What You’ll Learn
- When database view support ends
- Database view vs web view
- What changes before the deadline
- Unified Web View or a new CRM
- What the transition costs
- Why this should trigger an audit
- Frequently asked questions
A nonprofit tech stack audit is the smartest first response to the Raiser’s Edge database view retirement, which starts in January 2026 when attributes management leaves the classic interface and ends in 2027 when Blackbaud shuts off database view support. Every integration, export, and custom report your fundraising team relies on is about to be re-decided, so treat this as a planning window rather than a platform decision.
Blackbaud retires the Raiser’s Edge database view in 2027, with support ending in late summer 2027 for North American nonprofits and database view attributes already retiring in January 2026. Scottship Solutions runs vendor-neutral Raiser’s Edge NXT health scans and 10-day tech stack audits for nonprofits facing this deadline, scoring your current setup and workflow readiness before you commit to the Unified Web View or a new CRM. Our 10-day audits have documented outcomes like $8,800 per year in savings for Carousel Child Advocacy Center.
Scottship’s technology assessments are overseen by Luiza Vilardo, PMP. Every date in this guide is current as of August 2026 and carries its source, because on this topic the dates are the product. The sections below give you the milestone table, a terminology decoder, what breaks before the deadline, and a decision framework no vendor will hand you.
When Does Raiser’s Edge Database View Support End?
Blackbaud’s own wording is the one to plan against: database view support ends in late summer 2027 for customers in North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom, and late winter 2027 for New Zealand and Australia, per the Blackbaud Knowledgebase. Consultant summaries compress those dates into summer 2027, June 2027, or the first half of 2027. Plan against the earliest date you see for your region and treat anything later as margin.
You will also see this event called the RE 7 sunset, the Raiser’s Edge 7 sunset, or Raiser’s Edge end of life. All of those names describe the same retirement. The database view is the last remaining component of Raiser’s Edge 7, which is why the sunset names stuck: the product continues, the old interface goes away.
Here is every dated milestone in one place, with sources. Nothing like this table exists on Blackbaud’s site, so bookmark it as your planning calendar.
| Date | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | Creating, editing, and deleting attributes moves exclusively to web view, under Settings > Custom fields | Blackbaud Community thread (staff replies) |
| February 2026 | The Query homepage becomes web view only | Blackbaud Community announcement on Query |
| End of 2026 | Blackbaud’s stated goal of a “fully unified” Raiser’s Edge NXT experience | Blackbaud product communications |
| Late summer 2027 | Database view support ends for North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom | Blackbaud Knowledgebase |
| Late winter 2027 | Database view support ends for New Zealand and Australia | Blackbaud Knowledgebase |
What Is the Difference Between Database View and Web View in Raiser’s Edge NXT?
Raiser’s Edge NXT ships with two interfaces, and the naming confusion is itself a documented user pain point. The database view is the original desktop-style interface where back-end work happens: gift processing, complex queries, data cleanup. The web view is the browser-based interface built for donor engagement and everyday fundraising work. Blackbaud’s go-forward term for the destination is the Unified View, sometimes written as Unified Web View.
This decoder maps every name you will hear to the thing it describes.
| Term you hear | What it refers to |
|---|---|
| Database view, classic view, RE7, hosted Raiser’s Edge via Citrix | The original desktop-style interface being retired in 2027 |
| Web view, RE NXT, NXT web view | The browser-based interface that continues after the retirement |
| Unified View, Unified Web View | Blackbaud’s official name for the end state: one browser-based product |
| Attributes (database view) / Custom fields (web view) | The same data under two names, one per interface |
The two views share one database. Per Blackbaud’s help files, most constituent data syncs between them in real time, while giving data takes up to 30 minutes to appear on the other side. That lag matters when gift processors work in database view and gift officers read web view dashboards the same morning.
What Happens to Attributes, Queries, and Imports Before the Deadline?
Here is the January 2026 change in plain English. Creating, editing, and deleting attributes moves exclusively to the web view, under Settings > Custom fields. Everything else stays put for now: Blackbaud staff wrote in the community thread that “all existing functionality will still work in Database View, including globally updating,” and that queries remain available in database view.
The same staff replies settle the naming question. In Blackbaud’s words, “Custom fields is just Web View terminology for Attributes.” Same data, new label.
The thread also shows why this milestone rattled so many teams. Users report short notice and conflicting answers from Blackbaud support, and a petition on Blackbaud’s Ideas portal asks the company to keep the database view outright. If your team has heard three different answers to the same question, you are in good company, and none of it means you are behind.
