Blackbaud News

Blackbaud's Community Relations Manager Sally Ehrenfried Featured in Charleston Regional Business Journal

Melanie Milonas — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:27:00 GMT

From politics to philanthropy: Sally Ehrenfried
By Holly Fisher
Research Editor

From the article:

Ehrenfried’s position overseeing community relations allows her to foster that love of public service through Blackbaud’s philanthropic efforts. Ehrenfried manages Blackbaud’s corporate giving portfolio, directs corporate giving and works with the company’s almost 2,000 employees to promote philanthropy and volunteerism.

Blackbaud has long been a strong supporter of community service and is taking that vision to its other offices, across the United States and in London; Glasgow, Scotland; and Sydney, Australia.

One of the company’s core beliefs is that service to others makes the world a better place, Ehrenfried said. She helps the company and its employees live out that value.

Blackbaud Interviews Podcast to Feature Marc Chardon and Rich LaBarbera

Melanie Milonas — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:55:00 GMT

Marc Chardon and Rich LaBarbera will be the featured guests on the next episode of Blackbaud Interviews. They will provide an update on the Kintera acqusition, and will answer questions from listeners/readers. Submit yours here.

Blackbaud Interviews is a recurring podcast that features leaders from Blackbaud and from throughout the sector and explores critical issues faced by nonprofits. Episode 1 features Chuck Longfield, founder of the Target companies and Blackbaud’s chief scientist; and Jay Love, eTapestry’s founder and CEO and explores these leaders’ views on consolidation within the sector and within the software industry serving it, and the emergence of Software as a Service (SaaS). In addition, Chuck and Jay share their experience with the integration of the Target companies and eTapestry with Blackbaud since the merger.

Download Blackbaud Interviews, Episode 1 (21 MB, 30 minutes)

Press Release: The Field Museum Selects Blackbaud's Arts and Cultural Solution

Melanie Milonas — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:17:00 GMT

Charleston, S.C. (August 11, 2008) – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), announced today that The Field Museum will use The Patron Edge® for ticketing and The Financial Edge™ for financial management.

The Field Museum, located in Chicago, is regarded as one the finest natural history museums in the world and attracts more than 1.3 million visitors annually. When the Museum was faced with a costly and resource-consuming conversion with its legacy system, staff decided to research other solutions. “What we found in Blackbaud was a responsive, dedicated team and are confident that they will be a sustainable partner,” said J.W. Croft, The Field Museum’s executive vice president.

Making Waves with Blackbaud NetCommunity

Melanie Milonas — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:06:00 GMT

Blackbaud recently announced the release of Blackbaud NetCommunity 5.5 and one of the major new features that customers are most excited about is the Wave social networking feature:

“With Wave, Blackbaud has introduced a new way to leverage social networking—both within the application and by integrating to social network services like Facebook—which will add to the viral nature of our work,” said Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Director of Information Technology Michael Sola. “Being able to have an easier way to reach out through social networking channels will help us extend our audience as we move more and more in that direction."

Here at Blackbaud, we're even more excited to see how NetCommunity users will leverage this new feature as part of their social networking strategy. In a video statement, Vice President of Blackbaud Interactive Shaw Drummond said:

"Thanks to innovations like Wave, NetCommunity's new social networking platform, you can have confidence that Blackbaud is going to work with closely with industry leaders to see around the corner and ensure that you have everything you need in a website solution for years to come."

You can also hear from Steve MacLaughlin, Director of Internet Solutions why Blackbaud chose to "build" a native social networking component over the "partner" or "do nothing" options. He says, "The resounding response from the customers that we interacted with and spoke with was that they wanted Blackbaud to build a social networking component that would be part of Blackbaud NetCommunity, that would be out of the box as a part of the overall solution."

Finally, Blackbaud Interactive Marketing Manager Allison Van Diest discusses the top two questions she hears from nonprofits about social networking:

1) How am I going to control my brand?

2) Is social networking a panacea for everything that is difficult in fundraising today?

Check out the answers to these questions, all three videos and additional feature information that has been posted online.

Press Release: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College Select Blackbaud Enterprise CRM to Manage Multi-site Development Operations

Melanie Milonas — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:33:00 GMT

Charleston, S.C. (August 6, 2008) – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), announced today that the development office that serves NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College has selected Blackbaud Enterprise CRM^™ to better serve its constituents.“By partnering with Blackbaud, we will have a technology solution that is customizable to our development operations and practices,” said Larry Schafer, vice president and vice provost for development. “With a centralized source of data, our teams can maximize fundraising efforts to increase support, allowing the hospital and medical college to continue to provide superior patient care and build on their excellent patient care, research, education, and community service programs.”

Press Release: “Wave” Social Networking and Enhanced Open Platform APIs Included with New Blackbaud NetCommunity Release

Melanie Milonas — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:48:00 GMT

Charleston, S.C. (July 31, 2008) – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), today unveiled a new release of Blackbaud^® NetCommunity^™ that includes major enhancements in both function and features. From improved site design features to enhanced web accessibility and a native social networking feature called “Wave,” it will provide nonprofits with an opportunity to further engage their constituents in the vital Internet channel. Additionally, the company unveiled a new set of NetCommunity Open Platform APIs for creating custom parts, integrated web services, and custom transactions.

Internet Marketing Manager Chad Norman Featured on "Ask Without Fear" Radio Show

Melanie Milonas — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:55:00 GMT

The Fundraising Coach Marc Pitman featured Chad Norman on his Internet radio show "Ask Without Fear" today. Tune in to hear them talk about Web 2.0 tools like Facebook, twitter, Digg, and 12seconds.tv and learn why Chad thinks nonprofits need to get involved with these networks now.

