Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® and its rapidly developing AI capabilities directly address these needs. Using the latest technology, schools can run their fundraising efforts with greater efficiency, more personalized engagement and improved results—ushering in a new era for K–12 advancement.

Aspirational Leadership: AI in the Hands of the Head of School
Imagine a head of school using AI to strengthen community ties—tools that allow leaders to personalize every interaction with families, alumni and donors. Let’s look at an example: 

Heads of schools connect with their families every day, for every reason, from thanking them for a gift, to inviting them to sit on a committee, to responding to a complaint. Imagine how much more effective the conversation would be if before the call they could quickly look at a real-time summary of their history with that parent—including past contributions, events attended and their child’s activities—ensuring prompt and informed communication. A new feature for Raiser’s Edge NXT, allows you to ask Blackbaud AI for insights using natural language, and gain essential insights in moments. With this information the head of school might:  

• Thank the parent for their multi-year commitment to a scholarship fund, highlighting the tangible impact their support has had on student success. 

• Share updates on programs for which the parent has previously shown interest, such as the performing arts or athletics, making each communication more relevant and engaging.

And the moment they hang up, the head of school can ask Blackbaud AI to add a quick note about the phone call to the parent’s record, documenting any follow up actions.

Knowing the parent’s preferred communication style and past feedback, the head of school can anticipate questions or concerns, leading with empathy and understanding and strengthening relationships with families.

A+ Prospect Research: AI in the Hands of Fundraisers
Just as a skilled teacher guides a classroom through complex lessons, K-12 advancement teams can now navigate the intricacies of fundraising with the support of intelligent software. These tools empower teams to identify promising donors, tailor engagement and ensure each campaign is as thoughtfully planned as a curriculum—setting the stage for key benefits like:

• Uncovering Hidden Fundraising Potential: Capital campaigns and ambitious budget targets often push development teams into overdrive. With Prospect Insights in Raiser’s Edge NXT, advancement teams can use predictive analytics to identify and prioritize top donor prospects, uncovering hidden giving potential and streamlining outreach for focused, effective fundraising efforts. 

• Recognizing Donors with a Personalized Approach: Advancement teams can use AI acknowledgements to send personalized, heartfelt thank-you messages that reflect each donor’s unique contributions. Blackbaud’s generative AI technology uses donor and campaign data, along with tone optimizers to help fundraisers craft notes that go beyond generic templates, recognizing a parent or alumni’s commitments, ensuring every donor feels genuinely valued. 

• The Smart Way to Suggest Giving Amounts: The Intelligent Ask feature in Blackbaud Donation Forms uses artificial intelligence to personalize donation ask amounts based on what’s known about each site visitor—maximizing both donor engagement and gift value. This feature helps nonprofits and educational institutions raise more by tailoring the giving experience to each individual. It’s part of Blackbaud’s broader strategy to help organizations optimize donor conversion through smart, data-driven design.

Why AI Leads the Way
The real strength of AI lies in its ability to foster genuine connections and amplify generosity by drawing personalized insights from a wealth of data. As AI technology evolves, schools embracing it will set the standard for innovative, impactful fundraising that shapes thriving communities for generations to come.

In the coming year, Blackbaud will continue to develop capabilities poised to redefine what’s possible in K-12 fundraising, such as: 

• Campaign Optimization Strategies enriched by Blackbaud AI to provide targeted recommendations, including leveraging recent alumni and parent engagements, setting targeted gift ranges for donors, cultivating key relationships, storytelling and more.  

• Brand Voice-Based Content Generation that uses AI to weave each school’s unique voice into marketing campaigns, echoing the school’s signature blend of warmth and innovation in messages sent to parents and local sponsors. 

• AI-driven planned giving prospect identification that helps schools identify donors most likely to make legacy gifts, enabling advancement teams to nurture these important relationships more effectively. 

With these innovative AI-driven tools, fundraising is no longer just about reaching targets—it’s about strengthening relationships and celebrating the spirit that makes each school unique. Here’s to new possibilities and the collective efforts of families, educators and donors working together to build something truly extraordinary. 

The post How Blackbaud AI Empowers Private Schools to Transform Fundraising Through Innovation appeared first on Blackbaud.

Charleston, S.C. (October 8, 2025) — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leader in AI for social impact, today concluded bbcon 2025, its premier annual tech conference for nonprofits, schools, healthcare organizations, universities, and corporate social responsibility teams. The electric three-day event unveiled a new era of intelligent action—powered by Blackbaud AI—driving impact at scale through the world’s largest network of people and causes.

“The rise of AI represents a once-in-a-generation paradigm shift for social impact organizations, and Blackbaud is turning its numerous possibilities into action,” said Mike Gianoni, president, CEO and vice chairman of the board of directors, Blackbaud. “This week has been an incredible opportunity for us to explore new ways to help organizations everywhere move with more confidence, connection, and possibility.”

More Connection. More Possibility.
The company announced two seismic shifts in the way Blackbaud is bringing AI to market for social impact, marking a new era of intelligent action:

• Blackbaud AI is transforming Blackbaud solutions from a system of record to a system of intelligent action able to integrate insights across business units. Underpinned by years of domain expertise and a wealth of data from a variety of sources, new features like AI-powered donor stewardship reports, Recognition Programs, hyper-personalized donor journeys, and more are all able to work in concert to celebrate impact, nurture loyalty, and drive engagement at scale.  