Treat the community’s documented pain points as your readiness checklist. Each item below is a gap users hit when they moved daily work into the web view early.
- Web view displays only 5 attribute entries at a time, which slows work on records with long attribute histories
- Global add, global change, and import for attributes do not exist in web view yet
- Custom reports built in Crystal Reports or Microsoft Access will not carry over, per JCA
- Action Tracks, plugins, Deceased Finder, and RE MAIL have no web view equivalent yet
Should Your Nonprofit Move to the Unified Web View or Leave Blackbaud?
There are three honest paths, and each one is wrong for somebody.
Path one is adopting the Unified Web View. It fits organizations with deep Blackbaud investment, years of complex constituent data, and staff who already live in RE NXT dashboards. It is the wrong move when you are paying enterprise pricing for features nobody opens, because the deadline has already reopened the buying decision.
Path two is re-platforming, a 2 to 6 month project per JCA’s migration timelines. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud suits large organizations with in-house admin capacity, while Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, Neon CRM, and Virtuous serve smaller shops; our guide to the best CRM for nonprofits compares them in detail, and our comparison of the best fundraising platforms for nonprofits covers the fundraising-tool side of the same decision. Re-platforming is wrong mid-campaign, and it is wrong when nobody on staff owns data migration.
Path three is auditing first and deciding second. It fits any organization that cannot list its integrations from memory or that depends on custom reports nobody documented. It is the wrong move only when you already hold that inventory.
| Criterion | Leans Unified Web View | Leans re-platform | Leans audit first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating budget | RE NXT licensing already fits the budget | Raiser’s Edge pricing outpaces actual use | Software spend has never been benchmarked |
| Data complexity | Decades of relationships, soft credits, and tributes | Straightforward donor and gift records | Nobody has profiled the data recently |
| Integration count | Integrations already built on the RE NXT API | Few integrations, mostly manual exports | Unknown, undocumented, or tribal knowledge |
| Custom report dependence | Reports already rebuilt for web view | Reports are simple lists and exports | Board packets depend on Crystal or Access reports nobody owns |
| Staff capacity | A trained RE NXT admin on staff | Capacity to run a 2 to 6 month migration | Team is at capacity and needs sequencing help |
Apply one more filter to any advice you read, including this post. Heller Consulting and JCA are Blackbaud partners who earn revenue on RE NXT migrations, and Salesforce migration firms like Idealist Consulting earn revenue when you defect. Scottship Solutions holds no reseller relationship with Blackbaud or any CRM vendor, which is why this guide frames all three paths instead of selling one.
What Does the Raiser’s Edge Transition Cost?
No vendor publishes a real price for this transition, and that silence is itself useful information. The sourced numbers that do exist are below, and the honest answer for the stay-on-NXT path is that the cost is measured in staff time.
| Path | What it involves | Sourced cost signal |
|---|---|---|
| Adopt the Unified Web View | RE NXT subscription continues; staff retraining; rebuilding custom Crystal and Access reports that do not carry over | Staff time. No vendor has published a dollar figure for this path. |
| Re-platform to a new CRM | Data migration, integration rework, retraining on a new system | Migration timelines run 2 to 6 months, and a new system “could cost six figures for a mid-size organization,” per JCA |
| Audit first, then decide | A structured 10-day assessment of everything touching Raiser’s Edge before any commitment | Scottship’s 10-day Tech Stack Audit documented $8,800 per year in savings for Carousel Child Advocacy Center |
Be careful with any migration quote delivered before anyone has profiled your data. JCA notes that more records mean more cost, which is exactly why your record count, integration count, and report inventory belong in hand before you request quotes.
Why Should the Database View Retirement Trigger a Tech Stack Audit?
A forced migration is the single best moment to inventory everything, because every connection to Raiser’s Edge is about to be re-decided anyway. Deciding “NXT or leave” before that inventory exists is how nonprofits buy the wrong platform twice.
Your inventory needs to cover more than the CRM itself. Start with these seven items.
- Imports and exports feeding your finance system and email tools
- API-dependent workflows and third-party integrations
- Mail and receipting tools, including any RE MAIL dependencies
- Custom Crystal Reports and Access reports, with an owner named for each
- Installed plugins and utilities like Deceased Finder
- Action Tracks and any automation built on them
- Staff process documentation, or the list of processes that have none
If that inventory reveals a tangle of point-to-point connections, our roundup of the best nonprofit database software shows what a cleaner integration architecture looks like. Many of these connections were built by staff who have since left, which is the strongest argument for documenting before deciding.
