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Luminate Online Marketing software

19 reviews(4.0/5)
19 reviews(4.0/5)

Luminate Online Marketing is an online fundraising and marketing automation software for non-profits. The solution offers a host of interactive tools to develop dynamic marketing campaigns and organize online fundraising events. The software features tools to allow non-profits build campaigns via email, mobile, and social channels, along with donation and email acquisition technology that allows organizations to engage effectively with their constituents and convert them to regular donors.

Luminate Online Marketing partners non-profits with a comprehensive staff of fundraising experts. Organizations can smoothly drive top-performing donor acquisition, donor retention and fundraising results. The digital marketing tools enable organizers to create and design interactive webpages with personalized message for members and donors.

Luminate Online is suitable for organizations looking to expand online and multi-channel fundraising strategies. The solution is a good fit for several types of organizations, including faith-based ministries, human services, international organizations and national organizations.

Supported Operating System(s):
Mac OS , Web browser (OS agnostic) , Windows 8

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19 Reviews of Luminate Online Marketing

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  • Verified Reviewer

    April 2018

    Horrid, stay away!

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Value for Money
    Pros

    Nothing. Since this space has to be filled with 100 characters I will reiterate that there is nothing positive to say about this platform.

    Cons

    Blackbaud is a hydra with a thousand heads and zero direction. It's products, including Luminate, are archaic and outdated, lacking in user experience, features and functionality. Platform support is laughable. Choose an alternative and stay far, far away!

    This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you.
    Review Source: Capterra

  • Amanda from BoatU.S. Foundation

    Number of employees: 11-50 employees

    July 2017

    Easy to use without a programmer, but much better with programming experience.

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Value for Money

    The biggest thing I've been using this for lately is event registration and management. Without this product we wouldn't be able to pilot the programs we're piloting right now.

    Pros

    Very robust software with a ton of features built in. It requires some initial training to get started but once you get the hang of it, figuring out all the menus and features gets easier.

    Cons

    The interface can be clunky at times. Some things require navigating multiple menus and clicking multiple times to complete a task. But overall the functionality is incredible.

    Review Source: Capterra

  • Shawna from Union Rescue Mission

    October 2016

    Workhorse, but clunky and challenging to use

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Value for Money

    Luminate's email marketing tools are clunky. The segmentation is challenging as is building split tests. The support materials are dense but the support team itself is knowledgeable, which is the only saving grace in this review.

    Review Source: Capterra

  • Jamie from Project Angel Heart

    Specialty: Human Services

    September 2016

    Luminate Online: Sophisticated, Imperfect

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Value for Money
    Pros

    Overall, I really like Blackbaud. I'm an expert user/administrator of several of their products. And to be perfectly frank, Blackbaud is THE industry standard software. You can go with another vendor, but Blackbaud WILL end up buying that product out. Luminate in all of its iterations is a perfect example of this. It used to be Convio, its own, standalone non-profit software company. It is now a product in the Blackbaud family.

    I use Luminate in conjunction with Raiser's Edge via a Blackbaud-provided integration plugin. One thing I really like about this is that my two database software components communicate with one another. I also really like that you can use formulas--from simple to complex--to generate targeted ask strings for constituents in emails and donation forms.

    And that is the best thing about Luminate Online. It is powerful and customizable. It is capable of nuance and automation. It has API access for developers. These things are vital in the world of internet marketing, communications, and donation processing.

    I am also thrilled with its capability to automate recurring giving, providing recurring donors with logins to self-manage some of their giving information. Recurring giving in Raiser's Edge is a relatively manual process still. For orgs with large recurring donor groups, this product can help save a lot of time and energy by automating many of the aspects of managing these donors.

    Cons

    My biggest beef with Luminate Online is that it is ill-equipped to deal with non-individual, organizational records, such as businesses. There really is no functionality for org-type records, let alone the ability to manage and communicate with contacts. I would really like to see this part of the product fleshed out more in a similar way to the Raiser's Edge.

    I also really dislike the event management piece of Luminate Online. It lacks basic functionality, such as the ticket buyer being able to provide guest names (!). It's almost unbelievable that any 21st century software product that provides event management functions would be incapable of collecting the most rudimentary, necessary information for an event.

    Both of these issues are points in the software that make it clear this product was acquired by Blackbaud and not designed from the ground up by Blackbaud. Small snags in integration and imperfections in the product become sore points after a while, and the only way to overcome them is to have some serious web-developing firepower at your command. Many of Luminate Online's issues CAN be overcome by having a consultant or in-house web-developer customize the product for you. However, small non-profits rarely can afford this.

  • Sally from Carry The Load

    Specialty: Other

    January 2016

    Bad Timing for us

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    It is powerful in the use of the data and also in the production of web pages.