• Blackbaud Agents for Good, are agentic, virtual team members who can proactively take on complex tasks, workflows and initiatives. Seamlessly embedded in the trusted Blackbaud environment, these agents allow human practitioners to focus on the parts of the mission that only they can—relationships, storytelling and vision.

Energy was high as Blackbaud executives highlighted some of the key product capabilities including 70+ available or planned embedded, sector-specific AI capabilities that will amplify customer success and impact in this new era:

• The Development Agent, the very first Agent for Good, will operate proactively to manage donor portfolios, communicate with supporters, follow through on outreach, and enable organizations to reach prospective donors they simply do not have capacity to today.  

• Chat for Blackbaud AI puts the deep insight of Blackbaud AI at users’ fingertips as a smart, conversational AI assistant that helps teams work more efficiently by summarizing key information, generating content, and suggesting next steps. 

• Prospect Insights Pro uses predictions to enable greater flexibility for users to customize their prospect segmentation strategy.  

• Document Intelligence, designed to empower finance teams, allows you to upload an invoice—PDF, image, even a photo—and Blackbaud AI reads it, extracts the data and creates a draft Accounts Payable record, as an example.   

• The Modernized Applicant User Experience in Blackbaud Award Management will infuse the applicant journey with a refreshed interface, including streamlined navigation, modernized visuals, and improved functionality across key areas. 

• Expedited Giving will speed up donation disbursement from corporate giving, making it up to 95% faster than traditional distribution methods, embed new modern giving options for employee donors, increase transparency for CSR program administrators with Blackbaud’s new Processing Portal, and save nonprofits time with donor detail integrations that will seamlessly connect to their Blackbaud solutions like Raiser’s Edge NXT and Blackbaud CRM.

“I really enjoyed learning about all the ways that AI can help me summarize board requests for financial data, build forecast models and create budget templates,” said Damaris Herron-Watkins, Chief Finance and Operations Officer, A Better Chance. “bbcon has opened my eyes to what’s possible with AI in my role and I’m excited for the new ways that Blackbaud is incorporating AI into its platforms so we can work smarter and deliver on impact.”

More Confidence with Responsible AI
Leading on new technology frontiers is a serious responsibility, and Blackbaud Chief Data and AI Officer Carrie Cobb took the stage to deliver a bold truth: “AI isn’t just transforming technology—it’s transforming responsibility. Because AI isn’t just code. It’s decisions. It’s influence.”

In service of its commitment to responsible AI, Blackbaud has convened a coalition of companies, organizations, and leaders who share the vision of removing obstacles to responsible AI adoption for the nonprofit sector: The AI Coalition for Social Impact. Founding members include Blackbaud, Anthropic, Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, Curtis Group, Databricks, Datacamp, Ellis Morgan Enterprises, GivingTuesday, Greater Purpose, OneTrust, Realized Worth, Responsible AI Institute and The Nonprofit Alliance. On behalf of its fellow founding members, Blackbaud announced the coalition’s flagship initiative: a free, platform-agnostic AI for Social Impact Certification Course designed specifically for the social impact sector. The first module in AI for Social Impact will be open for registration later this year.

Celebrating Award Winners
Blackbaud celebrated organizations that are fueling social impact throughout the event:

• Winners of the bbdevdays hackathon were announced on day three of bbcon in the Innovation Hub. Awardees include the Georgia Tech Foundation, Preble Street, Opportunity International, Christendom College, and House of Ruth Maryland. 

• The 2025 winners of the Blackbaud Impact Awards were recognized on the bbcon mainstage for transforming potential into progress to achieve more for their missions. 

• Winners of Blackbaud’s annual Social Good Startup Program Showcase were unveiled live at the conference, with Daffodil, Pledge, and Revere Software receiving the Judge’s Choice award and Connect to Give receiving the People’s Choice award.  

• Partner Network Award recipients represented a diverse group of collaborators who are helping nonprofits, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and purpose-driven companies maximize their impact through technology.  

“bbcon is where our community comes together not just to dream—but to do,” said Catherine LaCour, chief marketing officer, Blackbaud. “This year, we raised the bar: combining transformative, sector-specific AI innovation with a coalition-driven approach to responsible adoption. The journey ahead requires boldness to match the opportunity for organizations changing the world.”

Next year’s bbcon will be held in Columbus, OH, September 29-October 1, 2026. In the meantime, top mainstage moments and select breakout session content will be available on demand, beginning October 14, 2025 through the free, virtual pass available on bbconference.com. For more details on Blackbaud’s product roadmap, register to attend the upcoming Blackbaud Product Update Briefings, happening November 18-20, 2025.

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the leading software provider exclusively dedicated to powering social impact. Serving the nonprofit and education sectors, companies committed to social responsibility and individual change makers, Blackbaud’s essential software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud’s solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies, Quartz’s list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India and the United Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries. Learn more at www.blackbaud.com or follow us on X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. 

Media Inquiries
media@blackbaud.com

Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding expected benefits of products and product features. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud’s investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.

