Hi, everyone. I hope that someone out there in forumland can give me some info on how or if they have customized their Raiser's Edge to meet the needs of a diverse organization. I work in the development department of the Smithsonian Institution's traveling exhibition service (SITES). We use a very old antiquated database to track the objects in our shows, and since our shows travel to museums across the country, we also use this old database to track the venues that receive our shows as well as show-related info such as insurance, rights & permissions, etc. Currently, the development department uses Raiser's Edge to track fundraising activities and the rest of the office uses this antiquated system. We have RE set up so that each of our shows are "funds." I am considering merging the old database with our RE database to have one common system with some customization from Blackbaud (a few additional tabs on the fund records, for example). I am curious if anyone out there has undertaken a similar project where they expanded the scope of their RE system to meet a broader organizational need through customization. If so, could anyone please share with me their experiences? Does anyone in the museum world use RE in conjunction with a collections database such as EMu? I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!!! - Ryan R. Rodriguez [Email Removed]) Ryan R. Rodriguez Development Associate The Smithsonian Institution 202-357-3168 x170 [Email Removed]

Ryan,
I am the database administrator and programmer for an organization that has done many customizations to RE. We are in the process of converting over 100+ databases to RE in addition to allowing users from all of our departments (Development, Education, Conservation Programs, and Membership) to use Raiser's Edge. Some the kinds of customizations that we have done include:interfacing RE with other databases, customized data entry screens for specific groups to make it easier to enter data into RE, and data validation procedures.

First one thought for you. Unless Blackbaud has changed their practices, they will not be able to add more tabs to the Fund record in RE for you. Their customization will come in the form of using VBA, the API, or a plugin, to create some customized screen for you, but they cannot update how a screen looks in RE currently.

I work in the greater DC area, so if you need further info or would like to ask me any questions feel free to contact me at [Email Removed].