New Report from the Blackbaud Institute Shows Clear Link Between Social Impact Organizations' Tech Use and Fundraising Revenue Growth
The Blackbaud Institute has released "The Status of Fundraising in the AI Era" report, revealing a strong correlation between technology adoption and fundraising success among social impact organizations. The study shows that 72% of organizations met or exceeded their fundraising targets in the past year.
Key findings highlight that 82% of nonprofits are using AI tools, primarily for content creation, with some utilizing it for prospecting and wealth screening. However, only 14% have formal AI policies in place. The report also found that 60% of fundraisers believe better training would improve technology use, while 56% emphasize the need for improved system integration. Among organizations that experienced revenue growth, 44% attributed it to adequate resourcing.
Il Blackbaud Institute ha pubblicato il rapporto "Lo stato della raccolta fondi nell'era dell'IA", che evidenzia una forte correlazione tra l'adozione della tecnologia e il successo nella raccolta fondi tra le organizzazioni a impatto sociale. Lo studio mostra che il 72% delle organizzazioni ha raggiunto o superato i propri obiettivi di raccolta fondi nell'ultimo anno.
I risultati chiave sottolineano che l'82% delle nonprofit utilizza strumenti di IA, principalmente per la creazione di contenuti, mentre alcune li impiegano per la ricerca di potenziali donatori e l'analisi patrimoniale. Tuttavia, solo il 14% dispone di politiche formali sull'IA. Il rapporto rileva inoltre che il 60% dei fundraiser ritiene che una formazione migliore migliorerebbe l'uso della tecnologia, mentre il 56% evidenzia la necessità di un'integrazione più efficace dei sistemi. Tra le organizzazioni che hanno registrato una crescita dei ricavi, il 44% l'ha attribuita a risorse adeguate.
El Blackbaud Institute ha publicado el informe "El estado de la recaudación de fondos en la era de la IA", revelando una fuerte correlación entre la adopción tecnológica y el éxito en la recaudación de fondos entre organizaciones de impacto social. El estudio muestra que el 72% de las organizaciones alcanzaron o superaron sus metas de recaudación en el último año.
Los hallazgos clave destacan que el 82% de las ONG utilizan herramientas de IA, principalmente para la creación de contenido, y algunas las usan para la prospección y el análisis patrimonial. Sin embargo, solo el 14% cuenta con políticas formales de IA. El informe también encontró que el 60% de los recaudadores de fondos cree que una mejor capacitación mejoraría el uso de la tecnología, mientras que el 56% enfatiza la necesidad de una mejor integración de sistemas. Entre las organizaciones que experimentaron crecimiento en ingresos, el 44% lo atribuyó a recursos adecuados.
Blackbaud 연구소는 "AI 시대의 모금 현황" 보고서를 발표하며, 사회적 영향력을 가진 기관들 사이에서 기술 도입과 모금 성공 간에 강한 상관관계가 있음을 밝혔습니다. 연구에 따르면 72%의 기관이 지난 해 모금 목표를 달성하거나 초과 달성했습니다.
주요 결과로는 비영리 단체의 82%가 AI 도구를 사용하며, 주로 콘텐츠 제작에 활용하고 일부는 잠재 기부자 탐색과 자산 평가에 사용하고 있습니다. 그러나 14%만이 공식적인 AI 정책을 갖추고 있습니다. 또한 보고서는 60%의 모금 담당자가 더 나은 교육이 기술 활용을 향상시킬 것이라고 믿으며, 56%는 시스템 통합 개선의 필요성을 강조한다고 밝혔습니다. 수익 성장을 경험한 기관 중 44%는 적절한 자원 배분 덕분이라고 평가했습니다.
Le Blackbaud Institute a publié le rapport "L'état de la collecte de fonds à l'ère de l'IA", révélant une forte corrélation entre l'adoption de la technologie et le succès des collectes de fonds parmi les organisations à impact social. L'étude montre que 72 % des organisations ont atteint ou dépassé leurs objectifs de collecte au cours de l'année écoulée.
Les résultats clés soulignent que 82 % des associations utilisent des outils d'IA, principalement pour la création de contenu, certaines les utilisant pour la prospection et le dépistage de patrimoine. Cependant, seulement 14 % disposent de politiques formelles en matière d'IA. Le rapport a également révélé que 60 % des collecteurs de fonds estiment qu'une meilleure formation améliorerait l'utilisation de la technologie, tandis que 56 % insistent sur la nécessité d'une meilleure intégration des systèmes. Parmi les organisations ayant connu une croissance de leurs revenus, 44 % l'ont attribuée à un financement adéquat.
Das Blackbaud Institute hat den Bericht „Der Status des Fundraisings im KI-Zeitalter“ veröffentlicht, der eine starke Korrelation zwischen der Einführung von Technologie und dem Fundraising-Erfolg bei sozialen Organisationen aufzeigt. Die Studie zeigt, dass 72 % der Organisationen ihre Fundraising-Ziele im vergangenen Jahr erreicht oder übertroffen haben.