The post Blackbaud Unveils AI Agent Tailored to Social Impact Sector, Announces AI Coalition for Social Impact at bbcon 2025 appeared first on Blackbaud.

Blackbaud is excited to reveal the winners of its 2025 Partner Network Awards, announced live during bbcon, the company’s annual technology conference. These awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of Blackbaud Partners—trailblazing technology and services firms that empower social impact organizations around the world to achieve more through tailored solutions and expertise.

“Our 2025 Partner Network Awards winners exemplify the impact that is possible with strong engagement,” said Elizabeth Price, vice president, global partners, Blackbaud. “Through Blackbaud partners, customers can access expanded capabilities that further support their missions. It’s a delight to recognize these partners for the collaboration, dedication and value they bring to the Blackbaud community.”

The 2025 award recipients represent a diverse group of collaborators who are helping nonprofits, educational institutions, healthcare organizations and purpose-driven companies maximize their impact through technology.

The 2025 Blackbaud Partner Network Awards winners are:  

• Zobrio – Partner of the Year Award
  • Zobrio is a software, services and IT management company that specializes in fund accounting, bank reconciliation and budgeting software, as well as the required software, consulting, training and implementation services needed by clients. This trusted partner embraces Blackbaud values and the meaning of Partnering for Success through their ongoing collaboration and adoption of resources and practices that have led to mutual success. 
• Trellis – Breakout Partner Award
  • Trellis is an all-in-one fundraising platform that empowers charities to create beautiful event and campaign experiences, sell tickets, collect donations, and engage supporters. This partner is being recognized for their significant shared customer growth this past year.   
• BrightArrow – Co-Sell Award
  • BrightArrow is a communications software company specializing in mass notification systems for schools and educational institutions. This award recognizes BrightArrow for their close partnership with the Blackbaud sales team to deliver a seamless and unified experience for shared customers.  
• FundMiner – Marketplace Growth Award
  • FundMiner enables customers to experience more effective capital utilization, increased fundraising revenue, reduced risk exposure, and improved donor experience. As last year’s Rookie of the Year, FundMiner has looked for innovative ways to help solve business challenges. They leverage the Blackbaud Marketplace to elevate the visibility of their solutions to customers.   
• Martus Solutions – Rookie of the Year Award
  • Martus Solutions is a budgeting and reporting platform that simplifies financial planning for nonprofits and CPA firms, This award celebrates Martus as a new partner that immediately embraced the Blackbaud Partner Program tools and resources to quickly grow joint customer engagement.   
• Prenger Solutions Group – Referral Partner of the Year Award
  • Prenger Solutions Group is a provider of digital fundraising and strategic development services for Catholic dioceses, schools, and parishes is being recognized for their dedication and support of Blackbaud’s Referral Program, which helps connect customers in need to Blackbaud software.  
• Capital Business Solutions – Implementation Award
  • Capital Business Solutions equips nonprofit organizations with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in fundraising endeavors. For the second year in a row, this award recognizes Capital Business Solutions for demonstrating expertise and superb customer experience when implementing Blackbaud solutions.  

Learn more about Blackbaud’s Partner Program here and visit the Blackbaud Marketplace to see Partner solutions. For more information, please reach out to partnerprogram@blackbaud.com.

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Charleston, S.C. (October 6, 2025) — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leader in AI for social impact, today at bbcon 2025 announced a massive array of new embedded AI capabilities coming to its product portfolio, along with bold commitments to eliminate barriers that prevent nonprofits and other mission-driven organizations from fully harnessing responsible AI— including spearheading an industry coalition to confront systemic challenges.

“Nonprofits are built for times of uncertainty, and AI is the catalyst that can help them rise to today’s greatest challenges,” said Mike Gianoni, president, CEO and vice chairman of the board of directors, Blackbaud. “But to truly unlock AI’s promise for the millions of people and organizations across the social impact sector, we need more than generic tools—we need solutions designed for their unique business operations that deliver immediate results without adding complexity. That’s why we’re embedding sector-specific AI directly into our products and backing it with resources like a free AI certification through the new AI Coalition for Social Impact, led by Blackbaud. We’re setting a new standard for what’s possible.”

Delivering Purpose-Built, Embedded AI that Expands Social Impact Teams
Blackbaud today launched its new agentic AI suite, Agents for Good, to help social impact organizations expand their teams with virtual team members and achieve more, at scale. This suite of agents from Blackbaud will turn AI into active teammates that autonomously execute complex workflows and free up teams across fundraising, finance, corporate impact and more. The first Agent for Good, a Development Agent natively embedded within the trusted Blackbaud environment, will enable teams to identify and steward donors they do not have the capacity to reach today, unlocking new revenue streams at a fraction of the cost possible in the past.

Key AI enhancements coming to Blackbaud products that bring more connection, more possibility and more confidence to the table for social impact organizations include:   

• Embedded Blackbaud AI capabilities across the company’s solution portfolio, from powerful agents that take the currently available AI-assisted prospect insights within Blackbaud’s flagship fundraising solution and automate follow-up steps—like creating a personal cultivation plan and drafting email messages—to AI-powered translations for custom text in the YourCause® CSRconnect® solution. Intuitive dashboards, streamlined workflows and in-product guidance transform the system of record into the system of intelligent action. 