This is the work our Raiser’s Edge NXT health scan exists for: a scored assessment of your RE NXT instance and workflow readiness that shows whether the web view covers your team’s daily work before the deadline forces the question. For the wider stack, the Scottship 10-day Tech Stack Audit identifies inefficiencies, security gaps, and cost savings across every system you run. Carousel Child Advocacy Center’s documented outcomes with Scottship include $8,800 per year in savings and 750 staff hours recovered.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the end of support date for the Raiser’s Edge?
First, if you searched “is Raiser’s Edge going away,” the answer is no: the product continues as Raiser’s Edge NXT, and only the database view interface is retiring. Blackbaud’s stated end-of-support wording is late summer 2027 for North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom, and late winter 2027 for New Zealand and Australia. Consultant summaries sometimes compress this to June 2027 or the first half of 2027, so plan against the earliest regional date.
What does the end of Database View support mean?
After the end of Database View support, the classic RE7 interface shuts off and all Raiser’s Edge work happens in the web view. The retirement arrives in stages: attributes management moves in January 2026, the Query homepage goes web view only in February 2026, and support ends in 2027. Workflows that only exist in database view, like Crystal report feeds and certain plugins, stop working with it.
My organization is on RE7. What are my options?
You have three: adopt the Unified Web View, re-platform to a CRM like Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or Bloomerang, or audit first and decide with real numbers. At Scottship, we recommend the audit-first path whenever your integration and report inventory is undocumented, because that inventory changes which platform wins. The decision criteria table earlier in this guide scores all three paths.
Will global updates, imports, and bulk changes work after January 2026?
Yes, inside the database view. Blackbaud staff confirmed in the community thread that existing attribute functionality, including global add, global change, import, and query, keeps working in database view after January 2026. Only creating, editing, and deleting attributes moves exclusively to the web view. Those bulk functions retire with the database view itself in 2027.
What does migrating off Raiser’s Edge database view cost?
No vendor publishes a transition price. The sourced signals: re-platform migrations run 2 to 6 months, JCA estimates a new system “could cost six figures for a mid-size organization,” and staying on the Unified Web View costs staff time for retraining and report rebuilds. Scottship’s 10-day Tech Stack Audit quantifies your specific numbers first; at Carousel Child Advocacy Center it documented $8,800 per year in savings.
Your Next Steps
The deadline is fixed, so work backward from it.
- Mark the regional dates: Put January 2026, February 2026, and your region’s 2027 end-of-support date on the leadership calendar this week.
- Build the inventory: List every import, export, integration, plugin, and custom report touching Raiser’s Edge, with an owner for each.
- Pilot the web view: Have your gift processing and query power users run one week of real work in web view and log every gap they hit.
- Score the three paths: Apply the decision criteria table to your budget, data complexity, and staff capacity, and write down the result.
- Get a neutral read: A scored assessment from a consultant with no reseller stake tells you whether the web view, a new CRM, or neither is the right destination.
Sources
- Blackbaud Community, “Retiring database view Attributes in Jan 2026”: January 2026 attributes milestone, staff clarifications on global updates, queries, and Custom fields terminology, and the 5-entry display limit
- Blackbaud Knowledgebase, “When is the end of support date for the Raiser’s Edge?”: regional 2027 end-of-support wording
- Blackbaud help files, “Unified View: Feature Availability Between Database View and Web View”: sync behavior and feature availability between views
- Blackbaud Community, “Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT Query: Shaping the Future Together”: February 2026 Query homepage milestone
- JCA, “RE 7 Sunset in 2027: Is RE NXT the Right Next Step for Your Organization?”: 2 to 6 month migration timelines, the six-figure re-platform estimate, and Crystal/Access report carryover
- Blackbaud Ideas portal, “Keep Raiser’s Edge Database View”: user petition to retain the database view
At Scottship Solutions, we help nonprofits turn a forced migration into a planned one. From a scored Raiser’s Edge NXT health scan to the full 10-day Tech Stack Audit, our team puts the inventory and the numbers in front of you before you commit, and when the answer is a new platform, we act as your software selection consultant with no reseller stake in the outcome. Schedule a consultation today.
Written by
Luiza Vilardo
Director of Consulting at Scottship Solutions
Luiza oversees technology assessments, strategic roadmap execution, and project delivery for nonprofit and small business clients. She translates CIO-level strategy into operational reality through structured delivery and measurable outcomes.
Certifications
PMP (Project Management Professional) • Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt • Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
Industries Served
Human Services, Healthcare & Community Health, Arts & Culture, Foundations & Grantmakers, Education & Youth Development