reports and collect the data that I have needed. I learn a lot from past posts and I enjoy our community members profile pictures of their pets and hobbies.

  • Lauren Henderson 3
    Lauren Henderson 3 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Third Anniversary Facilitator 2 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce Accessing the Ideas Bank has been my top use of community lately! The Education Management team is very engaged and responsive and have delivered on many requested ideas.

  • JoAnn Strommen
    JoAnn Strommen ✭✭✭✭✭
    Ancient Membership Facilitator 4 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce Community has been a lifesaver more than once. As others have said search before asking. I'll add read twice and check product category to be sure you understand question and know product.
    Extra tip - all the responses/thank you's when you get the answer or have more questions can be in one reply. Most of those responding subscribe so get every response as a separate email in the BB inbox. ?

  • Lee Grisham
    Lee Grisham ✭
    Third Anniversary Facilitator 2 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce There are some exceptionally talented and experienced people on here that are so generous in sharing their knowledge! It's worth following the discussions and subscribing to the updates across any of your interests to glean what you can for professional development.

  • Irene Hui
    Irene Hui ✭✭✭✭✭
    Tenth Anniversary Facilitator 4 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce It's a great place to see if others are experiencing the same issue or have asked the same question. I've been trying to log on daily and go through the various product categories. As others have mentioned, I also often bookmark items that I may want to go back to later. ?

  • Amy Shaiman
    Amy Shaiman ✭
    Sixth Anniversary Facilitator 2 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce
    The community is a great place to learn if an issue is unique to us, to brainstorm solutions, and to find new ideas. Thanks to all who participate!

  • Angela Tuttle 2
    Angela Tuttle 2 ✭
    Ninth Anniversary Facilitator 2 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce I am using the community like others that have answered. I come to community when I am looking for answers and how others are handling and to see what others are using in addition to Blackbaud.

    I look over the unanswered questions to see if I can offer any advice.

    I have been keeping an eye on the PowerBi section and I want to learn more.

    Anytime we have an issue I will check Blackbaud's status page as well as community.

  • Phillip Shipsides
    Phillip Shipsides ✭
    Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper First Reply 2024 Product Update Briefings

    @Crystal Bruce
    Subscribing to the weekly digest works really well for me. Highlights some interesting discussions and serves as a reminder to check in, if I haven't already that week.

  • Coco Parham
    Coco Parham ✭
    Seventh Anniversary Facilitator 2 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce
    I post questions for help with issues that come up and try to respond to posts as often as I can!

  • Mark Guncheon 2
    Mark Guncheon 2 ✭
    Tenth Anniversary Facilitator 2 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce I'd have to agree with many who have responded that receiving notifications from the community is key to staying in touch and also helping fellow data peeps. I'm always willing to add my two cents worth of suggestions/ideas in response to asks for help. Sharing my knowledge is part of my job both at work and also in here.

  • Faith Murray
    Faith Murray ✭
    Ninth Anniversary Facilitator 4 Name Dropper Photogenic

    @Crystal Bruce
    I think others have covered how indispensable the Community is for networking and finding answers to user questions. I'm going to add my tip: if you see a weird post that looks like spam, flag it for Crystal or report it to the administrators. With AI generated text becoming more dominant, spam posts are getting sneakier, but they will likely still sound a little off: writing about out-of-season or out-of-context stuff, offering questionable links, and written by rookie accounts that have few or no previous posts. Reporting spam makes the Community safer for everyone. ?

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