• Blackbaud AI will now integrate insights across business offices, enabling, for example, a fundraiser to simply chat with Blackbaud AI to draw on accounting data in order to share how a specific donor gift was spent in real-time—a level of connected insight no other platform on the market offers.

Convening the Social Impact Sector for AI Success
Realizing that harnessing the full potential of AI will require a collective commitment to build skills, grow confidence and dismantle barriers to responsible adoption, Blackbaud has convened the AI Coalition for Social Impact to lift and equip the sector as a whole. Founding members of the coalition include Blackbaud, Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, Curtis Group, Databricks, Datacamp, Ellis Morgan Enterprises, GivingTuesday, Greater Purpose, OneTrust, Realized Worth, Responsible AI Institute and The Nonprofit Alliance.

Members of the group will collaborate on the launch of the AI for Social Impact Certification Course—a free, platform-agnostic program focused on foundational AI skills and principles tailored specifically for the social impact sector.

“At Blackbaud, we believe that responsible AI will define the leaders of this generation. That’s why we convened the AI Coalition for Social Impact, uniting with partners to champion responsible AI together and ensure the sector has the resources and knowledge needed to advance with integrity, transparency and impact,” said Carrie Cobb, chief data and AI officer, Blackbaud. “Just as cybersecurity became mission-critical in the digital era, responsible AI will determine which organizations thrive in the AI era. Fairness, transparency, inclusiveness and trust must be built into governance, training and product design from the start.”

Building for the Future
Blackbaud also announced its vision to create an agentic ecosystem where Blackbaud AI goes beyond coordinating its own intelligent agents to orchestrate agents from across the entire landscape. In this new era, users will simply ask Blackbaud AI to accomplish a goal, and it will seamlessly delegate tasks to the correct agents, whether they’re built by Blackbaud or by other providers. Blackbaud has already laid the foundation for its agentic ecosystem by dramatically expanding partner integrations across its platform. In the past year alone, Blackbaud delivered a 22% increase in connections to third-party marketplace apps, introduced seamless integrations like UBIQ for school websites and DocuSign for grantmaking, and enabled partners to build specialized applications using open SKY APIs®. 

“Our AI rests on years of domain expertise and a wealth of data from a variety of sources. Today, our platform generates more than 30 billion predictions annually to help customers reach the right prospects,” said Andy Snyder, senior vice president and technical fellow, Blackbaud. “Now, we’re thinking even further ahead, setting our customers up for future success by making sure the technology they implement today will be able to work seamlessly across other AI systems tomorrow. Blackbaud AI will orchestrate agents from other providers so our customers can spend their time achieving their goals, not managing agents.”

Many more exciting product announcements and customer achievements will be unveiled this week at bbcon 2025, Blackbaud’s annual technology conference for the global social impact community. Learn more and watch the keynote livestream here. 

AI Coalition for Social Impact Member Quotes
“At ACCP, we are excited about the potential of AI to be a force for good in the corporate social impact field. CSR professionals often face limited capacity and growing demands, and AI can help them work smarter and faster—freeing up valuable time to focus on strategy, innovation, and driving measurable impact. By equipping practitioners with tools to harness AI effectively, this certification course will help expand their ability to create positive change within their companies and in the communities they serve.” – Andrea Wood, president and CEO, Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals 

“Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) is pleased to join this important effort to advance responsible AI and data ethics in the social impact sector. At CECP, we believe in the power of collaboration to drive meaningful change, and this initiative reflects our shared commitment to equipping leaders with the skills they need to harness AI for good. We look forward to working alongside our partners to shape a future where technology serves humanity.” – Daryl Brewster, CEO, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose

“Social impact professionals often work in small teams with limited resources. This Certification allows these teams to amplify their work through the use of AI and, in doing so, create a more substantive impact on charities, nonprofits and the communities they serve.” – Brad Offman, Founder and CEO, Greater Purpose

“Nonprofits face the same need as the private sector for robust governance and AI literacy that ensure innovation drives impact responsibly. OneTrust is proud to join the AI Coalition for Social Impact and partner with Blackbaud in operationalizing their responsible AI program. By combining practical tools like generative AI and agents with accessible training and certification, Blackbaud is equipping social impact leaders with the confidence, skills, and safeguards they need to cultivate donors, personalize outreach, and ultimately deliver meaningful, responsible change.” – Rebecca Evans, Product Marketing Director – AI Governance, OneTrust

“At Realized Worth, we believe that meaningful impact happens when people are equipped with both the skills and the responsibility to act. The AI for Social Impact Certification represents a powerful step toward ensuring that technology in our sector is not just advanced, but inclusive, and transformative.”  – Chris Jarvis, CSO and Co-Founder, Realized Worth 

“I am thrilled to join the AI Coalition for Social Impact. This is a timely new initiative, and I welcome the opportunity to share The Nonprofit Alliance’s perspective and demonstrated commitment to the issue of responsible use of AI in the nonprofit sector.” – Ann Hollingsworth, VP for Government Affairs, The Nonprofit Alliance (TNPA) 

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the leading software provider exclusively dedicated to powering social impact. Serving the nonprofit and education sectors, companies committed to social responsibility and individual change makers, Blackbaud’s essential software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud’s solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies, Quartz’s list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India and the United Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries. Learn more at www.blackbaud.com or follow us on X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. 

