# Blackbaud Altru Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Blackbaud Altru the right Ticketing solution for you? Explore 42 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/212448/Blackbaud-Altru/reviews --- Blackbaud Altru 4 (42) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/212448/Blackbaud-Altru/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 15th, 2026 # Reviews of Blackbaud Altru Ease of use 3.6 Customer Service 4.3 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Patrice C Administrative AssistantEducation Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “It is all in one platform that can be used to manage multiple events depending on the organization they can integrate this platform to manage all of their business needs.“ August 23, 2025 BL Breanne L Database AdministratorMuseums and Institutions, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “There is no room for human error and trying to offer customer service to our constituents often results in our institution looking bad because the system just won't let us help them in a timely/efficient manner.“ July 16, 2021 LS Lisa S Altru Database ConsultantMuseums and Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Many processes are automatic once set up correctly. And again, customer service and support are tremendous assets for Altru.“ July 14, 2021 BL Breanne L Database AdministratorMuseums and Institutions, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I find the support and ongoing education webinars that Blackbaud offers to be lacking and they need to improve their discovery process.“ July 16, 2021 GB Glynis B School Outreach ManagerMuseums and Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Blackbaud support and training materials are wonderful.“ October 7, 2021 BL Breanne L Database AdministratorMuseums and Institutions, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Refunds and exchanges are also really terrible in the system.“ July 16, 2021 SM Stella M Guest Services ManagerMuseums and Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “The system is extremely difficult to work with - the system is complicated to set up memberships, membership renewals, ticket sales, and unfortunately, doesn't work well with other systems since it was first created so long ago...“ March 2, 2021 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 42 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Adam C. Data Analyst Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A complete non-profit fundraising and ticketing tool" July 9, 2019 4.0 Initially, we saved tens of thousands of dollars migrating our POS, CRM, and online ticketing platforms to the single Altru platform. We've never regretted it. That was about seven years ago, and we're still happily using it. Altru generally does everything we want it to do. It's great for admissions and event ticketing but not a great tool for email marketing or running a gift shop, though it does send bulk emails and allows you to sell merchandise. If you have an email marketing tool or gift shop software, keep it. Pros All our donor, patron, and visitor information is in one place, secure in the cloud. We rely on Altru to keep all our sales, donor, and member records together so we can see all the ways our constituents connect with us. This also makes reporting much easier, having all earned and contributed revenue recorded in one database. This also makes training easier, as there's only one system that many of our staff need to learn and interact with, everyone from ticket sellers to fundraisers. Finally, using one cloud-based system requires fewer administrators and no server hardware, streamlining staff and IT costs. Cons The financial and revenue setup can be intimidating, since there's a general ledger behind all the sales and revenue transactions. A general ledger must be set up, fiscal years created, transactions mapped, payment types created, payment methods created, etc. It can be daunting without a background in accounting or bookkeeping. You will need a trained financial professional to help oversee the financial configuration. Blackbaud will help you set this up initially, but you will need someone knowledgeable to oversee those parts. Alternatives considered [Tessitura](https://www.capterra.com/p/111612/Tessitura-Software/) Reason for choosing Blackbaud Altru We talked to museums using Tessitura, and they were frustrated by their need to constantly customize it. Review Source BL Breanne L. Database Administrator Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "That 360 Degree View" July 16, 2021 4.0 While there are several things that I would like to see improved in Altru, I still believe it is still the best product out there for non-seated venues that need a ticketing solution. Our reporting has gotten so much better because we \*can\* see what members, donors, volunteers, etc have done with our institution. I find the support and ongoing education webinars that Blackbaud offers to be lacking and they need to improve their discovery process. Pros The absolute best part of Altru is that it offers a 360 degree view of our constituents. We can query on many different types of engagement with our institution to see who our donors are or how likely a member is to renew. For frontline staff, the user interface for ticketing is easy to use and very intuitive. Training staff is so much more pleasant with this software! Cons Group sales and group sales reporting are woefully underdeveloped (I will never understand why the entire group sales sales method was just left out of the Program Revenue report). Refunds and exchanges are also really terrible in the system. There is no room for human error and trying to offer customer service to our constituents often results in our institution looking bad because the system just won't let us help them in a timely/efficient manner. Alternatives considered [Gateway Ticketing](https://www.capterra.com/p/9324/Galaxy/)[Leap Patron Management](https://www.capterra.com/p/118188/PatronManager-CRM/)[Salesforce Sales Cloud](https://www.capterra.com/p/61368/Salesforce/)[SRO4](https://www.capterra.com/p/81752/SRO4/) Reason for choosing Blackbaud Altru It was the best product to fit our many needs (admissions, education, fundraising, membership, summer camp, etc). Review Source dL daisy L. Frontb