Listen to the show at blogtalkradio.com.

Check out Chad's blog Webbie Things at www.blackbaud.com/chadnorman and Marc's blog Marc's Musings at http://marcpitman.com/.

Also, Marc will be joining us next week on Episode 13 of The Baudcast, so be sure to stay tuned. Check out the most recent episodes here: www.blackbaud.com/baudcast.

Press Release: Blackbaud Hits the Road with Interactive Seminar Series Focused on Fundraising During a Recession

Melanie Milonas — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:20:00 GMT

Blackbaud Delivers helps nonprofits keep fundraising on the up-swing in a down economy

Charleston, S.C. (July 15, 2008) – Blackbaud®, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB) announced the launch of its new free nonprofit management seminar series Blackbaud Delivers™, which is focused on “Growing Your Fundraising in a Recession.” The series will kickoff in Chicago on August 6 and will continue on to many other major cities through the fall.

Read the entire release.

Building an Online Wish List with Blackbaud NetCommunity

Melanie Milonas — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:20:00 GMT

Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and Spectrum Health Foundations were recently featured in The Chronicle’s fund-raising column, Prospecting.

Here is an excerpt from the article “Hospital Wins Online Gifts by Mimicking One of the World's Hottest Charities”:

Through the new Web site, donors can purchase fetal heart-rate monitors, phone and gas cards for families whose children are being treated at the hospital, equipment for the rehabilitation department, and other items.“Some donors really like to know where their gifts are going,” says Vicki Weaver, president of the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and Spectrum Health Foundations.The new Web site also allows supporters to set up personal pages that they can use to encourage friends and family members to give to the hospital. If they want, they can raise money for a particular department or an item on the wish list.

Read more here.

Press Release: Blackbaud Completes Acquisition of Kintera

Melanie Milonas — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:36:00 GMT

Blackbaud’s CRM capabilities, open APIs, and comprehensive product offerings combine with Kintera’s SaaS expertise to benefit entire nonprofit sector

Charleston, S.C. (July 9, 2008) – Blackbaud®, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Kintera®, Inc., the leader and pioneering provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions to the nonprofit and government sectors. Upon the closing of the acquisition, all remaining outstanding Kintera shares that were not tendered prior to the expiry of the tender offer were converted into the right to receive $1.12 per share in cash. As a result of the transaction, Kintera has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blackbaud.

Please email me any questions you have regarding the acquisition or post them below.

Press Release: eTapestry Releases Spanish Language Version of its On-Demand Software

Melanie Milonas — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:09:00 GMT

Indianapolis, IN (Vocus) July 7, 2008 -- eTapestry today announced the availability of its on-demand fundraising software in a Spanish language version. eTapestry Espanol will provide a new group of growing nonprofits around the world with web-based tools to efficiently and effectively manage their fundraising activities.

"With eTapestry users accessing their data from points all over the globe, it was plain to see that eTapestry’s on demand software was opening up new opportunities for organizations everywhere,” said Jay Love, eTapestry’s chief executive officer.

Non-Profit Giving Slows in First Quarter of 2008 - Donors and Revenue Decline

Melanie Milonas — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:30:00 GMT

The Target Analytics Quarterly Index of National Fundraising Performance for the first quarter of 2008 was released yesterday. It compares trends in key fundraising indicators for more than 70 large national organizations every quarter.

Cambridge, MA (July 1, 2008) -- Organizations in the Target Analytics Index of National Fundraising Performance generally underperformed in the first quarter of 2008 (January through March). Overall donors and revenue both declined in Q1 2008, and the declines were evident across most of the sectors in the index.

New Target Analytics White Paper: 23 Planned Giving Terms You Should Know

Melanie Milonas — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:02:00 GMT

Do the terms CRAT and CRUT leave you bewildered? In her latest white paper, Katherine Swank provides a glossary of planned giving terms, using practical examples, that will give you a basic working knowledge of key words common in ongoing planned gift conversations.

With more than 20 years of legal and nonprofit management experience, Katherine has raised approximately $215 million for national healthcare and public broadcasting organizations, as well as an independent law school. Prior to joining Target Analytics in May 2007, Swank was the national director of gift planning at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, where she provided fundraising consulting services to the Society’s chapter leadership and development staff for six years.

Read her newest white papers here:

23 Planned Giving Terms You Should Know

View additional whitepapers at http://www.blackbaud.com/resources/resources.aspx.

Press Release: Blackbaud Urges Nonprofits to Review PCI Compliance

Melanie Milonas — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:04:00 GMT

Blackbaud Joins PCI Security Standards Council as Newest Participating Organization
Launches PCI blog and newsletter to provide ongoing updates on key issues facing the nonprofit sector

Charleston, S.C. (June 30, 2008) – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) announced today that it has joined the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council as a new participating organization. As a participating organization, the company will work with the Council to evolve the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) and other payment card data protection standards.

Read to full press release here.

New Target Analytics White Paper: Why You Need Gift Acceptance Policies

Melanie Milonas — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:51:00 GMT

All gifts are not equal! Katherine Swank delves into this subject in her new white paper that explores why every nonprofit should have a gift acceptance policy and offers insight and tools for formulating a policy for your organization.

Read her newest white papers here:

Why You Need Gift Acceptance Policies

View additional whitepapers at http://www.blackbaud.com/resources/resources.aspx.