Media Inquiries
media@blackbaud.com 

Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding expected benefits of products and product features. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud’s investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc. 

The post Blackbaud Unveils Seismic Shifts in AI Innovation, Rolling Out 70+ Embedded, Sector-Specific Capabilities and Unlocking New Possibility for Social Impact appeared first on Blackbaud.

I get it because I’ve been there. Before joining Blackbaud, I served as both a scholarship provider and Foundation partner, to execute donor agreements. I collaborated with institutions nationwide balancing donor stewardship, student support, and mission advancement with limited resources.

That’s why I’m excited about what Blackbaud is surfacing within the very solutions that you rely on today. We’re at a point where technological innovation—particularly AI—can make the difference between surviving and thriving.

Where AI Meets Advancement
Blackbaud’s Intelligence for Good® strategy is about enhancing how you do what you do— making it easier and more certain for you to accomplish your goals. AI isn’t here to edge you out or put fundraising on autopilot. It’s here to clear the clutter, reveal opportunities, and free you to do the strategic work only you can do.

When we connect the dots of innovation across the Blackbaud products most heavily relied upon by higher education professionals, something powerful happens. Let me break it down:

• Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT®: Annual fundraising and major gift cultivation are both streamlined by powerful AI within Raiser’s Edge NXT. With Prospect Insights, gift officers can zero in on high-potential prospects with predictive analytics that guide cultivation strategies. It’s like shining a spotlight on the donors in Raiser’s Edge NXT who are most ready and able to give more. And simplified, streamlined, AI-powered online giving forms are optimized for conversion and upsell – with outstanding results, like one-time and monthly recurring gift sizes that average 3x the industry norm. Soon, chat and assistants powered by Blackbaud AI (available early 2026) will help fundraisers work even more efficiently by summarizing donor history, generating outreach content, and building out cultivation and engagement plans.
• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT®: Finance leaders gain transparency into budgets, expenses, and revenue pipelines with a complete fund accounting General Ledger—making it easier to forecast and align advancement priorities with institutional goals.
• Blackbaud Award Management: Scholarship administrators can be more strategic with built-in workflow automation and streamlined review processes. Match the right scholarships with the right students to increase fund utilization while reducing administrative burdens, advancing equity and the student experience, and improving donor stewardship outcomes.

Individually, each product drives value. Together? They create an ecosystem that advances your institution’s ability to recruit, retain, and steward resources with agility.

Imagine AI Advancements in Advancement
Think about it: enrollment volatility has a ripple effect. Fewer students mean tighter budgets, and tighter budgets put pressure on advancement to fill the gaps. But with AI-powered Raiser’s Edge NXT, your fundraisers know exactly where to focus their efforts. Finance leaders using Financial Edge NXT can forecast revenue on demand, aligning advancement dollars with institutional needs. Meanwhile, Award Management ensures that scholarships are awarded to the most deserving students, helping them complete college without inordinate debt.

Looking forward, Blackbaud is exploring new ways AI can serve advancement leaders. Imagine what could come next:

• Predictive Enrollment/Advancement Modeling that integrates enrollment forecasts with pipelines so advancement teams can anticipate funding gaps and mobilize donors proactively, complete with early alerts for financial need indicators to proactively mitigate dropout risks.
• AI-Powered Donor Journey Maps that adapt in real time, guiding each prospect along the most effective path to engagement, showcasing where the greatest need exists with visualizations illustrating the impact of their donated dollars.
• An AI Matchmaker that instantly connects donor passions with student needs, creating compelling stewardship touchpoints with immediate reasons to give.
• An Institutional Health Dashboard that brings Raiser’s Edge NXT, Financial Edge NXT, and Award Management into a single AI-driven view, showing where your strategies are working and where to pivot quickly to impact outcomes—with an AI Campaign Coach that monitors campaign momentum in real time and advises advancement teams where to focus next.

It’s not just about solving a single pain point—it’s about creating resilience across the entire advancement cycle.

Why Blackbaud?
There’s a lot of hype around AI, but not all AI is created equal. Blackbaud’s Intelligence for Good® strategy is built specifically for the nonprofit and education sectors, not retrofitted from a one-size-fits-all approach.

Blackbaud’s tools aren’t just smart in theory. They’re infused with insights from decades of working alongside institutions like yours. That’s what makes Blackbaud practical, trustworthy, and effective.

AI as a Partner, Not a Replacement
The unknown can be unnerving, but when the AI you’re using is crafted specifically for institutions just like yours, modeled on proven higher education processes and using your own sector’s specialized data, you eliminate some of the ambiguity. You can trust the recommendations because it’s purpose-built with advancement and higher education in mind. AI isn’t a colleague you’re competing with—it’s a partner that can make you sharper, faster, and more effective.

If you’ve ever wished for thank you notes to be written for you, it’s now possible with Blackbaud’s AI, complete with reminders of who to thank and message framing suggestions. Blackbaud AI won’t set your budget priorities, but it will give you the clarity to make the best calls. It won’t sit across the table from a donor, but it will help you be better prepared to show them how their dollars change students’ lives.

