Blackbaud makes an Outlook add-in, usually called Blackbaud for Outlook, that lets fundraisers see constituent details and log email as interactions from inside their inbox. It was built for Raiser’s Edge NXT. Altru users who find it naturally ask whether they can install it too.
The short answer: as far as we know, the add-in does not connect to Altru, and we have not seen Blackbaud document Altru support for it. Blackbaud’s product lineup does change, so confirm with Blackbaud support or your account contact before you rule it out. Until it does, the realistic question is how to get the same benefit, a clean record of who on your staff talked to which donor or member, without it.
What the add-in actually solves
It helps to be clear about what you are trying to replace. The value of an Outlook connection is mostly three things:
- Context before you reply. Seeing that the person emailing you is a lapsed patron-level member or a major donor changes how you write back.
- A logged history. Important conversations end up on the constituent record instead of living in one staff member’s mailbox.
- Less copying and pasting. Nobody has to retype an email thread into a note.
Without an integration, you can still get most of the first two. The third is where you accept some manual work.
Workarounds that hold up in practice
1. Decide which emails belong in Altru
Not every message needs to be logged. Teams that try to record everything give up within a month. Pick a short list, for example: gift conversations, membership complaints and resolutions, board and major donor contact, group sales commitments, and anything involving a refund or exception. Write that list down and share it with everyone who emails constituents.
2. Log those emails as interactions or notes on the constituent record
Altru constituent records support logging contact history. Agree on a consistent format so the history is readable later: date, staff member, a one-line summary, and any commitment made (“agreed to extend membership one month”). Paste the key part of the email rather than the whole thread. If you are not sure which record type your organization uses for this, check what your development or membership team already does and match it; mixing notes and interactions for the same purpose makes queries harder.
3. Get constituent context into Outlook the low-tech way
If staff mainly need to know “who is this person” when an email arrives, a periodic export can help. Build a query of the constituents your team actually corresponds with (board, major donors, current upper-level members), export it, and import it into a shared Outlook contact list with a short notes field such as membership level or relationship manager. It goes stale, so refresh it on a schedule, monthly is common, and keep it small. Be thoughtful about what personal data you place in a shared mailbox.
4. Use a shared mailbox for constituent-facing addresses
Addresses like membership@ or events@ often hold the most important member conversations. A shared mailbox with a simple rule, such as “whoever resolves it logs it in Altru and flags it done,” keeps history from disappearing when someone leaves.
5. Keep outbound mass email out of Outlook
Renewal notices, event reminders, and appeals should go out from Altru’s marketing and communications tools or your email platform, not from personal Outlook accounts. That way the send is tied to the right constituent list and your records reflect it. Outlook is best kept for one-to-one relationship email.
Things to avoid
- Third-party connectors that need broad database access. If a vendor offers to sync Outlook with Altru, ask exactly how it connects, what it writes, and whether Blackbaud supports that method. Test anything like this against a non-production environment first.
- Forwarding emails to a person who “puts them in Altru later.” It becomes a backlog within weeks.
- Logging without a format. Free-form notes are hard to query and harder to read three years later.
Making the case to Blackbaud
If an Outlook connection matters to your organization, tell Blackbaud directly through your account contact or support case. Be specific about the use case: which staff would use it, what they would log, and what it would replace. Concrete descriptions of daily work tend to carry more weight than a general “we want this too.”
Quick answers
Can I install Blackbaud for Outlook and point it at Altru?
We are not aware of a supported way to do that. Ask Blackbaud support to confirm for your account before spending time on it.
Is there a way to log email to Altru automatically?
Not that we can confirm natively. Plan on a short, consistent manual logging habit for the conversations that matter.
Should we log every member email?
No. Log the ones that change something: money, benefits, exceptions, or a relationship you will need to pick up later.
