Announcing our new Nonprofit Leadership Circle!

Great news!  We've launched a Nonprofit Leadership Circle. 

What's that?  It's a group made up of all the Blackbaud employees who serve on nonprofit boards. 

Why?  Good question.  There are two reasons.

One - we want to celebrate and recognize our people who truly give their personal time, effort and professional skills to help nonprofits be successful.  Although we value all forms of volunteerism, we think board service is especially important.  Being a board member means taking on fiscal oversight, really buying into the mission, and ensuring the organization is staying on course.

Two - we want to encourage others to join us.  Yep, we're trying to build our very own pool of qualified board members who are ready, willing and able to serve as board members.  You know we believe in technology as a key part of an organization's infrastructure.  We also believe in sound, qualified boards.  So we're doing what we can to make sure our employees are not only ready to serve, but ready to serve well.

Here's how it works.  If you work for Blackbaud and serve on a board - any board in any capacity - you're automatically a member.  We kicked off the effort with an in-person meeting at our headquarters and a couple of conference calls for those people who work remotely or in other countries.  All in all, we know of more than 80 instances of board service, and I am sure there are more.  Although I'd love to have more folks join in, starting with 80 isn't bad.

At our kick offs, Sally Ehrenfried -- who runs our philanthropy and volunteerism programs -- talked with the groups about the challenges they were facing as board members and what information or resources might help them better serve their organizations.  We were all there are representatives of nonprofits, NOT as Blackbaud people.  That was cool.  "I'm Rachel, and I'm with the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Math..."

Following the meeting, Sally sent us all a survey, asking for information on where and how we served, what we knew about certain elements of board service, and how we might want to proceed such as education sessions we could host.  Those results are going to inform the offering she is putting together aimed at celebrating, connecting and further educating us to be better at how we give back.

Oh, and guess what?  The more we learn about being better board members, the more we understand the market we serve.  So by investing in giving back, we're increasing the knowledge of our employees and equipping them to serve our customers better.  Pretty cool, huh? 

This is an evolving effort, so stay tuned.  Later this month, Sally's also hosting our annual volunteer fair at our headquarters with 30+ nonprofits connecting with employees about opportunities to give their time and skills.  That same evening, we're a part of the launch of a Corporate Volunteer Council for the Lowcountry of South Carolina.  We're proud to partner with the Trident United Way and other great organizations to make this happen.  The more people give back the better, after all.

Do you serve on a nonprofit board?  If you don't, think about it.  You'll learn a lot if you take the plunge!