desk Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Ease of use " February 27, 2026 5.0 My experience was very positive and easy to navigate. I love how self-explanatory it is, and I can do multiple tasks on it. Pros The ease of using this program for our school is amazing. easy to navigate and easy to learn with all the promps. Thank you Cons I have no negative experience in the program. Nothing truly to report i truly think its easy to navigate Review Source HV Hope V. Assistant Director of Education Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A good start but needs streamlining " June 30, 2025 3.0 I use Altru at work for creating events, inputting and checking memberships, checking orders, and checking numbers. I also often issue refunds or look things up for people. Pros I like some features like copying events and being able to look up people/ orders/ information. It is also very easy to check the history of a person/ organization. Cons It really isn’t user friendly. You have to click around constantly to find things and then manually pull some information. There should be some way to streamline it. Review Source LS Lisa S. Altru Database Consultant Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Gotta have me some Altru" July 14, 2021 5.0 Once trained, employees are more likely to become more engaged with the product and will see the advantages of one CRM instead of bouncing from one CRM to another. Customers are happier when they don't have to wait. In fundraising, it is vital to be able to see what donors are also members or ticket buyers opening the door to the ask. Stewardship of donors is simplified with everything about the donor on the screen in front of you during a call or even on your phone on the way to a meeting. Many processes are automatic once set up correctly. And again, customer service and support are tremendous assets for Altru. Pros Ability to have fundraising, ticketing, events, membership all in one CRM is amazing. It has increased employee production, made patrons and donors happier (less waiting, ease of use), increased fundraising ability by having the ability to see who hasn't donated yet attends/purchases abundantly and relationships between constituents. I absolutely LOVE this CRM and would only consider moving to another organization that uses the product! Training and support are amazing. Support is always available through knowledge base, community, videos and when really stumped, through online chat. And they CARE about helping you with find the answers you need. Cons No CRM is perfect. The canned reports aren't always easy to manipulate when downloaded while the queries can be difficult for those not using them on a regular basis. The prospect management is not as flexible (would like the ability for one person to handle all the fundraiser's management) and can be redundant in places. There are small glitches here and there, and the email ability from Altru is poor, but they are constantly listening to their customers to make needed improvements. Switched from [Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT](https://www.capterra.com/p/247647/Blackbaud-Raiser-s-Edge-NXT/) Ticketing was needed and Altru made sense handling the various aspects of the organization. Review Source sT sandy T. Director of Possibilities Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Review of Blackbaud Altru" November 4, 2020 1.0 frustrating Pros At the time we selected it there was little else available on the market that did so much, especially of rarts organizations Cons Altru proved unruly to manage / non-intuitive / overly expensive, espoecially as new products came along, like Bloomerang Switched from [Bloomerang](https://www.capterra.com/p/131207/Bloomerang/) cost / efficiency / ease of data input / clarity and ease of creating reports / retention focus Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Administrative Assistant Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Blackbaud Altru PowerStream" August 23, 2025 5.0 Overall experience with Blackbaud Altru it provides great point of sale transaction that creates a sense of ease by all frontline staff. I was comfortable with this experience to be honest. Pros What I liked about Blackbaud Altru is that it allows a business or educational institution to manage a variety of all in one cloud based activity. A company can manage ticketing for events, programs, membership management or attendance for a educational institution. It is all in one platform that can be used to manage multiple events depending on the organization they can integrate this platform to manage all of their business needs. Cons The least I like about Blackbaud Altru is that it challenging to manage online group sales because it does not allow the organization to be very efficient in the area. It needs to be more simplistic. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Lead Guest Experience Associate Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Endless possibilities " July 16, 2021 5.0 Teaching tools are wonderful. Possibilities feel endless. I enjoy the continuous challenge to use the program in a new way. Pros Ability to creatively use the data base to accomplish analysis, ticketing, membership, fundraising and interdepartmental cohesion! Cons This takes a long time to learn all the different features. Review Source Lisa H. Visitor Participation Coordinator Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My experience with Altru began about 2 years ago. It was easy to use and had many useful features. " May 15, 2018 4.0 Reporting and database management Pros I really enjoy all the reporting and smart queries Altru can produce. It allows your job to be much easier and efficient. I also really am impressed and appreciate the customer support. Since I'm fairly new to Altru, I have a lot of questions. Knowing someone is there to assist means a lot to me. Cons Some of the features are great but at times you have to do 5 other steps in order for something to work. If there was a SOP for everything in Altru already created...I'd be in heaven. Review Source William (Bill) S. CFO & Vice President of Business Affairs Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "After 8 years we have found the promised land!" June 22, 2018 5.0 Pros The support and the solution go hand in hand. We went "live" just over 12 months and we are learning more and more everyday on how we can leverage the solution. 