BLKB Blackbaud Inc

As a growing number of universities are consolidating systems for greater efficiency and effectiveness, Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB), the leading provider of software and services for the global philanthropic community, today announced that higher education institutions are increasingly choosing Blackbaud CRM™, also known as Enterprise CRM,  to improve constituent engagement efforts, achieve better fundraising results, and decrease labor and IT costs.

“Syracuse University selected proven industry leader Blackbaud and its comprehensive alumni and development CRM solution, Blackbaud CRM, to help power the University’s mission forward,” said Chuck Merrihew, vice president of Advancement and External Affairs at Syracuse University. “During our selection process, it was critical that we found a mobile, flexible solution that improves engagement, helps us leverage relationships and supports us in achieving our fundraising goals. Also important, was Blackbaud’s demonstrated experience in migrating clients from their current product to this platform. We are excited about our conversion that has just launched!”

Blackbaud CRM is designed for enterprise-level organizations seeking a powerful, yet adaptable solution for fundraising, marketing and program management across the engagement lifecycle. It brings fundraising, online applications, actionable prospect research and analytics, and multichannel direct marketing together in one fully customizable platform.

“We immediately trusted that Blackbaud understood our business objectives and would be able to provide the right direction in the implementation, customizations, training and final design of Blackbaud CRM to help us achieve our goals,” said Cindy Belknap, executive director of Advancement at Bucknell University. “Blackbaud has the largest breadth of solutions available for the global philanthropic community, and we felt very confident they would be able to meet our specific needs, as well as continuously direct and support our future efforts.”

The Total Economic Impact of Blackbaud CRM

To overcome the limitations of its previous fundraising systems and constituent databases, University of Georgia (UGA) selected Blackbaud CRM to create a single, cohesive system for a unified view of all communications and activities with constituents, support strategic planning and management, and improve labor efficiency. Forrester Consulting conducted a commissioned Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and found that after deploying Blackbaud CRM, UGA experienced the following benefits:

• A fundraising lift of $14.3 million
• Avoided labor costs of $3.4 million and IT costs of $400,000
• The ability to track and measure fundraising activity across the entire organization
• Improved insight into overall fundraising capacity of its constituents, coordination in fundraising efforts and visibility into the overall communications plan

“With more than 35 years of experience serving education institutions, we understand that just as the fundraising landscape continues to evolve, so do their needs to meet new challenges,” said Brian Boruff, president of Blackbaud’s Enterprise Business Unit. “We are committed to delivering the latest innovation through our CRM solutions, and with Blackbaud CRM, enterprise-level organizations can trust that they are using the most flexible, scalable and secure nonprofit CRM solution available to achieve their goals.”

Indiana University Foundation and Indiana University Alumni Association, Texas Christian University, Santa Clara University, University of Illinois Foundation, and University of Central Florida also joined the long list of higher education institutions that recently selected or went live on Blackbaud CRM.

To learn more about Blackbaud CRM, visit Blackbaud CRM online, or download the Forrester Total Economic Impact study.

About Blackbaud Serving the worldwide philanthropic community for 35 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) combines innovative software, services, and expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works in over 60 countries to power the passion of approximately 35,000 customers, including nonprofits, K-12 private and higher education institutions, healthcare organizations, corporations, foundations, and other charitable giving entities. The company offers a full spectrum of cloud and on-premise solutions, as well as a resource network that empowers and connects organizations of all sizes. Blackbaud's portfolio of software and services supports nonprofit fundraising and relationship management, eMarketing, advocacy, accounting, payments and analytics, as well as grant management, corporate social responsibility, and education. Organizations use Blackbaud technology to raise, invest, manage, and award more than $100 billion each year. Recognized as a top company, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.

Forward-looking StatementsExcept 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, particularly in larger organization; 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.

Media Contact
Nicole McGougan
Public Relations
843-654-3307
nicole.mcgougan@blackbaud.com