AI will give you more space to do what you entered this field to do: build relationships, steward generosity, and ensure students have access to educational opportunities.

A Colleague’s Perspective
As someone who has walked alongside advancement leaders and scholarship administrators just like you, I know the stakes are high right now. But with the right tools, you can amplify your impact so your institution can continue to open its doors to the students who need it the most. And that’s work worth leaning into together, leveraging AI to make it happen.

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This year’s observance carries particular historical significance, as it commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Race Relations Act of 1965. This landmark legislation was the first of its kind in the UK, prohibiting racial discrimination in public places and laying groundwork for future advancements in equality and civil rights. 

At Blackbaud, we are proud to honor this pivotal moment in British history and to stand alongside others in amplifying the stories, achievements, and milestones that shape Black history and culture. As part of our commemoration, employees are participating in a range of educational and community-focused initiatives. These include an employee-led webinar exploring the legacy of the Race Relations Act and its impact over the past six decades, as well as volunteering efforts to support young Black and underrepresented individuals through career development workshops hosted by a local nonprofit organization. 

We remain committed to fostering a workplace culture that values equity and inclusion. By engaging in meaningful reflection and action, we aim to deepen our collective understanding of Black history and continue building a more inclusive future—together. 

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Charleston, S.C. (September 25, 2025) — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leader in AI for social impact, announced major updates for Blackbaud Impact Edge, its AI-powered social impact data reporting and storytelling solution for companies of all sizes leveraging Blackbaud’s YourCause® CSR platform. These updates are delivering smarter AI capabilities, enhanced analytics and measurement, and unparalleled data insights to help companies track and report on the impact of their employee giving, volunteering and grantmaking programs through a centralized dashboard.

Earlier this year, Blackbaud announced an integration with True Impact® to bring predictive, outcome-based impact data into Impact Edge, providing companies with real-time insights on how their CSR initiatives impact society. This integration is now live, and with it, Impact Edge will now feature a new Charity Discovery Tool, powered in part by Candid, the most comprehensive source of nonprofit data in the social sector. With this complimentary, interactive dashboard, CSR professionals can streamline nonprofit research by surfacing detailed charity profiles, program data and impact metrics, all in one view.

“As we approach the end of the year, CSR professionals are focused on reporting and pulling together various metrics to prove the value of their programs and plan their initiatives for next year,” said Dale Strange, president of corporate impact, Blackbaud. “We’re proud to deliver rapid innovation, AI features and unmatched data insights that solve customer pain points in this process and equip them with a go-to platform that supports their strategic reporting, funding and partnership decisions. With Impact Edge, we’re giving CSR professionals the tools they need to not only report on impact, but to drive it.”

Enhancements to Impact Edge include:

• Deeper Intelligence Powered by Blackbaud AI 
  • Impact Edge now features enhanced contextual understanding through Blackbaud AI that enables users to ask natural-language questions and receive rich, narrative responses.
  • New AI-powered charts and graphs can transform raw CSR data into dynamic visuals that demonstrate results. 
• Dashboard Enhancements
  • New custom goal tracking capabilities empower organizations to define what success looks like and track progress and outcomes with precision.
  • CSR professionals can gain deeper insights with a new Groups dashboard and upcoming enhancements to the Giving Campaign dashboard to spotlight high-performing groups and track fundraising performance, campaign success and employee engagement trends. 

•  First-of-its-Kind Charity Discovery Tool
  • This interactive dashboard transforms how CSR teams explore and assess nonprofits with combined data insights from True Impact and Candid in a single view, so CSR professionals can make faster, more informed decisions when identifying new nonprofit partners or evaluating grant applicants.
  • CSR professionals now have curated information to make data-backed decisions on where and how to direct investments with access to in-depth profiles on vetted charities, detailed community investment data, predicted cost per outcome for investments and more.

“Blackbaud’s new Charity Discovery Dashboard for Impact Edge is a leap forward for corporate philanthropy,” said Farron Levy, founder and CEO, True Impact. “By integrating our outcome-based data with Candid’s nonprofit intelligence, Blackbaud is giving companies the power to see not just where their dollars go—but what they can accomplish.”

“CSR professionals need clear information backed by trustworthy data to guide more intelligent decisions,” said George Burns, senior director of business development at Candid. “Integrating Candid’s nonprofit data into Blackbaud Impact Edge allows CSR teams to more easily surface detailed information on nonprofits, with mission, program data, financials and impact metrics all in one place.” 

These Impact Edge updates are part of Blackbaud’s broader corporate impact innovation. The company has also introduced AI translations for custom text within YourCause® CSRconnect®, as well an early adoption program for Form Intelligence in YourCause® GrantsConnect®, which leverages AI capabilities in the form builder to make it faster and easier for CSR teams to create strategic grant application forms.

Learn more about these latest features for Impact Edge here and stay tuned for more corporate impact innovation to be unveiled during bbcon 2025, happening Oct. 6-8 in Philadelphia. 

