Blackbaud Institute 2025 Status of ANZ Fundraising Benchmark Report Shows Growing Recognition of AI and its Impact on Fundraising Success

Tech-Savvy Organisations See Substantial Benefits with AI Use

SYDNEY, May 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Blackbaud Institute, a research lab at Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading provider of software for powering social impact, today released a new report, the Status of ANZ Fundraising: A Benchmarking Report for the AI Era, that provides insights from nearly 200 industry professionals across Australia and New Zealand. Through a collaboration between the Institute and the Blackbaud Pacific team, this annual report provides essential year-over-year data on current fundraising trends in Australia and New Zealand, helping social impact professionals understand the sector and benchmark their performance. With a research focus on emerging innovations and digital maturity, the report also helps nonprofit organisations inform their digital fundraising strategies to maximise their impact.  

"As we navigate an era of rapid technological advancements, this research offers useful perspectives on how technology and innovation are being embraced by various organisations within the philanthropic sector," said Kevin Sher, President and General Manager, Blackbaud Pacific. "One of the remarkable trends highlighted in this year's research is the growing recognition of AI as a tool to enhance fundraising impact and organisational efficiency. Our findings reveal a significant increase in social impact organisations exploring AI use, and those with high digital maturity are recognising the substantial benefits of AI in fundraising, embracing it as a complementary tool that enhances, rather than replaces, the indispensable human touch that defines the sector." 

Key Findings  

Nonprofit performance is trending positively.  

• 48% of participants reported their income increased in the last full financial year, with 25% saying their income remained static.
• 56% said they either met or exceeded their fundraising targets.

All sectors identified the current economic landscape as the fundraising challenge that concerned them most.

• For the third consecutive year, fundraisers pointed to broader economic conditions as the fundraising challenge that concerned them most.
• Despite the prevalence of this concern, the majority of organizations saw their voluntary income from fundraising increase or remain consistent.

Diversifying income streams supports growth, with major giving taking precedence. 

• 60% of participants whose income increased during the last financial year attributed their growth to exceptional gifts.
• Income streams from legacies, major donors, and individual giving have seen the biggest growth over the last three years with approximately half of respondents sharing they've seen increases in these areas.

The sector is seeing significant growth in AI usage year on year, but adoption outpaces policy development.  

• AI use has risen from 67% in 2024 to 82% in 2025, with most organisations employing AI tools at a higher rate than the previous year.
• Organisations are increasingly prioritising and dedicating resources to AI adoption.
• While AI policy development is more prevalent this year—16% now having a policy in place compared to 8% in 2024—policy development remains critical given the rapid adoption.

More research results can be found in the full report, The Status of ANZ Fundraising: A Benchmarking Report for the AI Era. All Blackbaud Institute resources are offered for free, as part of Blackbaud's commitment to accelerating social impact through data-driven insight. 

Supporting the Sector 
To help charities sustain and grow their missions, and deliver more impact for their causes, Blackbaud earlier this year released new donation forms to help Australia and New Zealand raise more, streamline the donor experience, simplify administrative tasks, and reduce processing costs. These forms make online giving simple and are proven to help increase gift size, eliminate transaction fees and expand the donor base. Learn more about Blackbaud's latest innovation, resources and news here.  

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 100% focused on research and resources for this sector. 

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.au or follow us on X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

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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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