Blackbaud has been highlighting our new SKY API capabilities within Blackbaud Grantmaking since we announced they were live in beta during our May Product Update Briefing. There are some exciting possibilities that APIs can bring to your Grantmaking tool, but it can be a bit daunting to get started. Once you’re over the initial hurdles, the rewards for those organizations that make the effort to learn how to use the APIs can be profound.
What is an API and how does it work?
The Blackbaud SKY API, or Application Programming Interface, is basically a set of rules that outlines how one piece of software can access data or functionality provided by a separate piece of software. This access allows different systems to communicate with one another and share functionality and data.
Whether you know it or not, you use APIs every day. Do you check the weather forecast on your phone? That app uses an API that connects to and shares data from a weather service. Do you ever use Facebook or Google to log into a third-party website? That’s an API that authenticates you and gives you access. Do you purchase anything using PayPal or Google Pay? That connection is created by an API that shares payment information between those systems and the vendor.
Blackbaud’s modern SKY API capabilities give you that power to connect and share data with other systems in the same way. You can use that connection to view and use data from any system that has API capabilities, which most modern systems do. As we continue to broaden the fields and data available to share within Blackbaud Grantmaking, we’ve recently hit a major milestone. Our SKY APIs in Blackbaud Grantmaking now have endpoint parity with the legacy API tool that was previously available. This means that anything you could do with the old system you can now do with the SKY API, and this will only continue to grow as we add more endpoints. Each endpoint represents additional data fields that the API can collect and share, so as these expand within Blackbaud Grantmaking, you’ll have more information available to share with external systems.
What can you do today, and what are we looking to deliver in the future?
Today, Blackbaud Grantmaking’s SKY API capabilities are centered around financial data, like grant amounts and remaining balance. You can already share that information with your financial system while also pulling data like payment date or payment type into your grant management system. Now that all the Blackbaud Grantmaking API end points are modernized, it provides additional opportunities for connections to other systems.
To provide more value for our grantmaking customers, we’re working internally and with third-party developers to provide ready-built integrations for particular tools. You may already be familiar with our plug-and-play Raiser’s Edge NXT integration with Blackbaud Grantmaking, available in the Blackbaud Marketplace. This is built on our legacy APIs, but our vision is to have similar and more expansive connectors available in the future to help you get the most out of your grantmaking software. The ultimate goal is to provide you with the tools and abilities to expand and extend your system so you can do your work, your way.
You don’t need to wait for Blackbaud, or third parties, however. You can actually get started using the APIs today. Here’s how.
Where do I get started?
There can be a bit of a learning curve to begin working with any API. Blackbaud is here to help you find your footing and start the journey. The first place to start is our SKY API page, which has a ton of resources available to you. It all starts, however, with you creating a SKY Developer account—here is the sign-up page. Don’t be scared off by the term “developer.” There are a number of low-code and no-code options. Once you have your account set up, you’ll find additional resources on the API page that walk you through the basics and important things to know.
Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the tool, the next step is dipping your toes in the water. Start thinking through what processes you could improve or make more efficient by developing your own connections. Blackbaud has forums to help you with this as you begin building out your APIs. The most useful may be our Blackbaud SKY Developer Community. Many of our customers across all our API enabled products use the Community page to post questions and answers and share their successes and lessons learned.
Interested in using PowerAutomate to build your own low-code solution? Blackbaud Grantmaking supports the Blackbaud SKY Add-ins Certified Power Connecter.
We can of course also assist you directly through Blackbaud Support. Our Support team can help you with bugs or other suspected issues with the SKY Developer tools. However, it’s important to note that Support does not troubleshoot code, provide training, or supply code samples. At the same time, our Professional Services group can directly help consult on an integration you’re trying to develop or build an integration for you outright. Let your Customer Service Manager or Account Executive know if you’d be interested in us working with you on this.
So, what’s next?
Go forth and conquer! Read the documentation available and brainstorm what integrations and connections would be most helpful to your organization and processes. Be sure to look through the Community for inspiration and to see what others are doing and what they’ve learned along the way. You can also use the Idea Bank within Community to suggest pre-built integrations—and then encourage other customers to vote for it.
Finally, create your developer account and craft a simple connection that can help you see or share data that you’ve always wished you could. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be grateful you started, and your only question for Blackbaud will be “when can I get more endpoints?” to make even more things possible.
Want to hear more about what’s next for SKY APIs and the innovation coming to Blackbaud Grantmaking? Join us for our next Product Update Briefing to see how we are creating even tighter connections to save you time and help you drive more impact.
