Blackbaud Unveils AI Agent Tailored to Social Impact Sector, Announces AI Coalition for Social Impact at bbcon 2025

Rhea-AI Summary

Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) unveiled a suite of AI innovations at bbcon 2025, introducing 70+ embedded, sector-specific AI capabilities and agentic virtual teammates called Blackbaud Agents for Good. Key launches include the Development Agent for proactive donor portfolio management, Chat for Blackbaud AI, Document Intelligence for invoice-to-AP automation, and Expedited Giving that speeds donation disbursement by up to 95%. Blackbaud also announced the AI Coalition for Social Impact with founding members such as Anthropic, Databricks, and OneTrust, plus a free, platform-agnostic AI for Social Impact certification course. Next bbcon: Sept 29–Oct 1, 2026 in Columbus, OH.

Positive

• 70+ embedded, sector-specific AI capabilities announced
• Development Agent proactively manages donor portfolios
• Expedited Giving up to 95% faster donation disbursement
• Document Intelligence drafts Accounts Payable from invoices
• Free, platform-agnostic AI for Social Impact certification course
• AI Coalition founding members include Anthropic and Databricks

Negative

• None.

Insights

Product and Strategy Analyst

Blackbaud launched 70+ sector-specific AI features, agentic "Agents for Good", and an AI Coalition plus a free certification course.

Blackbaud shifts its offering toward action-oriented AI by embedding over 70 sector-specific capabilities and agentic assistants that handle workflows like donor portfolio management, document ingestion for accounts payable, and conversational assistance via Chat for Blackbaud AI.

The initiative rests on product execution, data quality, and partner integration; the announcement cites specific capabilities and a founding-member coalition but provides no commercial metrics, pricing, or rollout cadence beyond feature names and conference timing. Adoption and measurable ROI will depend on integration quality with existing suites such as Raiser's Edge NXT and Blackbaud CRM, and on customers completing the free, platform-agnostic certification course.

Watch for concrete rollout milestones and user adoption signals: the first certification module registration later this year, on-demand content availability on October 14, 2025, and the Product Update Briefings on November 18-20, 2025. Near-term indicators of impact include customer case studies for the Development Agent, measured speed gains from Expedited Giving, and uptake of Document Intelligence in finance teams.

Blackbaud revealed its vision for a new era of intelligent action powered by 70+ embedded, sector-
specific AI capabilities and groundbreaking agentic AI, and announced a free, platform-agnostic AI
certification course

CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leader in AI for social impact, today concluded bbcon 2025, its premier annual tech conference for nonprofits, schools, healthcare organizations, universities, and corporate social responsibility teams. The electric three-day event unveiled a new era of intelligent action—powered by Blackbaud AI—driving impact at scale through the world's largest network of people and causes.

"The rise of AI represents a once-in-a-generation paradigm shift for social impact organizations, and Blackbaud is turning its numerous possibilities into action," said Mike Gianoni, president, CEO and vice chairman of the board of directors, Blackbaud. "This week has been an incredible opportunity for us to explore new ways to help organizations everywhere move with more confidence, connection, and possibility."

More Connection. More Possibility.
The company announced two seismic shifts in the way Blackbaud is bringing AI to market for social impact, marking a new era of intelligent action:

• Blackbaud AI is transforming Blackbaud solutions from a system of record to a system of intelligent action able to integrate insights across business units. Underpinned by years of domain expertise and a wealth of data from a variety of sources, new features like AI-powered donor stewardship reports, Recognition Programs, hyper-personalized donor journeys, and more are all able to work in concert to celebrate impact, nurture loyalty, and drive engagement at scale.
• Blackbaud Agents for Good™, are agentic, virtual team members who can proactively take on complex tasks, workflows and initiatives. Seamlessly embedded in the trusted Blackbaud environment, these agents allow human practitioners to focus on the parts of the mission that only they can—relationships, storytelling and vision.

Energy was high as Blackbaud executives highlighted some of the key product capabilities including 70+ available or planned embedded, sector-specific AI capabilities that will amplify customer success and impact in this new era:

