CHARLESTON, S.C. and REDMOND, Wash. – September 17, 2024 – Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) have announced plans to strengthen their partnership to provide improved services and outcomes for the nonprofit and education sectors.
Blackbaud customers will soon have access to enhanced integration of Microsoft AI and analytics capabilities within their software, specifically designed for the operational needs of social impact organizations without complex and costly customizations.
Leveraging Microsoft technologies, Blackbaud’s donor management software, Blackbaud CRM® and Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT®, are designed using a comprehensive fundraising data model. These tools are intended to improve data understanding and consistency, assisting social impact organizations in managing multifaceted fundraising operations to ultimately increase donations and funds raised.
By integrating Microsoft Fabric™ to merge data sources, Blackbaud will enable new capabilities, such as role-specific productivity dashboards designed to streamline critical tasks. These personalized dashboards will help users focus on and prioritize their next steps.
This comes after Blackbaud customers already began experiencing benefits from Microsoft Power Platform™ connectors, available on the Blackbaud Marketplace, to enhance their solutions. Blackbaud offers a variety of Microsoft-certified Power Platform connectors, allowing its customers to customize applications, automate workflows, build dashboards, and fine-tune reporting for their Blackbaud solutions, saving time and increasing fundraising efficiency.
“A key opportunity exists for our two companies to collaborate on ways to help social impact organizations use AI and automation to address key operational and financial challenges,” said Sudip Datta, Chief Product Officer at Blackbaud. “As a long-standing Microsoft partner and leader in the nonprofit technology space, we’re committed to making sure our customers have access to the latest innovation within a connected ecosystem purpose-built for the social impact sector. We’re excited to be leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft Fabric within our solutions, helping social impact organizations accelerate impact.”
“Microsoft is committed to empowering social good organizations with the technology and tools they need to achieve more impact,” said Justin Spelhaug, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Tech for Social Impact, part of Microsoft Philanthropies. “We are grateful for the collaboration with Blackbaud who has been a pioneer in applying AI and cloud technologies to the social sector. Together, we are enabling social impact organizations to transform their operations, optimize their resources and amplify their outcomes.”
Blackbaud and Microsoft have a history of dedication to the social impact sector, starting with Blackbaud’s early adoption of Microsoft Azure to support many of its core products and the continued integration of new Azure capabilities. Blackbaud’s financial management software, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT®, will incorporate the Microsoft Azure AI Document Intelligence service for automating invoice and receipt scanning. This will allow organizations to automate their payables processes within Financial Edge NXT.
Blackbaud also utilizes Microsoft AI Services for its Intelligence for Good® strategy, including Blackbaud Impact Edge™, its data and storytelling solution that is currently under development.
Microsoft is the presenting sponsor of bbcon 2024, Blackbaud’s annual tech conference, scheduled for September 24-26 in Seattle. Microsoft will lead several conference sessions focused on helping nonprofits leverage AI and data to achieve their fundraising and campaign goals. Learn more and register for bbcon here.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is a leading software provider focused exclusively on 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 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.
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.
SOURCE Blackbaud