100% integrated with our accounting. Blackbaud has setup a platform that is engaging and interactive for users to connect with others in the community as well as developers. The solution is improving and so are we. Cons Sometimes we find development improvements that seem critical to our organization to take longer then we would like. But we live in a day of instant gratification and once recognized we can be patient. Review Source DM Dawn M. Coordinator Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Excellent donor management system" January 10, 2018 5.0 Pros Very comprehensive donor management system that allows for total donor management. Information input and multiple layers of security. Cons Fees are a bit higher than other donor management systems but well worth it for the product line and information captured. Review Source CD Celina D. Operations Associate Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Well Rounded Software" April 12, 2019 5.0 I think i's a great software all around for any organization Pros I appreciate all of the options and customization that Altru offers. It's great for keeping track of tours, donations, events, ticket sales, etc. It is a great all around management program for any organization Cons I think the navigation on Altru can be a bit tricky. It takes a while to get used to it, but when you get the hang of it, it gets a little easier. Review Source AM Audrey M. Systems Administrator Used the software for: ### "Worth the work" November 29, 2015 4.0 We have been with Altru for over three years and in that time have seen constant improvement and updates to the product. Their support staff is the best I have ever seen with any software company. Altru is a very detailed system and it covers so many areas that have so many intertwining cogs that it can be difficult to navigate for some users and it can be a bit cumbersome. However, they are continually updating the product to make it easier to use and cut down on some of the steps, which helps. Overall, it's worth it because being able to track so much of our data in one system, giving us a well-rounded view of our constituents and how people are interacting with our organization is incredibly helpful. Review Source JB Jesse B. Environmental Services Used the software for: ### "Lead Analyst" February 27, 2015 4.0 Pros Flexibility in use across platforms and user base with existing infrastructure. Cons The deployment process across platforms can sometimes be overwhelming for novice users. Review Source SW Stephanie W. Sr. Manager Fund-Raising Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Solution for Fundraising Shops" November 13, 2024 4.0 I think it's a solid Blackbaud product that allows fundraisers to get the job done, but is a little behind the times. Pros I think Blackbaud Altru is a very powerful database, and I love that it has a component to integrate memberships/ticketing information with fundraising donations. Cons There is a really high learning curve with this product, there are also many quirks to the system that don't allow for global changing. Review Source SL Sheena L. Program Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Program Manager" October 21, 2024 5.0 Pros Checking the budgets for each cost center Cons Sometimes, I get lost in different areas Review Source VR Vicky R. Office Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great Product" August 7, 2024 5.0 Love it, helps us keep track of all of our constituents. We love how we can keep track of events, like who attended and also able to check them in. Pros Very powerful tool. It helps keep track of all donor files, events, groups. There is so much you can do. It pulls reports. Cons The courses with live teacher sometime take a while to do. Review Source GB Glynis B. School Outreach Manager Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A big improvement over our legacy system" October 7, 2021 4.0 In my role, I primarily use Altru for scheduling programs, both onsite and offsite. We've had to develop creative solutions for complex scheduled programs like field trips and outreach visits, but more straightforward scheduled events were easy to implement. The ability to maintain a large database of individual constituents and organizations is very helpful for scheduling. Prior to implementing Altru, we used an in-house built legacy system that was impossible to maintain, and after the initial launch pains it has been a great improvement. Pros Queries and exports are very helpful. The ability to maintain and manage a large database of constituents is an essential function for us. Blackbaud support and training materials are wonderful. Cons Altru is not intuitive to use, and was very intimidating for my team. There is one major flaw where you can too-easily delete an entire program with all of its events when you intend to only delete one event. This can be avoided by selling a ticket to any of the events, but happens sometime for us when a program is used to populate an internal calendar. Another flaw is that sales orders will sometimes glitch and get sent to "unresolved sales orders" with no notification, and unless checked regularly can be overlooked. Reason for choosing Blackbaud Altru Altru was selected with the hopes that it could be used across the entire museum, from ticketing to membership management to school and public programs. I believe the membership team members were the real driving force for choosing Altru. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Foundation & Agency Relations Coordinator Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Wide-ranging data management software with improving support/training options." April 2, 2018 4.0 Pros Covers every aspect of museum data management, from fundraising to programs to events and more. Excellent customization of data queries to manage data and run reports. Offers many levels of depth, to serve both front-line staff and power users. Cons Little/no training and support offered until very recently. Limited customization of layout, view options, colors, and categories in constituent records. Sometimes requires many, many clicks to achieve simple goals/record changes/reports. