Hello,
We use Altru. We used RE until 2012, when we switched to Altru. Altru is great if you need something that can cover back office Development needs as well as front office Visitor Services and Museum Shop needs. Altru handles 99% of the Revenue you take in since it handles front and back office transactions. What is great about that, is that you get a 360 degree view of your constituent. For example, John Smith visits the museum and buys a ticket for the Matisse exhibit. He also stops by the shop and buys a Matisse book. So when you have a Matisse lecture for members, you can contact him and let him know about the great benefits members receive, including admittance to members-only lectures like the Matisse lecture. Now you have a new member.
Altru has a different interface than RE - personally I think Altru is more user-friendly. But it takes a little time to get used to the differences. Altru has reports and query, like RE does, but some of the reports you used in RE may not be available in Altru as a report. Instead, you may have to use query to get what you need. I use query in Altru every day. I find it easier to get the results I need from a query than from a report. Also, not everything you did in RE will be available in Altru, and Altru will have some new things you can use. Just know that even though RE and Altru are Blackbaud products, they are their own product, and they have differences.
Altru is better when it comes to support, compared to what RE has. Altru has the usual support phone # and Knowledgebase. But they also have Chat, where you get support via chat. And they have the Altru Community, which is a space where all Altru users, along with support, can ask questions, start new ideas, and get advice. It is very helpful when I am stumped with an issue.
One word of advice if you go from RE to Altru. Make sure you communicate well with your conversion specialist. Before you convert everything over to Altru, make sure you have talked everything through and everyone understands everyone. The reason I say this is because when we went through the conversion process, we had a few hiccups. And they wouldn't have happened if there was better communication.
Thanks!
Kristina
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Kristina Gerard MBA
Database Manager/System Analyst
Speed Art Museum
Louisville KY
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-22-2014 11:59 AM
From: Jessica Hougen
Subject: E-Tapestry vs. Raiser's Edge vs. Altru
Hello All,
We've been using e-Tapestry, and found it doesn't suit our needs. We're looking into moving to Raiser's Edge, but our Blackbaud rep is trying to talk us into Altru. I'd love to hear from people who are currently using Altru- strengths, weaknesses, comparisons to e-Tap or Raiser's Edge- all feedback would be helpful. Thanks!
Best Regards,
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Jessica Hougen
Curator
U.S. Marshals Museum
Fort Smith AR
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