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the leading software provider exclusively dedicated to powering social impact. Serving the nonprofit and education sectors, companies committed to social responsibility and individual change makers, Blackbaud’s essential software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud’s solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies, Quartz’s list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India and the United Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries. Learn more at www.blackbaud.com or follow us on X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. 

Media Inquiries
media@blackbaud.com

Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding expected benefits of products and product features. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud’s investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc. 

The post Blackbaud Unveils Powerful New AI Updates and Integrations in its Impact Edge™ CSR Reporting Tool for Purpose Driven Companies appeared first on Blackbaud.

While UX designers working within Financial Edge NXT have long envisioned action hubs strategically placed throughout the system to support key workflows, the General Ledger wasn’t the most obvious — or glamorous — place to start. After all, areas such as Treasury, Payables and Receivables have so much more, well, action by way of money going out or money coming in daily, often at high volumes.

But a surprising insight from last year’s (2024) home page discovery work changed the team’s perspective.

An Unexpected Focus on Closing Checklists
Last year, the Financial Edge NXT UX design team conducted a round of discovery interviews to understand what users expect from an enhanced home page in the fund accounting platform. They uncovered several key findings, but one stood out: users’ reactions to a feature the design team hadn’t even spotlighted.  

Buried in a secondary version of the home page concept was a “monthly closing checklist.” The team hadn’t emphasized it, yet nearly every participant homed in on it as a compelling feature. One they’d welcome, albeit with caveats.

Almost 90% of participants remarked on the concept. As one said, “It [the monthly closing checklist] would be incredibly useful, actually. Especially since we share responsibilities between multiple people.”

The Bigger Picture: Close Management
As the team dug deeper, they learned that many organizations already maintain closing checklists. But the complexity and scope of these lists vary widely depending on the organization’s size and workflows.

Users described needing support for recurring tasks, assignments, approval workflows and more. What they described was far advanced compared to the simple list of checkboxes depicted in the prototype.

The checklist, it turns out, was just the tip of the iceberg. What users truly need isn’t just a checklist. They need a way to manage the broader closing process that ensures accurate financial reporting and audit readiness. This larger opportunity is what the team is now calling Close Management.

Helping Financial Edge NXT Customers Accelerate Their Closing Process
As the team explored this domain, it’s clear there’s significant room for improvement. Closing fiscal years on time reduces the risk of performance issues and degradations to the user experience.  More critically, poor data hygiene can result in inaccurate financial statements and audit findings.

The industry standard for organizations that do complete a monthly close is 6–10 days (APQC). By creating a more guided close experience within the platform, Financial Edge NXT users would be able to easily meet or beat that standard. So, there is a clear opportunity to accelerate the closing process for customers by giving them clear insights and actions through a new GL action hub.

Designing for Real-World Complexity
To begin supporting both the checklist concept and the broader Close Management needs, Financial Edge NXT users will soon see a “Closing assistant” tile in a new General Ledger action hub.

This tile and page surfaces key actions users need to complete before closing their fiscal period. It will surface unposted transaction lists proactively and provide users with greater visibility and context for closing fiscal periods and fiscal years.

What’s Next: GL reconciliation and AI-powered anomaly detection
As the Financial Edge NXT design team explores Close Management further, it’s important to acknowledge that Blackbaud isn’t building one particular feature; instead, it is introducing a broader set of capabilities to support this important domain, with the next areas of focus being General ledger reconciliation and AI-powered anomaly detection. 

GL reconciliation is a huge area of opportunity because many organizations aren’t properly reconciling their GL accounts. In fact, some organizations don’t even know they have a problem until it’s too late. In addition, data anomalies can lie hidden and make reconciliation more difficult. Once available, users will be able to leverage AI to help easily identify and resolve “problem transactions,” leading to faster reconciliations, and ultimately a much faster close process.

The new Close Management tools and General Ledger action hub in Financial Edge NXT will give users an easier, more confident way to handle the month-end process. These updates mean finance teams can move past old checklists and count on a strong foundation for more accurate data, faster financial reports and a much simpler audit experience. 

The post From Checklists to Confidence: New Tools for Smoother Monthly Closes with Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT® appeared first on Blackbaud.

Charleston, S.C. (September 18, 2025) — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leader in AI for social impact, recently hosted the annual showcase for its Social Good Startup Program at its Charleston headquarters.

The event gave founders from the nine startups in this year’s tech accelerator a platform to pitch their transformative solutions for social impact to Blackbaud customers, partners and leaders. Each startup shared details on their solution and how it’s solving a unique challenge for social impact organizations—including nonprofits, K–12 schools, universities and purpose-driven companies—and then answered questions from a panel of Blackbaud executive judges.

“As the 40-year category leader in social impact technology, we create purpose-built solutions for fundraising, nonprofit accounting, education, CSR and more,” said Kevin McDearis, chief technology officer, Blackbaud. “But the Social Good Startup Program provides a unique way for us to also keep a pulse on the up-and-coming startups out there that are rapidly developing solutions that meet specific social impact needs. For our customers, this means we’re able to offer the best of both worlds—the decades of expertise and sophisticated software and AI tools that we have, as well as new, cutting-edge solutions that integrate with our products. We’re proud to help these startups grow faster and deliver this innovation to our customers.”

