UWinnipeg ups campus connectivity with Blackbaud

Through integration with Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge technology, The University of Winnipeg is equipped to provide faculty and staff across campus with more tools than ever to connect with our community, streamline communications, plan and execute events, and much more.

A powerful database tool, Raiser’s Edge allows not only for the safe and secure collection of information from individuals such as students, alumni, and donors but the creation of an organized and searchable directory. By utilizing Raiser’s Edge, users can review an individual’s past event attendance, donation history, or create a list for communicating about upcoming events such as workshops, lectures, and conferences.

Blackbaud’s database technology can also be leveraged to keep in touch with alumni – in fact, The University of Winnipeg Foundation and Alumni Office were among the first departments on campus to make use of Raiser’s Edge. By creating a detailed profile of each individual, departments and services can search for the profiles of individuals who fit particular criteria, including area of study. This allows for communication, by way of newsletter, bulletin, or otherwise, with alumni from a specific department and allows the UWinnipeg community to stay in touch.

These tools, paired with the recent launch of UWinnipeg Connect alumni portal, allows for greater alumni interaction on and beyond campus. In concert, Blackbaud and UWinnipeg Connect work to create more and better mentorship opportunities, an environment for increased alumni collaboration, and the chance to gather alumni to celebrate, reunite, and support The University of Winnipeg.

Blackbaud can likewise be used for day-to-day operations. Several departments have already made use of the e-store functionality provided by the software. For instance, biology students ordered lab coats by way of Blackbaud software and game-day operations such as ticketing and concessions at Wesmen games have been run through the application.

But Blackbaud’s event functionality is not limited to athletics, and come September 2023, UWinnipeg will incorporate Eventbrite services into Raiser’s Edge, which will allow for seamless ticketing and tracking. Departments and campus organizations will be able to seamlessly deliver tickets to guests while automatically updating and maintaining attendance information. And on event day, the Blackbaud system will allow for ticketless entry.

First introduced to UWinnipeg in 2019, the usership has grown steadily and recently eclipsed a roster of more than two-dozen clients, including The University of Winnipeg Foundation, The University of Winnipeg Collegiate, Alumni Office, Wii Chiiwaakanak Learning Centre, and UWinnipeg Wesmen, as well as the English, Classics, Biology, and History departments, among others.

To learn more about Blackbaud and Raiser’s Edge, contact Mark Bezanson, Technology Solutions Centre’s Operations Management Lead, at m.bezanson@uwinnipeg.ca.