August 2009 - Posts
Charleston, S.C. (August 31, 2009) – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), the leading global provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, today announced that the University of Michigan, one of the world’s premiere research universities, has selected Blackbaud Enterprise CRM™ and Target Analytics® to replace its system-wide fundraising technology and prospect research services. “We are pleased to partner with the University of Michigan to enhance its development efforts and build even stronger relationships with its many constituents,” said Marc Chardon, Blackbaud’s chief executive officer. “Working together, we will centralize and optimize data from over 40 fundraising units, increase the effectiveness of 1,000 users, and ultimately achieve the University’s goals of better serving constituents, increasing support, and improving the overall user experience.” Read more.
Charleston, S.C. (August 27, 2009) - Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) today announced that an increasing number of community foundations are turning to its solutions to build stronger relationships with donors and professional advisors, improve financial accountability, and enhance their web presence.
The San Diego Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Minnesota Community Foundation and The Saint Paul Foundation all recently selected Blackbaud's
Community Foundation Solution including The Financial Edge for financial management, The Raiser's Edge for donor management, Blackbaud NetCommunity for website management, and Fusion Labs' GrantedGE for grant management.
Read more.
From the 8/25/09 edition of the Fundraising Success Advisor
by Abny Santicola
E-mail is a great option for fundraising communications because it's inexpensive and provides virtually instant access to friends and supporters. What's more, it's measurable.
In the session "The Right Message: Making the Most of E-mail Marketing in a Down Economy" at the DMA Nonprofit Federation's 2009 New York Nonprofit Conference, Allison Van Diest, senior product marketing manager for Blackbaud, shared best practices for creating strong positioning and message architecture.
Van Diest said today's nonprofit supporters:
- read e-mail before direct mail;
- satisfy their interests on their own schedule;
- expect information to be personalized;
- expect immediate feedback;
- expect information on progress/stewardship; and
- expect to share online experiences with others.
Read more.
From Philanthropy Journal
By Amy Chase, Principal Consultant, Blackbaud
Facing an increasingly challenging funding environment, nonprofits are looking for new and innovative ways to maintain and grow support.
As a nonprofit professional, where should you start?
Should you invest in cultivating major donor prospects, increasing your sustainer program, or shift your focus to your most loyal donors? The answer may be closer than you think.
Organizations can look to their current donor base - specifically their mid-level donors - as a way to continue to build affinity and sustain, if not increase, their contributions.
First, you need to determine what a mid-level donor looks like for your nonprofit, as it differs for each organization.
Read more.
In addition to the NetWits Summer Camp registration opening this week, there are plenty of free webinars covering everything from email marketing to strengthening a donor base coming up too:
August 19 at 2 p.m. ET: Reaching the Donors You Need Now: Struggling in this Economy? Find New Donors to Boost your Bottom Line. In this session, registrants will explore techniques for fundraisers of all levels to learn how to cold call prospects directly from screening results.
August 24- 28 at 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. ET each day: NetWits Summer Camp. The event series is an extension of Blackbaud's popular blog NetWits Think Tank, which focuses on technology, fundraising, social media and industry trends. Topics include: Websites Demystified, Email Demystified, Online Fundraising Demystified, Social Media Demystified, and Online Metrics Demystified.
August 25 at 3 p.m. ET: Strengthening Your Loyal Donor Base Through Personal Conversations is the third topic in the Blackbaud Delivers web seminar series. This session will focus on the real reasons donors make gifts of impact and their desire to make a difference in the world they live in. The session will include:
- A review the reasons donors consider making major and legacy gifts
- Suggestions on making the initial phone call and personal meeting invitation
- A discussion on listening skills that prepare an organization to engage in conversations about major and planned gift opportunities and soliciting the gift commitments
View all the Blackbaud Delivers events and web seminar dates, topic descriptions, and previous session recordings online.
Our final giveaway will be in Los Angeles today at 12:30 PT.
12:30 PT Get Social! #LA Clue 1: Head on down to Main Street near the birth place of the French dipped sandwich.
