Rosterfy & Blackbaud: A Purpose-Built VMS, Connected to Your Fundraising CRM

Why you need a VMS and a CRM, not just one or the other

Because a fundraising CRM and a VMS are solving two different problems.

Blackbaud is built to manage donor relationships, giving history and supporter records. It’s the system fundraising, donor relations and finance teams rely on to manage and report on supporter activity. Volunteer management is available within the broader platform, but it isn’t the core purpose Blackbaud was designed around.

Rosterfy, on the other hand, is built specifically to manage volunteer programs at scale. From recruitment, onboarding and compliance to scheduling, check-in, communications, recognition and reporting, the platform is designed around the entire volunteer journey. For organisations managing volunteers across multiple programs, locations or events, that difference becomes more important as programs grow and operations become more complex including:

• Peak-day execution. Rosterfy’s QR check-in, geofencing, kiosk mode and shift rostering are designed for the moments when volunteers actually show up, whether that’s a food distribution day, major event or disaster response. These are operational workflows that go beyond the volunteer tracking typically found in a donor management platform.
• Compliance at scale. Automatically manage background checks, safeguarding requirements, credentials and training across volunteers, programs and locations. Automated reminders and expiry workflows help keep volunteers compliant without relying on manual follow-up or separate supporter records.
• Multi-program, multi-site structure. Organizations running volunteer operations across several sites or programs need to control who can see and manage volunteer data by location or team, while still keeping everything connected to the same supporter record in Blackbaud.
• Volunteer self-service, without the CRM getting in the way. Rosterfy gives every volunteer their own portal to manage their details, availability and history without needing to interact with Blackbaud directly. Blackbaud’s own volunteer tools are either staff-managed or built around fundraising-specific workflows, not general self-service for volunteer profiles. With Rosterfy, the volunteer experience is purpose-built from the ground up, so volunteers never need to know there’s a CRM working behind the scenes.

The two systems aren’t competing for the same job. Blackbaud remains the system of record for donors, gifts, and supporter relationships. Rosterfy becomes the system of record for volunteer operations. The integration is what keeps both in sync. So a volunteer who’s also a donor doesn’t exist as two disconnected records, and your fundraising team can see volunteer activity inside the CRM they already report from.

Note: If your volunteer program is genuinely small (a handful of shifts a year, tracked through a few custom fields on a supporter record) that may be all you need for now.

The case for a dedicated VMS gets stronger once volunteer operations outgrow what a CRM’s supporter record was designed to carry: multiple programs, high volunteer throughput, or compliance requirements a donor database wasn’t built to manage.

How does the Rosterfy and Blackbaud integration actually work?

Rosterfy’s integration with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT keeps volunteer records in sync across both platforms. Once the connection is set up, updates flow automatically both ways. Change a volunteer’s details in Rosterfy and they’re updated in Blackbaud, or make a change in Blackbaud and it flows back into Rosterfy.

How does Rosterfy match a volunteer to the right Blackbaud record?

Rosterfy’s integration with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT keeps volunteer records in sync across both platforms. Once the connection is set up, updates flow automatically both ways. Change a volunteer’s details in Rosterfy and they’re updated in Blackbaud, or make a change in Blackbaud and it flows back into Rosterfy.

Rosterfy checks for an existing match before creating a new record, helping prevent duplicate volunteer records across the two systems:

• It first looks for a Blackbaud record with the same email address, including inactive records.
• If there’s one match, Rosterfy treats it as the same person.
• If multiple people share that email address, Rosterfy compares first and last names to find the right match.
• If it still can’t confidently identify the right person, it flags the potential duplicate for your team to review rather than making an assumption.
• Organisations can also enable sync by Lookup ID, using the Rosterfy User ID as the reference between the two platforms.
• If no existing match is found, Rosterfy automatically creates a new record in Blackbaud.

Once matched, the records remain linked, so future updates are applied to the right person across both platforms.

What data actually syncs, and does it go both ways?

Most volunteer data can sync between Rosterfy and Blackbaud, although some information only flows one way:

• Core profile information such as name, phone, preferred name, email and address syncs both ways. Optional fields including gender, title, birthdate and Lookup ID can also be included.
• Mapped custom fields can also sync between both platforms, giving organisations flexibility over the additional volunteer information they want to keep aligned.
• Consent records, actions and notes flow from Rosterfy into Blackbaud. This allows activity captured through the volunteer journey to be visible to teams working in Blackbaud.
• Volunteer engagement data is also added to Blackbaud, including total volunteer hours, shifts and events. This gives fundraising and reporting teams a clearer picture of someone’s volunteer involvement without needing to leave Blackbaud.

Which users get synced?

You control which volunteer records are shared with Blackbaud by mapping specific Rosterfy user types. Only the user types you choose are synced, while everyone else remains in Rosterfy. This gives you control over which records are added to your CRM rather than sending everything across by default.

Which Blackbaud products does Rosterfy integrate with?

Rosterfy currently integrates with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT. Blackbaud CRM is not currently supported. If your organization runs Blackbaud CRM rather than Raiser’s Edge NXT, talk to Rosterfy about your specific setup to see whether this is an option.

What do we need to set up before going live?

The integration connects securely through OAuth, with your organisation authorising Rosterfy to access the Blackbaud API. The person setting up the connection in Blackbaud will need the Extensibility role with NXT Data Integration API task permission.

It’s worth confirming this access with your Blackbaud administrator before implementation to help make setup as smooth as possible.

Are there any limitations to be aware of?

A few things are worth knowing upfront. The integration supports Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT, but not Blackbaud CRM. Custom field syncing is generally best kept to around 10 fields due to the way Blackbaud’s API handles updates, and some Blackbaud modules may require additional configuration or costs depending on your setup.

Your Rosterfy contact can confirm the requirements during onboarding.