Here are 1-2 brief analogies for Blackbaud (BLKB):

• Salesforce for nonprofits and social good organizations.
• SAP for the social good sector.

• Fundraising & Donor Management: Comprehensive software and services for non-profits to manage donors, cultivate relationships, and execute fundraising campaigns.
• Financial Management: Cloud-based accounting and financial reporting solutions tailored for non-profit organizations.
• Education Management: Integrated suite of solutions for K-12 private schools covering admissions, academics, and business office operations.
• Grant & Award Management: Software for streamlining the application, review, and tracking processes for grantmakers and grantseekers.
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Solutions: Platforms for companies to manage employee giving, volunteering, and corporate philanthropy programs.

Blackbaud (BLKB) sells primarily to organizations rather than directly to individuals or other for-profit companies. Their customers are predominantly non-profit entities, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations seeking software and services to manage fundraising, donor engagement, financial operations, and program delivery.

Based on their market focus, Blackbaud's major customer categories include:

• Non-profit Organizations: This broad category encompasses a vast array of charitable groups focused on human services, animal welfare, environmental causes, arts and culture, social justice, and various community initiatives.
• Educational Institutions: Blackbaud serves both K-12 schools and higher education institutions (colleges and universities) with solutions for admissions, student management, fundraising, and alumni relations.
• Healthcare Organizations: This category includes hospitals, healthcare systems, and healthcare foundations that utilize Blackbaud's tools for fundraising, constituent management, and relationship building with donors.

• Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)
• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

Mike Gianoni, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mike Gianoni joined Blackbaud as CEO in 2014. Prior to Blackbaud, he held significant leadership roles at Fiserv, Inc., including leading their Financial Institutions Group and Investment Services division. He was also executive vice president and general manager of CheckFree Investment Services, joining Fiserv through its acquisition of CheckFree. Additionally, he spent 11 years at DST Systems Inc., focusing on developing new platforms and operational controls. He currently serves as chairman of the board of directors for Teradata.

Chad Anderson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Chad Anderson was promoted to CFO in April 2025, having joined Blackbaud in 2013. Before his promotion, he served as Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller at Blackbaud. Earlier in his career, Anderson was an executive at Brightpoint Inc., where he held positions as vice president of finance for international operations and later as chief financial officer of the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.

Kevin Gregoire, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Kevin Gregoire became Blackbaud's Chief Operating Officer in 2022, after joining the company in 2018. He possesses over 25 years of experience in the software industry. Before Blackbaud, Gregoire spent 16 years at Fiserv, a global provider of financial services technology solutions, where he was instrumental in the company's growth. His roles at Fiserv included Group President of the Financial Institutions Group, Division President and COO of Card Services, and Senior Vice President of Product and Network Strategy. He is also a veteran of the United States Army.

Catherine LaCour, Chief Marketing Officer

Catherine LaCour serves as Blackbaud's Chief Marketing Officer, a role in which she oversees global brand and marketing, corporate communications, and strategic go-to-market functions. She joined Blackbaud in 2010 and also leads the Blackbaud Institute. Prior to Blackbaud, LaCour held positions as Vice President of Marketing & Product Management at Regent Education and Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Infotech Strategies. She is also involved with several boards, including the Coastal Community Foundation and the Women's Refugee Commission.

Sudip Datta, Chief Product Officer

Sudip Datta was appointed Chief Product Officer at Blackbaud in April 2022. With over 25 years of experience in enterprise software, he previously led the Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) and Observability business at Broadcom Inc. He also served as vice president of products at Oracle and held roles at IBM and Fujitsu-ICL. At both Oracle and Broadcom, he was responsible for driving revenue growth through organic and inorganic initiatives. Datta is also an advisor to early-stage startups and a founding member of Uddyom, an NGO in India.

The public company Blackbaud (BLKB) faces several key risks, with cybersecurity and data privacy concerns being the most significant.

1. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Risks

Blackbaud has a history of significant cybersecurity incidents, most notably a ransomware attack in 2020 that compromised sensitive customer data. This incident led to data breaches affecting thousands of Blackbaud's downstream customers, including healthcare organizations, educational institutions, and nonprofits, impacting millions of individuals. Following the attack, Blackbaud faced widespread criticism for its response and initial lack of transparency. Regulatory bodies, including the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the California Attorney General's Office, have fined Blackbaud for failing to implement adequate data safeguards and for making misleading statements regarding the breach. The company has also agreed to significant settlements with numerous U.S. states, mandating enhanced breach notification processes, improved cybersecurity training, stronger encryption, and external compliance evaluations. Ongoing and evolving domestic and international regulations concerning consumer data privacy and protection could continue to adversely affect Blackbaud's business and operating results.

2. Competition

Despite being a market leader in social impact software, Blackbaud operates in a fragmented market with significant competitive threats from large enterprise players. Companies like Microsoft and Salesforce Inc. pose a substantial challenge by leveraging their extensive cloud ecosystems and offering solutions tailored for nonprofits. Blackbaud faces competition from a large number of active competitors, and the risk of technological changes making its products and services less competitive is a persistent concern.