Startups in the 2025 cohort are Altruify, Boost My School, Collective, Connect To Give, Daffodil, KarmaSuite, Mentor Spaces, Pledge and Revere Software. Their pitches included everything from how AI can help democratize charitable giving and enable nonprofits to better manage restricted grants, to how colleges and universities can engage alumni in giving circles to encourage social-based giving, and how companies can better manage employee skills-based volunteering programs to create both community impact and employee engagement.

Register to watch the pitches on-demand, and vote here for the solution you think is most promising to help transform social impact operations and unleash generosity. Voting is open through Oct. 7. Judges’ Choice and People’s Choice winners will be announced live on day three of bbcon2025, taking place October 6-8 in Philadelphia. All nine startups will attend bbcon and will be set up in the Expo Hall to interact with attendees, offer demos and answer questions about their solutions.

About the Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program
The Social Good Startup program is a unique, year-long tech accelerator that supports early-stage software companies that are dedicated to solving problems that matter to the social impact community.

Participants receive curated access to Blackbaud resources, marketing opportunities and nondilutive grant funding. Blackbaud works with startup founders to design a unique plan for each company that addresses their goals and helps them scale with tools, mentorship, and market access needed to drive innovation and grow in the social impact space. All companies chosen for the program are fast-tracked into Blackbaud’s partner program, which provides the opportunity for streamlined integration to Blackbaud products and exposure in the Blackbaud Marketplace, where customers can find and implement their solutions.

Since the launch of the program, Blackbaud has supported a total of 77 startups through ten cohorts, with these organizations collectively raising upwards of $230 million in funding and contributing 35 new solutions to the Blackbaud Marketplace.

Blackbaud runs annual cohorts of the Social Good Startup program. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. For consideration in future cohorts, including the January 2026 cohort, learn more and apply here. Priority attention will be given to companies developing AI solutions, as well as companies with founders from backgrounds typically underrepresented in the technology industry.

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the leading software provider exclusively dedicated to powering social impact. Serving the nonprofit and education sectors, companies committed to social responsibility and individual change makers, Blackbaud’s essential software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud’s solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies, Quartz’s list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India and the United Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries. Learn more at www.blackbaud.com or follow us on X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media Inquiries
media@blackbaud.com

Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding expected benefits of products and product features. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud’s investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.

The post Nine Startups Pitch Their Unique Social Impact Solutions at Blackbaud’s Social Good Startup Showcase appeared first on Blackbaud.

Solving Real Challenges in Education 

Educators today are navigating increasing demands with limited time and resources. Teachers are balancing instruction with administrative work. School staff are managing complex operations while trying to stay connected to students and families. And school leadership is looking for smarter ways to leverage data to drive decisions. 

We’re designing AI to help schools reimagine what’s possible, shifting time and energy away from administrative burdens and freeing up time to focus instead on student success, personalized learning and empowered educators.

• Spend more time on student success and less on paperwork: Picture a classroom where teachers receive AI-generated feedback on assignments—giving them a thoughtful starting point for grading and comments. While AI will never replace the human insight educators bring, it can help lighten the load and free up time for deeper engagement with students. 

• Personalize learning experiences to meet individual student needs: Now, envision a future where every student has a personal AI companion at home—quietly supporting them through homework, easing frustration, and turning moments of confusion into opportunities for growth. 

• Streamline operations and reduce the burden on overextended teams: Consider the possibilities when product navigation intuitively guides users through complex workflows with simple, conversational prompts—like “Take me to the annual rollover”—transforming friction into flow and empowering users to move with confidence. Or envision an AI agent that automatically follows up with families on overdue tuition payments—saving school teams valuable time and allowing staff to focus on more meaningful, mission-centered work. 

• Surface insights from data to inform decisions and improve outcomes: Imagine a future where data from traditionally siloed sources seamlessly converges—giving you the power to recognize when a student begins to disengage before the signs become visible. Intelligent agents for good could synthesize these insights in real time, not only surfacing emerging challenges but also recommending personalized interventions to help every student thrive. 

We’re shaping AI to be a quiet force for good—working behind the scenes, adapting to school workflows, and helping educators reclaim time for what matters most. Whether it’s helping a teacher provide timely feedback, enabling an administrator to quickly find critical information, or supporting a family to navigate the school day—our AI vision is to make every interaction more efficient and meaningful. 

We’re also exploring how intelligent agents for good can scale impact across key areas such as enrollment logistics, tuition collection, student retention, and alumni and donor engagement—enabling school teams to keep operations running efficiently while focusing on the human connection. 

Want to hear directly from educators about how they envision AI supporting their work? Check out our companion blog post, shaped by real teacher insights →

Built with Purpose, Powered by Partnership 

Our approach to AI is grounded in responsibility, transparency, and trust. We’re building with intention, listening closely to our customers, and partnering with innovators across the education ecosystem to ensure our solutions are both powerful and practical. 

As we continue to expand our Intelligence for Good® strategy, we’re excited about what’s ahead—and we’re committed to delivering AI that helps schools thrive in a dynamic, data-rich world. 

Join us at bbcon 2025 to see how we’re shaping the future of education—together. 

The post Blackbaud Is Reimagining the Future of Education with AI appeared first on Blackbaud.