• The Development Agent, the very first Agent for Good, will operate proactively to manage donor portfolios, communicate with supporters, follow through on outreach, and enable organizations to reach prospective donors they simply do not have capacity to today.
• Chat for Blackbaud AI puts the deep insight of Blackbaud AI at users' fingertips as a smart, conversational AI assistant that helps teams work more efficiently by summarizing key information, generating content, and suggesting next steps.
• Prospect Insights Pro uses predictions to enable greater flexibility for users to customize their prospect segmentation strategy.
• Document Intelligence, designed to empower finance teams, allows you to upload an invoice—PDF, image, even a photo—and Blackbaud AI reads it, extracts the data and creates a draft Accounts Payable record, as an example.
• The Modernized Applicant User Experience in Blackbaud Award Management will infuse the applicant journey with a refreshed interface, including streamlined navigation, modernized visuals, and improved functionality across key areas.
• Expedited Giving will speed up donation disbursement from corporate giving, making it up to 95% faster than traditional distribution methods, embed new modern giving options for employee donors, increase transparency for CSR program administrators with Blackbaud's new Processing Portal, and save nonprofits time with donor detail integrations that will seamlessly connect to their Blackbaud solutions like Raiser's Edge NXT and Blackbaud CRM.

"I really enjoyed learning about all the ways that AI can help me summarize board requests for financial data, build forecast models and create budget templates," said Damaris Herron-Watkins, Chief Finance and Operations Officer, A Better Chance. "bbcon has opened my eyes to what's possible with AI in my role and I'm excited for the new ways that Blackbaud is incorporating AI into its platforms so we can work smarter and deliver on impact."

More Confidence with Responsible AI
Leading on new technology frontiers is a serious responsibility, and Blackbaud Chief Data and AI Officer Carrie Cobb took the stage to deliver a bold truth: "AI isn't just transforming technology—it's transforming responsibility. Because AI isn't just code. It's decisions. It's influence."

In service of its commitment to responsible AI, Blackbaud has convened a coalition of companies, organizations, and leaders who share the vision of removing obstacles to responsible AI adoption for the nonprofit sector: The AI Coalition for Social Impact. Founding members include Blackbaud, Anthropic, Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, Curtis Group, Databricks, Datacamp, Ellis Morgan Enterprises, GivingTuesday, Greater Purpose, OneTrust, Realized Worth, Responsible AI Institute and The Nonprofit Alliance. On behalf of its fellow founding members, Blackbaud announced the coalition's flagship initiative: a free, platform-agnostic AI for Social Impact Certification Course designed specifically for the social impact sector. The first module in AI for Social Impact will be open for registration later this year.

Celebrating Award Winners
Blackbaud celebrated organizations that are fueling social impact throughout the event:

• Winners of the bbdevdays hackathon were announced on day three of bbcon in the Innovation Hub. Awardees include the Georgia Tech Foundation, Preble Street, Opportunity International, Christendom College, and House of Ruth Maryland.
• The 2025 winners of the Blackbaud Impact Awards were recognized on the bbcon mainstage for transforming potential into progress to achieve more for their missions.
• Winners of Blackbaud's annual Social Good Startup Program Showcase were unveiled live at the conference, with Daffodil, Pledge, and Revere Software receiving the Judge's Choice award and Connect to Give receiving the People's Choice award.
• Partner Network Award recipients represented a diverse group of collaborators who are helping nonprofits, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and purpose-driven companies maximize their impact through technology.

"bbcon is where our community comes together not just to dream—but to do," said Catherine LaCour, chief marketing officer, Blackbaud. "This year, we raised the bar: combining transformative, sector-specific AI innovation with a coalition-driven approach to responsible adoption. The journey ahead requires boldness to match the opportunity for organizations changing the world."

Next year's bbcon will be held in Columbus, OH, September 29-October 1, 2026. In the meantime, top mainstage moments and select breakout session content will be available on demand, beginning October 14, 2025 through the free, virtual pass available on bbconference.com. For more details on Blackbaud's product roadmap, register to attend the upcoming Blackbaud Product Update Briefings, happening November 18-20, 2025.

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 did Blackbaud announce at bbcon 2025 for BLKB shareholders?

Blackbaud announced 70+ sector-specific AI capabilities, agentic AI tools, and an AI coalition; these aim to scale nonprofit operations and product adoption.

What is the Development Agent and how does it affect fundraising for BLKB users?

The Development Agent is a proactive Agent for Good that will manage donor portfolios, outreach, and supporter follow-through to expand fundraising capacity.

How much faster is Blackbaud's Expedited Giving feature for corporate donations?

Expedited Giving is advertised to speed donation disbursement by up to 95% compared with traditional distribution methods.

When will the free AI for Social Impact certification course for BLKB customers be available?

The first module of the free, platform-agnostic certification course will open for registration later in 2025.

Which partners joined Blackbaud's AI Coalition for Social Impact?

Founding coalition members include Anthropic, Databricks, OneTrust, GivingTuesday, and several sector organizations and nonprofits.

When is the next bbcon after the 2025 event and where will it be held?

Next bbcon is scheduled for Sept 29–Oct 1, 2026 in Columbus, OH.