Blackbaud News : Online fundraising

Press Release: More than 1000 Fundraising Websites Created with BlackbaudNow™

Melanie Mathos — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:28:00 GMT

Charleston, S.C. (October 14, 2009) – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), the leading global provider of software and services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations announced today that since its launch in March 2009, BlackbaudNow^™ has seen rapid adoption among nonprofit organizations and personal fundraisers.BlackbaudNow provides nonprofits and personal fundraisers a point-and-click website builder with secure donation processing through PayPal and the ability to send emails and record donors’ giving histories. Users do not pay any setup or monthly fees for BlackbaudNow, but instead, pay fees on a per-transaction basis.

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Blackbaud in the News: Extreme Fundraising

Melanie Mathos — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:37:00 GMT

As featured on Forbes.com
by Steven Bertoni

Endurance sports, personal blogs and personal (often disease related) charities have merged into a new form of extreme fundraising. Both charities and for-profit software companies such as Blackbaud and Active Network are capitalizing on the trend, offering ready-made personal fundraising sites with blogs, payment capability and more. Blackbaud estimates online fundraising has hauled in $3 billion in donations worldwide over the past seven years, with the pace accelerating over the past year.

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Blackbaud in the News: Recovering the Urge to Give

Melanie Mathos — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:16:00 GMT

From the February issue of ASSOCIATIONS NOW:

This year could be one of the roughest for giving in recent memory. In January the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University reported that its Philanthropic Giving Index, which measures confidence in the fundraising climate, dropped 22 percent in the prior six months, hitting its lowest level in more than a decade. That news comes in the wake of a weak close to 2008. A survey conducted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals notes that during last year’s holiday season, 53.3 percent of the survey’s 347 respondents (culled from AFP’s membership) raised less money in late 2008 than they had in 2007. That’s a big change: The association’s 2007 survey reported that only 26.3 percent of respondents were having a down year.

The recent dip in confidence echoes a broader downturn for nonprofits, whose revenues have declined 8.1 percent in the past three years, according to Cambridge, Massachusetts, research firm Target Analytics. How to ride out all that turbulence? Steve MacLaughlin, director of internet solutions at nonprofit consultancy Blackbaud, Target Analytics’ parent company, argues that online strategies, while only part of the fundraising mix, can help organizations save money and gain some flexibility in a downturn. "Mixing email and direct-mail segments can lower costs," he says. "Online donations, event registrations, and memberships also have a lower cost of fundraising associated with them. Doing things online also allows you to test content or promotions, get feedback a lot sooner, and allows you to adjust things prior to using more expensive channels."