Change is hard: ReNXT Cheat Sheet

By Sunshine Reinken Watson 

Change is hard, especially when it comes to learning new terminology in systems we use every day. 

When Blackbaud set out to move Raiser’s Edge to the cloud years ago, they began building a modern web-based platform inspired by database view rather than a complete replica. As a result, the terminology in web view is often different. Many users have become fluent in both database view and web view language, yet they are still caught off guard when familiar fields appear with new labels. 

I created a terminology cheat sheet for Barker & Scott clients to help ease the transition, and we wanted to share it more broadly after seeing a growing need among professionals who are working more often in web view. More teams are navigating this shift, and having clarity about the changes to fields and function names can make the learning curve easier. 

These terms will continue to evolve, and updates to this document are inevitable. When database view is sunset in summer 2027, this resource may become obsolete, which makes this the right time to get comfortable with the updated language in web view. Language will keep changing too. For example, users in the idea bank have suggested shifting away from “Head of Household” to more modern terms such as “Primary Household Contact” or “Main Contact.” 

You can find the full cheat sheet on our Resources page. If it helps you or your team during the transition, that is exactly why we created it.