Six New Startups Join Blackbaud’s Tech Accelerator to Bring Innovative Technology to the Social Impact Sector

From AI-Powered Fundraising and Content Tools to Digital Assistant Chatbots, Startups in the July 2024 Cohort are Delivering Innovative Solutions for Nonprofits, Donors, Schools, Companies and Their Communities

Charleston, S.C. (July 23, 2024) — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading provider of software for powering social impact, today announced the newest cohort of participants in its Social Good Startup Program. The program is a tech accelerator designed to support early-stage software companies focused on solving problems that matter to the social impact community.

The July 2024 cohort will support startups focused on developing solutions that extend or complement Blackbaud’s solutions in order to maximize impact for nonprofits, schools, and companies focused on social responsibility.

“The Social Good Startup Program allows us to work with cutting edge startups in the social impact space to accelerate the speed and variety of innovation that our customers receive, on top of delivering the essential software and capabilities that Blackbaud is known for,” said Jerry Needel, vice president and chief of innovation, Blackbaud. “We’re excited to see what the companies in this cohort can bring to the table to benefit Blackbaud customers who are out there making a difference in the world every day.”

The startups in the July 2024 cohort include:

	Arbor is an AI-powered storytelling platform that partners with nonprofits to create and share their impact stories on video and beyond. Arbor pairs human interviewers with a proprietary production platform to enable authentic storytelling at scale. Arbor AI generates social clips, newsletters, email campaigns, talking points, and more, enabling content distribution directly from the platform.
	Chat2Impact is a digital assistant that enables charities to benefit from chatbot technology quickly and cost effectively. It is full of useful functionality including donations, event and volunteering registrations, and answering FAQs. Chat2Impact directly integrates into Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® so that new or existing constituent data passes straight from the chatbot into the organization’s CRM, unlocking more insights and driving efficiencies.
	Giving Compass helps impact-driven donors transform their generosity into meaningful change for communities and society. As a premier donor education platform, Giving Compass supports individuals and businesses in every stage of the generosity journey. With AI-powered tools, it connects users to overperforming, underfunded nonprofits and delivers strategic insights from trusted giving experts, maximizing the impact of every gift.
	LifeWeb 360 is a digital space for collecting and sharing memories of a loved one, including stories, photos, and video links. Schools and associations can create branded sites with tribute pages for each deceased member so everyone can share memories and photos celebrating their life. The platform allows users to connect with potential donors, spotlight legacy society members, and re-engage their community when it matters most.
	Ribon helps companies turn their corporate donations into an employee engagement machine. Awarded by the Gates Foundation as one of the world’s greatest innovations, Ribon transforms any company’s donation into donation tickets for their employees, allowing them to give to company-supported causes as often as weekly. They can also add more funds and invite family and friends.
	Your Mission Possible is a consulting firm that brings technology to the nonprofit fundraising sector and empowers staff to spend more time in the community and less time behind the computer screen. Through their new product, Blueprint, they provide nonprofits with a project management tool that gives fundraisers templates for every fundraising activity and helps complete 95% of the administrative work needed to be successful.

 

“We’re thrilled to welcome these six exciting companies into the July 2024 cohort,” said Lizzie Schaffer, general manager, Social Good Startup Program, Blackbaud. “Partnering with the industry’s top innovators in social impact technology through our Social Good Startup Program allows Blackbaud to continue providing purpose-driven organizations with increased opportunities to utilize cutting edge products and solutions, ultimately giving our customers even more ways to enhance their impact and achieve their goals.”

About the Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program
Since the launch of the first cohort of the Social Good Startup Program in January 2020, Blackbaud has supported a total of 60 startups through eight prior cohorts, with these organizations collectively raising upwards of $185 million in funding. Participating startups have contributed more than 30 new solutions to the Blackbaud Marketplace, where customers can easily search for and deploy them. In addition, more than 60% of the startup founders who have participated in the program are from backgrounds typically underrepresented in tech.

At bbcon, Blackbaud’s annual tech conference, happening in Seattle, September 24-26, founders from this year’s cohorts will have the opportunity to pitch their solutions to Blackbaud leaders and customers at the 2024 Startup Showcase. bbcon attendees will be able to meet with founders to hear more and vote on their favorite solutions. Winners of the 2023 showcase will also be in attendance.

Blackbaud accepts applications for the Social Good Startup Program on a rolling basis. For consideration in the January 2025 or other future cohorts, learn more and apply here. Program participants receive curated access to Blackbaud resources, marketing opportunities and nondilutive grant funding, and Blackbaud works with startup teams to design a unique plan for each company that addresses their goals for growth.

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 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.

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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.