3. Operational and Growth Management Challenges

Blackbaud's business is also subject to general economic risks. There is inherent uncertainty regarding increasing business and securing renewals from existing customers. Furthermore, risks are associated with managing growth, including potentially lengthy sales and implementation cycles, as well as the ability to attract and retain key personnel. The successful implementation of multiple integrated software products and the integration of acquired companies also present operational challenges.

The increasing adoption of "best-of-breed" composable tech stacks by non-profits, driven by specialized, modern SaaS providers.

A clear emerging threat is the growing trend among non-profits, particularly small to mid-sized organizations, to move away from monolithic, all-in-one software suites like Blackbaud's in favor of a "best-of-breed" approach. This involves selecting multiple specialized SaaS solutions for different functions (e.g., fundraising, donor management, event management, accounting) that integrate seamlessly via modern APIs. Numerous nimble, cloud-native providers (such as Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, Classy, Givebutter, and others) are emerging, offering highly focused features, often with superior user experience, faster innovation cycles, and more competitive pricing for specific functionalities. This challenges Blackbaud's traditional integrated suite model and can lead to customer churn or make it harder to acquire new customers who prefer more flexible and tailored solutions.

The potential expansion of fundraising and donor engagement tools offered by dominant social media platforms and payment processors.

Another clear emerging threat stems from the increasing role of major tech companies and payment processors in facilitating online giving. Platforms like Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Google, PayPal, and Stripe already host significant fundraising capabilities and process a substantial volume of online donations. If these powerful platforms choose to expand their offerings to include more comprehensive donor management, communication, and analytics features – beyond just transactional giving or basic campaign tools – they could leverage their massive user bases, network effects, and technological resources to significantly disintermediate traditional non-profit software vendors like Blackbaud. This could fundamentally shift where non-profits acquire, engage, and manage their donors, altering the core value proposition of dedicated non-profit CRM and fundraising platforms.

Blackbaud (BLKB) operates in a global total addressable market (TAM) estimated to be over $10 billion.

This market encompasses a wide range of organizations within the "social good" community, including nonprofits, foundations, corporations, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and faith communities, as well as individual change agents.

Blackbaud (BLKB) is anticipated to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key strategies:

1. Product Innovation and AI Integration: Blackbaud is heavily investing in product innovation, particularly with the integration of artificial intelligence. The company introduced "six waves of innovation" at its annual tech conference, bbcon 2024, and announced a new agentic AI suite, "Agents for Good," with over 70 planned or available AI enhancements, including predictive and generative AI. This significant R&D investment, totaling $220 million in 2024, aims to enhance customer experience, operational capabilities, and strengthen Blackbaud's market position.

2. Modernized Pricing and Expansion of Contractual Recurring Revenue: A modernized pricing approach, launched in March 2023, is expected to contribute significantly to revenue growth and margin expansion. Furthermore, the company is transitioning contractual revenue contracts to three-year terms, which is intended to enhance revenue predictability. This strategy is highlighted as a factor in maintaining organic growth.

3. Customer Acquisition and Deepening Existing Customer Relationships: A core strategic priority for Blackbaud is acquiring new customers ("new logos") and strengthening relationships with existing customers by selling additional solutions and facilitating renewals. The company has reported securing new enterprise wins and observing momentum in higher education and nonprofit verticals, indicating a continued focus on expanding its customer base and increasing adoption of its offerings.

4. Growth in Transactional Recurring Revenue: Blackbaud has experienced robust growth in its transactional recurring revenue, driven by volume increases and improved rates. Transactions contributed significantly to revenue growth in Q1 2025 with a 9% increase compared to the previous year, and analysts anticipate continued growth in this segment.

Share Repurchases

• In November 2020, Blackbaud increased its share buyback authorization by $200 million, bringing the total authorized for repurchases to $250 million.
• Blackbaud expanded and reauthorized its common stock repurchase program in July 2024, with approximately $800 million remaining under this authorization as of July 16, 2024.
• As of September 30, 2025, Blackbaud had approximately $514 million remaining under its common stock repurchase program, and expects total repurchases during 2025 to represent between 5.2% and 7.0% of its outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2024.

Share Issuance

• Since the beginning of 2024, Blackbaud has repurchased 16% of common stock outstanding on a gross basis and 10% on a net basis (after dilution) indicating that any share issuances were offset by repurchases.
• Blackbaud filed an automatic shelf registration statement on January 10, 2025, for an undetermined amount of debt and equity securities, allowing for potential future share offerings.
• The weighted average diluted share count is projected to be between 48.5 million and 49.5 million shares for 2025, with a preliminary range of 46.5 million to 47.5 million for 2026, reflecting a net reduction in outstanding shares.

Outbound Investments

• Blackbaud divested its EverFi business as of December 31, 2024.
• The company's capital allocation strategy includes targeted mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to enhance innovation.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures for 2025 are projected to be approximately $55 million to $65 million.
• This includes an estimated $50 million to $60 million in capitalized software development costs.
• A primary focus of capital expenditures is on platform modernization and data center consolidation as the company completes its migration to a third-party cloud.