Wichtige Erkenntnisse heben hervor, dass 82 % der Non-Profit-Organisationen KI-Tools nutzen, hauptsächlich zur Inhaltserstellung, einige auch für die Prospektion und Vermögensprüfung. Allerdings haben nur 14 % formelle KI-Richtlinien eingeführt. Der Bericht stellte außerdem fest, dass 60 % der Fundraiser glauben, dass bessere Schulungen den Technologieeinsatz verbessern würden, während 56 % die Notwendigkeit einer besseren Systemintegration betonen. Unter den Organisationen mit Umsatzwachstum führten 44 % dies auf ausreichende Ressourcen zurück.
- Organizations with higher tech integration show stronger revenue growth
- 82% of nonprofits are already adopting AI tools for various purposes
- 72% of organizations met or exceeded fundraising targets
- Clear correlation between digital maturity and fundraising success
- Only 14% of nonprofits have AI policies in place
- Organizations face pressure to achieve more with fewer resources
- Insufficient resources cited as top reason for revenue decline by 51% of organizations
Insights
Blackbaud's research links tech adoption to nonprofit revenue growth, positioning them strategically in the growing AI-for-social-impact market.
The Blackbaud Institute's new report establishes a clear correlation between technology integration and fundraising success for nonprofits, reinforcing Blackbaud's strategic positioning in a growing market segment. The finding that 72% of surveyed organizations met or exceeded fundraising targets suggests a relatively healthy nonprofit sector, which serves as Blackbaud's primary customer base.
The report's revelation that 82% of nonprofits are already using AI tools indicates significant market penetration and adoption potential for Blackbaud's AI-enhanced offerings. However, the predominant use of free, generative platforms suggests many organizations are still in early adoption phases rather than investing in enterprise-grade solutions. This represents both a market education opportunity and conversion challenge for Blackbaud.
Particularly noteworthy is the identified gap in organizational AI policies, with only 14% of nonprofits having formal AI governance in place. This presents Blackbaud with a strategic opportunity to position itself not just as a technology provider but as a thought leader in responsible AI implementation for the social impact sector.
The report strategically reinforces Blackbaud's market position by identifying resource constraints (cited by 51% of organizations experiencing revenue declines) and integration challenges (noted by 56% of respondents) as key barriers—precisely the problems Blackbaud's integrated software solutions aim to solve. By publishing this research, Blackbaud effectively validates its business model while highlighting growth opportunities in AI adoption, training, and system integration services for the nonprofit sector.
Report Illustrates How Tech-Savvy Organizations Are Gaining a Competitive Edge in the Age of AI
While
"We're at a pivotal moment where intentional technology use can create transformative change across the sector," said Carrie Cobb, chief data and AI officer, Blackbaud. "We see a lot of potential for organizations to drive real outcomes by investing in AI, building internal expertise, and establishing ethical frameworks that guide its use. This report shows that those organizations that do so are likely to see impressive benefits."
Key Findings from the Report:
- Digital maturity is linked to revenue growth: Organizations with higher levels of technology integration are more likely to report revenue growth and less likely to report revenue decline compared to those with more limited tech use.
- The nonprofit sector is embracing AI:
82% of nonprofits are using AI tools—primarily free, generative platforms for content creation. To a lesser but still notable degree, organizations are leveraging AI for prospecting, wealth screening, and A/B testing. Attitudes around the use of AI in fundraising vary based on organization size and digital maturity, but the majority believe that AI will be pervasive in the sector and bring greater efficiency to their organizations. - There is a clear need for organizational AI policies: Despite the increasing use of AI, sector-wide AI guidance and policies have room for improvement. Only
14% of nonprofits have an AI policy in place. - Training and integration are critical enablers:
60% of fundraisers say better training would improve technology use, while56% call for improved system integration to streamline collaboration and increase effectiveness. - Resourcing remains a key driver of outcomes: Among organizations that grew revenue,
44% credited adequate resourcing as a primary factor—second only to exceptional gifts. In contrast,51% of those who saw declines cited insufficient resources as the top reason.
For more information, the full Status of Fundraising report can be accessed here. All Blackbaud Institute resources are offered for free, as part of Blackbaud's commitment to accelerating social impact through data-driven insight.
About the Blackbaud Institute
The Blackbaud Institute develops leading-edge research and convenes expert voices to equip the social impact community with knowledge, insight, and confidence. The Blackbaud Institute draws from Blackbaud's data set, the most comprehensive in the social impact community. In addition, the Institute facilitates public research studies to drive original qualitative and quantitative insight. Our research agenda is grounded in a commitment to topics that social impact organizations can apply immediately to better understand, benchmark, and improve their essential business operations. We are guided by our commitment to the social impact sector to provide timely, transparent, and well-rounded research that is free to access. From how organizations run to how donors give, we're
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
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.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-report-from-the-blackbaud-institute-shows-clear-link-between-social-impact-organizations-tech-use-and-fundraising-revenue-growth-302467018.html
SOURCE Blackbaud
FAQ
What percentage of nonprofits are using AI tools according to Blackbaud's 2025 report?
How many nonprofit organizations have AI policies in place in 2025?
What percentage of organizations met their fundraising targets according to BLKB's report?
What are the main factors affecting revenue growth in nonprofits according to Blackbaud's study?
How can nonprofits improve their technology use according to the 2025 Status of Fundraising Report?
