More than 2600 nonprofit professionals participated in bbcon 2013, Blackbaud's (NASDAQ: BLKB) Conference for Nonprofits, which concluded yesterday in National Harbor, MD. With nearly 200 sessions, including keynote presentations by Karen Worcester and Jim Ziolkowski, bbcon 2013 provided attendees opportunities to learn about the latest technology and best practices while networking with peers and nonprofit industry leaders.

During the Conference, Blackbaud announced its Blackbaud Certification in The Raiser's Edge (bCRE) program, a new version of The Raiser's Edge® and the launch of Blackbaud Online Express TM.

"bbcon provided great content and information; and more importantly, a lot of opportunities to network, which is what I look for when attending conferences," said Mary Cronin, Lewis University's manager of advancement services and first-time attendee.

Continuing its focus on empowering nonprofits, Blackbaud recognized seven organizations at the conference as winners of its annual Nonprofit Impact Awards. The Awards honor organizations that use technology to make a positive impact on their mission, constituents and society.

"Innovation drives success, and we are proud to honor the winners for using technology to impact their missions and make the world a better place," said Tony Boor, Blackbaud's interim chief executive officer and chief financial officer.

Seven organizations were recognized as part of this year's Nonprofit Impact Awards:

  • Best Interactive Campaign - Heifer International - Heifer International needed to develop a fundraising campaign that would stand out among others and engage donors during the busy 2012 holiday season. By implementing an interactive campaign, the organization was able to customize its communications with constituents and potential donors, experiencing a year-over-year increase in holiday donations of 28 percent and outperforming every major metric during the competitive season. Read the case study.
  • Best Use of Interactive Technology - The Tenement Museum - The Tenement Museum needed a system that could collect visitor information for future follow up while making the booking process easy and seamless, both online and onsite. By merging its CRM system with an interactive system, patrons were able to book space on tours in real time which eliminated double-bookings and improved the overall visitor experience. Read the case study.
  • Best Use of Peer-to-Peer/Special Events - Central Parks Conservancy - Central Park Conservancy wanted to build its acquisition base by increasing the percentage of its local supporters living in buildings adjacent to and near the park. By launching peer-to-peer fundraising events it was able to host multiple parties in buildings adjacent to the Park which allowed for more than 1,500 attendees to be exposed to its mission and provided them with the chance to donate. Read the case study.
  • Best Use of Integrated Marketing - ANERA - Due to the influx of new refugees from Syria to Lebanon's refugee camps, ANERA had to raise funds quickly to respond to the increased need of essential supplies. The organization used multiple communication channels and technology services to request donations across all platforms which resulted in raising over $5 million worth of medicine and health care supplies. Read the case study.
  • Best Use of Analytics - St. Joseph's Indian School - St. Joseph's Indian School wanted to determine which group of donors it should focus on for renewals, reactivation, sustainers, and major gifts for the highest return-on-investment. Using a wide array of tools, the organization analyzed historic and current giving trends across all channels to better identify and define groups of donors which allowed them to tailor programs and campaigns for each group. Read the case study.
  • Best Use of CRM - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) - ELCA needed to reconcile its constituent records from events into a single, up-to-date database so it could better track and analyze attendance at affiliated events. Using the customizable features of Blackbaud CRM TM, ELCA was able to efficiently capture information for more than 2,000 attendees at its largest event, move their information into a central database and share information on constituents across the organization. Read the case study.
  • Most Impactful Use of Blackbaud Technology - Human Rights Campaign - The Human Rights Campaign had the opportunity to capitalize on two landmark marriage equality cases to increase visibility and enhance the national dialogue. The organization turned to social media using Blackbaud's Registrant API to get new supporters to sign up, Blackbaud's Survey tool to gain immediate feedback, and Blackbaud's Donation API to convert new and existing supporters into donors. Read the case study.

The location for bbcon 2014 was announced and will be held October 6 to 8, 2014 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information about bbcon, visit www.bbconference.com.

About Blackbaud

Serving the nonprofit and education sectors for 30 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) combines technology and expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works with more than 28,000 customers in over 60 countries that support higher education, healthcare, human services, arts and culture, faith, the environment, independent K-12 education, animal welfare and other charitable causes. The company offers a full spectrum of cloud-based and on-premise software solutions and related services for organizations of all sizes including: fundraising, eMarketing, advocacy, constituent relationship management (CRM), financial management, payment services, analytics and vertical-specific solutions. Using Blackbaud technology, these organizations raise more than $100 billion each year. Recognized as a top company by Forbes, InformationWeek, and Software Magazine and honored by Best Places to Work, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.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. 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 related to our dividend policy and share repurchase program, including potential limitations on our ability to grow and the possibility that we might discontinue payment of dividends; risks relating to restrictions imposed by the credit facility; 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.

Blackbaud, Inc.
Melanie Mathos, 843-216-6200 x3307
media@blackbaud.com