    Cons

    It seems like every time we pay for some customization, then not long after, it becomes a feature or fix in a future release. I just feel like we're not being advised very well. We aren't a cookie-cutter blackbaud client, so it doesn't always fit with what we are trying to do.

  • Shaun from AIDS Resource Center Ohio

    Specialty: Human Services

    November 2015

    Great product with a lot of potential

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    The flexibility and the integration are the best parts.

    Cons

    Blackbaud has acquired a lot of products over the years and even though integration is happening, your needs may be slower at integration than others.

  • Jackie from Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston

    Specialty: Human Services

    September 2015

    We use LO in conjunction with TR. We have several TR events each year.

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    It is easy to use once you spend the time to learn the product and receive the appropriate training.

    Cons

    The learning curve is steep. There is a big up tick in learning the product and using it to meet best practice standards.

  • Molly from Hephzibah Children's Association

    Specialty: Human Services

    September 2015

    Luminate provides an on-line branded look!

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    The look of the finished product is incredibly professional. The software is also easy to use after you spend time learning it.

    Cons

    It has been difficult to get used to using the Community when issues arise however on the other hand the Community is an excellent resource.

  • Barb from Hephzibah Children's Association

    Specialty: Human Services

    August 2015

    Luminate Online "Go to the community"!

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    It's a wonderful way to engage with your constituents and look at online marketing as a tool for growth.

    Cons

    I want a live person to ask questions to, without having to be told "post it to the community" every time an issue comes up. And then having to wait a day or two for a response or comment.

  • Angie from Van Andel Institute

    Specialty: Healthcare & Hospitals

    June 2015

    Luminate Online is a great email and fundraising tool

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    I like that it syncs with Raiser's Edge and is very easy to upload data into the system.

    Cons

    I wish the donation pages were a bit easier to design.

  • Keri from Greater Vancouver Food Bank

    Specialty: Human Services

    May 2015

    Luminate Go!

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    I loved their Go! Program. It enabled us to get up and running with our eNewsletter, and various eCampaigns. Providing templates and guidance.

    Cons

    Not as intuitive as I would like. Also you either have to use the WYSIWYG Editor (which can be buggy) or know HTML.

  • Kelsie from Columbia University

    Specialty: Environmental

    March 2015

    Luminate Review

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    This product is fairly easy to use, and if I have any questions the FAQ or Luminate employees are easy to get in touch with.

    Cons

    It's similar to other products but, it seems to lack some of the features of Salesforce.

  • Lance from Westco

    Specialty: Other

    February 2015

    Mysurvey22

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    The speed. It is very reliable and dependable. Like the aspects.

    Cons

    There is really nothing at all except for maybe the costs.

  • stella from Unibank

    Specialty: Environmental

    February 2015

    Accountant

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    Very professional and prompt on getting back to me

    Cons

    It's sometimes hard to reach people. Initial contact is hard.

  • Ali from Southlake regional health centre foundation

    Specialty: Healthcare & Hospitals

    February 2015

    Easy to use, amazing results!

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    I like that it integrates almost seamlessly with Raisers Edge! I love how the Constituent 360 database tracks every interaction a user makes.

    Cons

    I don't like that the C360 database doesn't allow for Organisational records. That's silly Blackbaud! And the preceding alpha and zeros on a receipt number don't transfer to RE.

  • Jody from Canadian Cancer Society AB/NWT

    Specialty: Other

    October 2014

    Luminate Review

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    It allows us to create online fundraising sites when you have little knowledge of website design.

    Cons

    Their eCommerce module is out of date, and many times, we find that we are battling the system to do what we want and writing custom code to get what we want.

  • Anna from Four Oaks

    Specialty: Human Services

    October 2014

    Luminate Online Rocks!

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    Luminate Online is a cutting-edge and forward-thinking software that leverages the strength of the world's leading fundraising software developer with the input from actual end users of the product. Blackbaud listens to us!

    Cons

    It's slightly expensive, but you get what you pay for.

  • Alicia from National Relief Charities

    Specialty: Human Services

    August 2014

    Used service since 2006

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    I love that I can do everything in one tool. The initial training and ongoing resources are great. The support team is helpful, and if you ever use client services, they are even better.

    Cons

    The price is a little steep, and the reporting could be a little more in-depth.

  • Keri from GVFBS

    Specialty: Human Services

    August 2014

    We purchased the platform nine months ago

    Ease-of-use
    Functionality
    Quality
    Support
    Pros

    This product integrates with Raiser's Edge, which streamlines data entry. They have a great program called Go!, which takes you through three different email campaigns and provides specific direction and feedback to grow your email lists. It is not difficult to set up new action forms. Emails are not difficult to send (especially if you are working off a template designed for you in the Go! Program). Blackbaud has been quick to respond to concerns and problems that arose from the integration with Raisers Edge.

    Cons

    Navigating to some of the reports is less intuitive than I would like. But, like anything, once you understand the structure, it is okay.

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