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Visitor Service Associate Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Altru by Blackbaud Review" March 21, 2019 3.0 I know a good amount how to deal with things on Altru, but if something comes up that you don't know, it's not always self-explanatory how to get done what you need to get done. Sometimes you have click on quite a series of things that you would never things to click on to make something happen. That being said, it doesn't seem to glitch often, which is nice. Again, having all the needed resources right there in one software is a helpful. Pros I love the amount that you can do on Altru and that it can all be done in one place. Whether it's keeping our volunteers organized, scheduling tours, selling event tickets, etc., it can all be done right there in Altru. Cons There are multiple ways you can do everything. Rather than having one concise way to do each action, you have to search to find many not simple ways to do everything. Sometimes, screens look slightly different on different computers as well, even though they've all been updated. It's amazing how much you can do, but it would be so much easier if the methods used were more concise. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Development and Member Services Manager Used the software for: 2+ years ### "An improvement over our previous system, but still needs some fine tuning" June 6, 2018 4.0 Pros We now have the ability to get a true look at all the ways our constituents are interacting with our organization. Prior to implementation, our organization was very siloed, with each department using separate databases. Cons The product has a long way to go with the web forms and email functionality. It would be great to have usable metrics for online behavior. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Volunteer Coordinator Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Definitely not a great took for volunteer management " September 26, 2018 2.0 Pros From what I can see, this software looks like it could be a great tool for some applications. As I mean it is great for the money if you are looking to have a tool to maintain unlimited accounts, but that is really the only true good aspect of it. Cons I have head to use the software for volunteer management at several locations, and to be honest besides from keeping track of personal information the volunteer side is terrible. They trying to force you to buy they're really expensive side a volunteer management, but there are better programs out there for much cheaper. To give you an example, to run a report you literally have to go through 8 to 10 steps and hope it is what you're looking for. It is really not user friendly Review Source SK Shannon K. Director of Special Projects Used the software for: ### "6 Reasons that Altru Rocks" June 22, 2015 4.0 The RISD Museum has been using Altru for almost 3 years. While some aspects of the product could use improvement specifically web forms, email analytics, and merchandise there are many ways that Altru rocks: 1. The conversion of our old data went very smoothly. The database experts at Blackbaud were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. 2. Second, Altru is very easy to use. Our Visitor Services staff was up and running at the front desk with only an introductory session and some in-person support that first week. 3. Altru tech support at Blackbaud has been more responsive and helpful than any other software company I've worked with. They understand my work, not just the software. 4. You don't have to be a database expert to become an expert at Altru. My team members have taken ownership of their data and processes. I love sitting in a meeting and having someone else say, "Did you know you can do this in Altru? Here's what I'm doing and I think it will work for you." 5. Blackbaud is actively trying to improve the product. I've personally been involved with discovery by development teams working on reporting/queries and security/access. 6. The Altru Community is very active and supportive. Often, I don't need an answer to how the software works. I know how to make the software work but sometimes there are multiple right ways to do something. So my question is more about best practices and how others are doing it. It's helpful to hear what has worked at similar organizations and what hasn't. The bottom line is that there are pluses and minuses with any enterprise system. We evaluated six different systems before selecting Altru and chose based on what we thought would work best for our organization, our team members, and our business processes. As someone once told me, when you buy an enterprise system, you're not just buying software, you're also buying a business model. It turns out that Altru does, indeed, work well for the RISD Museum. Review Source CD Chelsea D. Database Manager Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Altru does it all! " December 13, 2018 5.0 I have been using Altru for about a year in a database management position. There were so many training resources available when I first started, and continued support from our account manager and chat support. There is an article for every problem I could run into. It has been a great experience learning how to use this database and implementing the use of awesome features that we weren't previously using! Pros I love that my company doesn't have to have many different databases to perform various tasks. Altru allows us to have a complete 360 view of our organization and our customers. We use it for all of our CRM needs - ticketing, programs, special events, donors, memberships, revenue reporting, etc. The support available through the parent company Blackbaud is so helpful for working out the kinks, as well. Cons This software is very expensive. Especially since the primary organizations who use Altru are non-profits. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Executive Producer Museums and Institutions Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Altru" January 21, 2019 5.0 Not a bad product. Please add a point of sake tool for gift shops!! Hey Pros Easy to use database for non-profits. Great tool for data analysis. Cons I would like to see a built in capacity for point of sale. I currently have to use two services when I could just use one. 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