Blackbaud Culture of Innovation Recognized on Fast Company's 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators List

Rhea-AI Summary

Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leader in AI for social impact, has been recognized as #20 on Fast Company's 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators list. The company's culture of innovation is demonstrated through its $220 million R&D investment in 2024 and various employee-focused innovation programs.

Key initiatives include the AI for Blackbaud cohort program, Tech Thursday professional development days, and the Off the Grid hackathon event. Organizations using Blackbaud's Raiser's Edge NXT® have experienced a 44% average increase in total dollars raised. The company's remote-flexible workforce strategy has led to impressive engagement, with 70% of employees volunteering in 2024—triple the national average—and one in seven serving on nonprofit boards.

Positive

• Significant R&D investment of $220 million in 2024 for innovation
• 44% average increase in total dollars raised for organizations using Raiser's Edge NXT
• Strong employee engagement with 70% volunteering rate, triple the national average
• Recognition as #20 on Fast Company's 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators list

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• None.

CEO Mike Gianoni Puts Employee Passion and Creativity First to Drive Next-Generation AI Capabilities That Are Transforming Social Impact

CHARLESTON, S.C.  , Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leader in AI for social impact, has been named #20 on Fast Company's list of the 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators. This honor underscores Blackbaud's unique culture of experimentation, investment and bottom-up innovation that has allowed it to bring game-changing AI capabilities to the people and organizations who change the world.  

"At Blackbaud, we don't just see AI as a tool to amplify impact—we see it as a new paradigm that we must help our social impact customers navigate so they can make their inspiring visions a reality," said Mike Gianoni, president, CEO and vice chairman of the board of directors, Blackbaud. "This recognition from Fast Company is a testament to the creativity, passion and purpose that our employees bring to work every day to build the future of social impact as they equip our customers with leading technology that helps them get the job done and achieve more for their missions."

"Our culture is built on empowering employees to think creatively and push the boundaries of what's possible for the social impact community," said Margaret "Maggie" Driscoll, chief people and culture officer, Blackbaud. "We've created an environment where bold ideas are encouraged, resources are accessible, and collaboration thrives—so employees feel inspired to experiment and bring forward solutions that truly make a difference."

Employees Innovating for Social Impact
Blackbaud's remote-flexible workforce strategy empowers employees to deliver for customers while staying connected to their communities. In 2024, 70% of employees volunteered—triple the national average—and one in seven served on a nonprofit board. This culture of engagement and connection to social impact not only strengthens communities, but also drives results for Blackbaud customers, including more consistent delivery of new capabilities and improved sales agent efficiency, which ultimately results in better products and higher customer satisfaction.

Innovation Mechanisms
Creating space and stimulus for employees to innovate is core to Blackbaud's business strategy. In 2024 alone, Blackbaud invested $220 million in R&D to catalyze a new stage of innovation dedicated to social impact, fueling programs like:

• AI for Blackbaud: A cohort-based approach to bring employees and technology together to experiment, identify use cases, assess their value and look for patterns that can be replicated to deliver value.
• Tech Thursday: A day solely focused on professional development and experimentation for Blackbaud's Product Technology Group, whether that's working on a side project, experimenting with new AI capabilities or learning a new coding language.
• Off the Grid: An event that brings together innovators of all backgrounds from across the company to pitch and build ideas in a hackathon format, then vote on the most promising projects—one of which has now become Blackbaud AI – Chat, an assistant and coach that is turbocharging social impact functions. Organizations using Blackbaud's Raiser's Edge NXT® have seen a 44% average increase in total dollars raised, and with AI integration, they're now able to do even more.
• Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program: A tech accelerator designed to support diverse, early-stage software companies whose innovative solutions are focused on solving the problems that matter to the social good community.

"I'm proud of the way Blackbaud employees live out our value of 'Inspired to Innovate' every day. They're passionate about our customers, and you can see it in the way they are reimagining what's possible through our solutions," said Gianoni. "We're not just building better products, we're building a new foundation for AI-powered social impact."

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the leading software provider exclusively dedicated to powering social impact. Serving the nonprofit and education sectors, companies committed to social responsibility and individual change makers, Blackbaud's essential software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud's solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies, Quartz's list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes' list of America's Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India and the United Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries. Learn more at www.blackbaud.com or follow us on X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media Inquiries
media@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, including statements regarding expected benefits of products and product features. 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 associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles; 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.

 

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SOURCE Blackbaud

FAQ

What ranking did Blackbaud (BLKB) receive on Fast Company's 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators list?

Blackbaud ranked #20 on Fast Company's 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators list, recognizing its unique culture of experimentation and innovation.

How much did Blackbaud invest in R&D during 2024?

Blackbaud invested $220 million in R&D during 2024 to drive innovation in social impact and AI capabilities.

What is the impact of Blackbaud's Raiser's Edge NXT platform on fundraising?

Organizations using Blackbaud's Raiser's Edge NXT® have seen a 44% average increase in total dollars raised.

What percentage of Blackbaud employees participated in volunteering in 2024?

70% of Blackbaud employees volunteered in 2024, which is triple the national average, and one in seven served on a nonprofit board.

What are Blackbaud's main innovation programs?

Blackbaud's main innovation programs include AI for Blackbaud (cohort-based experimentation), Tech Thursday (professional development day), Off the Grid (hackathon event), and the Social Good Startup Program (tech accelerator).