12:40 PT Get Social! #LA Clue 2: Where do nonprofits go in LA to build leadership skills?
12:50 PT Get Social! #LA Clue 3: Stop by CNM, sign up for seminar, & claim your pass to Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits!
1:00 PT Get Social! #LA Clue 4: The pass is at the Center for Nonprofit Management front desk! Map: http://bit.ly/17Db0z.
Don't forget, you can also
submit a scholarship application by August 14 for your chance at receiving a free registration. Winners will be notified by August 21, 2009.
Or, you could simply
register today and enjoy the early bird rate.
Are you ready to Get Social? Assuming the social media stars align, and Twitter and Facebook are back on track, the Get Social! Contest will continue today in New York City and online at Blackbaud.com.
Here’s how it will work:
Blackbaud is giving away five complimentary passes to the 10th Annual Conference for Nonprofits in Charleston, SC, which will be held on November 15 – 18, 2009. To win, eligible participants can “follow the clues” by following Blackbaud on Twitter, by becoming a fan of Blackbaud on Facebook (www.facebook.com/blackbaud) and by visiting Blackbaud Blogs. Three Get Social! passes will be placed in Washington D.C., New York, and Los Angeles. Once a pass is found, eligible participants must submit the winning code found on the pass to conference@blackbaud.com to win. (Passes are transferrable, so if a participant is not in one of these three metro areas, he or she can designate a helper.) Two additional Get Social! passes will be given away to eligible nonprofits online at www.blackbaud.com.
We have some additional details since the announcement for you clue-hounds.
The order of play will be as follows:
Wednesday, August 12:
Thursday, August 13:
And don’t forget about the scholarship deadline of August 14! For more information about Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits, or to register today, visit www.blackbaud.com/bb/bbcon.aspx.
Charleston, S.C. (August 11, 2009) – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) today announced the opening of registration for NetWits Summer Camp, a five-day series of free web seminars covering what every nonprofit needs to know about its website, email marketing, online fundraising, social media, and related metrics. The “Camp” will be held August 24 to 28 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET. The event series is an extension of Blackbaud’s popular blog NetWits Think Tank, which focuses on technology, fundraising, social media and industry trends.
Read the press release.
Featured in Church Executive Magazine
Volume 2009, Issue 8 - 8 2009
by Stuart Manewith, CFRE, Business Development Manager at Blackbaud
Challenging times create communication imperatives
Leaders connect with staff and congregations through 21st century technology.
There are opportunities, believe it or not, for churches and other faith-based nonprofits in an economic downturn. In order to survive, churches have no choice but to continue striking a balance in conducting ministry initiatives, relationship-building and business.
Most importantly, they are continuing to support their communities. And, in order to be successful during difficult times, they are all the more dependent on faith-driven giving.
Communicating effectively is the key in connecting not only with a congregation, but with staff as well. If a message is not properly delivered it will be lost - and the method to deliver that message is changing. Let's look at a few of those communications:
1) More church offices and administrators will prefer to communicate by e-mail - and there will likely be an explosive increase in the use of text-messaging. Church staff members will be more accessible with the instant communication that e-mail and text-messaging provides.
Read the full article.
As featured in Fundraising Success
By Lawrence Henze, Managing Director, Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company
The more you know about your lapsed donors — their characteristics, interests and relationships to your organization — the better prepared you are to recapture these donors or, more importantly, prevent them from lapsing in the first place. Prevention is perhaps the strongest strategy in addressing lapsed-donor issues. Consider the following when developing your donor-retention strategy:
1. Proactive research
Acquisition for the sole purpose of bringing in new donors, without an eye toward donor retention, might be the major factor in high attrition or lapse rates. Why build an acquisition profile on a group of donors with a 50 percent to 75 percent attrition rate?
The solution is to build acquisition-to-retention model profiles that identify the characteristics of acquired donors who persist in their giving for two to three years. It's a much better strategy because you can identify persistent donors and their common characteristics and focus on acquisition lists that mirror these characteristics. Better yet, use a donor-retention model to score acquisition lists, and only mail prospects with a high likelihood to respond and persist over time.
Read the full article.