Updated October 2026
What is the Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and Constant Contact Integration all about?
This integration connects Constant Contact’s digital marketing platform with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT®. It’s designed to help organizations like yours connect with supporters, streamline operations, and drive greater engagement and fundraising success. It combines Blackbaud’s fundraising capabilities with Constant Contact’s intuitive, AI-driven digital marketing tools.
What benefits can my organization expect from this integration?
You can expect a host of advantages designed to help you achieve more with less effort! Here are some key benefits:
Seamless Data Synchronization: Your supporters (or “constituents” as they’re known in Raiser’s Edge NXT) automatically sync with Constant Contact, so your marketing lists stay current and accurate.
Enhanced Supporter Engagement: Use the complete picture of your donors from Blackbaud to create more effective audience segments for highly targeted campaigns. This means sending the right message to the right people!
AI-Powered Personalization: Deliver tailored messages that truly resonate, which can significantly boost engagement. AI tools combined with easy access to donor data also simplify campaign creation, so campaigns come together faster.
Optimized Operations: Say goodbye to manual data transfers! This integration saves you time and resources, so you can focus more on your core mission.
Boost Online Giving: Use donor insights to segment your audience and send relevant marketing messages that inspire donations.
Track Your Success: Monitor how your marketing efforts contribute to your fundraising goals with detailed reporting.
Who can set up this integration?
To connect the two platforms, you’ll need the Marketplace admin role within your Blackbaud environment. If you don’t have this permission, you won’t see the option to connect the app.
How do I connect my Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT account with Constant Contact?
Connect through the Blackbaud Marketplace:
Select Browse in the Marketplace.
Find and select Constant Contact in the list of applications.
Choose Get Started to begin the connection.
Once you start the process, here’s the general flow:
In the pop-up dialog in your Blackbaud account, click Connect and then Continue.
Log in to your Constant Contact account.
Click Authorize.
Within Constant Contact, click Import contacts.
Manage which fields you’d like to import, making sure the Blackbaud fields match the Constant Contact fields, then click Continue.
Heads up: If a contact’s email exists in both platforms, the Blackbaud contact’s information will overwrite what’s in Constant Contact during each import.Select the Blackbaud list you wish to import into Constant Contact.
Select the Constant Contact list where you want to import these contacts.
Click Continue.
Confirm that you have permission to send marketing emails to your Blackbaud contacts, then click Confirm.
You’ll then be taken to your Blackbaud integration dashboard to see the import status. Reconnecting the integration is also supported if you need to!
You can view this Knowledge Base article for more detailed instructions.
How does data sync between Raiser’s Edge NXT and Constant Contact? What about duplicates or changes?
The integration still runs bi-directional workflows between the two tools. Here’s how it works:
Constituents are Key: The integration primarily syncs your Raiser’s Edge NXT constituents. With an upgraded Constant Contact account you can also sync non-constituents, but typically only constituents are synced.
Primary Email is Your Identifier: The integration uses the primary email address on a Raiser’s Edge NXT constituent record as the unique identifier to match it with a Constant Contact contact record. Currently, Constant Contact can only send emails to the address marked as “primary” in Raiser’s Edge NXT.
Sync Frequency:
Updates to gift summaries, planned communications, and communications history appear in real-time.
Updates to the specific list you’ve chosen to sync (including consent information) happen daily (overnight).
Handling Duplicates and Conflicts:
Constant Contact has its own de-duplication process.
If a contact exists in both Constant Contact and Raiser’s Edge NXT with the same primary email, the Raiser’s Edge NXT record is the source of truth and will update the Constant Contact record.
If the email doesn’t match an existing Constant Contact contact, a new contact is created in Constant Contact.
If a constituent’s primary email address changes in Raiser’s Edge NXT, the change syncs to Constant Contact in the next daily job. The old email stays in Constant Contact as a separate contact, but it’s no longer linked to that constituent as primary.
What Doesn’t Sync (Currently):
Constant Contact does not delete contacts if a constituent record is deleted in Raiser’s Edge NXT, either directly or as part of a merge. It also doesn’t delete them if an email address is changed from primary to secondary there.
The integration does not currently recognize or act on “inactive” or “deceased” states for constituent records in Raiser’s Edge NXT.
New users who sign up directly through Constant Contact will not automatically get a new constituent record in Raiser’s Edge NXT. You would need to export them from Constant Contact and import them into Raiser’s Edge NXT. The integration would then connect those records without creating duplicates in Constant Contact.
What kind of donor and marketing data actually flows between the platforms?
Currently, the primary data flowing back to Raiser’s Edge NXT from Constant Contact is related to consent management:
The “Requests No Email” checkbox in Raiser’s Edge NXT is updated, acting as a global opt-out.
Consent for both email and SMS syncs both ways between Raiser’s Edge NXT and Constant Contact. If consent changes in one platform, the change shows up in the other.
What if I have multiple Constant Contact accounts or business units?
The standard setup is a one-to-one relationship between one Raiser’s Edge NXT environment and one Constant Contact account.
For more complex organizational structures:
Connecting Multiple CTCT Accounts: Customers can’t do this on their own without support. However, additional Constant Contact accounts can be connected to a single Raiser’s Edge NXT environment with Constant Contact’s guidance. This typically requires a Parent/Child hierarchy for the Constant Contact accounts, and data returning to Raiser’s Edge NXT is aggregated.
Multi-Account/Multi-Chapter: This is supported but not yet fully optimized for the integration. It often requires detailed documentation and work with a Constant Contact Engineer.
Multiple Business Units within One Raiser’s Edge NXT: Some organizations, like a hospital system foundation, have multiple business units with different branding and marketing plans under one Raiser’s Edge NXT instance. Constant Contact offers a product structure suited to this scenario. The Customer Success team can help with onboarding and give you access to tools that support it.
Merging Accounts: You can’t merge multiple Constant Contact accounts into one just for the integration. Doing so would cost you access to valuable multi-account tools like Central Send or Campaign Approval.
Can I start a trial or buy Constant Contact through Raiser’s Edge NXT?
No. Starting a Constant Contact trial and purchasing a Constant Contact account are no longer available from within Raiser’s Edge NXT.
Where can I find help or provide feedback?
Connection issues or questions: Visit Constant Contact’s Help Center for help and support. Also review the Connect your Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT account with Constant Contact article.
Ideas or feedback on the integration: Visit Constant Contact’s Product Ideas portal.
Help with Blackbaud’s platform: Visit the Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT Help page.
Is my data secure and where is it hosted?
Yes, the data moving between Raiser’s Edge NXT and Constant Contact is encrypted. All Constant Contact data is hosted in the United States, including data for international customers.
How can the integration enhance efficiency through automation?
Once the integration is configured, you can use the Automation Path Builder to optimize supporter communication. It lets you create automated email and SMS journeys triggered by specific actions or dates. This frees up staff time and tailors your outreach, from welcome series to donation requests and special occasion messages.
How can the integration facilitate contact segmentation?
Contact segmentation divides your audience into smaller, targeted groups based on shared characteristics or behaviors. This lets social impact organizations send more personalized messages. That can increase engagement, improve fundraising, and make operations more efficient by delivering relevant content to specific audiences.
How do Blackbaud and Constant Contact integrate for reporting and analytics?
Constant Contact’s reporting and analytics give you insight into your outreach. You can track key metrics such as sends, opens, click-through rates, bounces, unsubscribes, and spam reports. This data helps you understand constituent behavior, improve subject lines, find what content engages people, and improve overall campaign performance. The integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT adds deeper audience segmentation and more effective fundraising strategies.
