Blackbaud Releases 2021 Social Responsibility Report Highlighting Its Impact and Outlining Key Commitments to Build a Better World

2021 Progress Includes Achieving Carbon Neutrality; Making a Multi-Year, Six-Figure Gift to Foster Diversity; Supporting its Workforce Through a Remote-First Approach; and Investing in Innovation for the Social Good Community

CHARLESTON, S.C., May 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, today released its 2021 Social Responsibility Report, sharing how the company is growing and strengthening the entire social good community, empowering its people, stewarding the environment and expanding responsible business practices.

"2021 was a year of perseverance and adopting a 'new normal,' despite the continued uncertainty of a global pandemic," said Mike Gianoni, president and CEO, Blackbaud. "Organizations and individuals didn't just accept the status quo—they re-imagined what was possible in a now-hybrid world. And Blackbaud was right there with them, enabling impact through our technology, expertise, partnership and people. We're proud to share our achievements and priorities, and how we drive powerful impact to help good take over."

Blackbaud's priorities and 2021 progress are categorized by several key commitments:

Commitment to the Social Good Community
Nearly 150,000 organizations across the globe receive funds thanks to a Blackbaud solution, and Blackbaud makes it a priority to support this community of nonprofits, K-12 schools, universities, companies, healthcare institutions, foundations, arts and cultural organizations, faith organizations and individual change agents.

Highlights of Blackbaud's investment in 2021 include:

• Providing free resources and engaging in cross-sector initiatives to help strengthen the entire social good community, like providing cutting-edge philanthropic research from the Blackbaud Institute, supporting the Giving Institute and Giving USA and recruiting early-stage startups to the Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program
• Making donations in support of COVID-19 relief and disaster recovery, and announcing a new multi-year, six-figure gift to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry to build greater equity, social capital and a stronger, more diverse workforce
• More than 70% of Blackbaud employees volunteering in 2021, and 20% serving on nonprofit boards
• Growing the Blackbaud Partner Network by 43%, making it easier for customers to access leading technology and services firms, all focused on helping them make a bigger difference
• Enabling customers through training and insights, which led to a 95% customer support satisfaction rating

Commitment to People, Culture, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Blackbaud believes success comes from prioritizing employees' personal and professional well-being and development, and it can only be realized by embracing diverse perspectives and experiences. Blackbaud's remote-first strategy provides opportunity for all regardless of location.

Highlights of Blackbaud's 2021 workplace progress include:

• Attracting top talent—55% of all new hires in 2021 came from historically underrepresented groups, and 91% of employees said the fact that Blackbaud operates in a socially responsible manner was important to them
• Investing in employee development—40% of employees experienced career progression in 2021, 99% of employees completed the Blackbaud Way interaction training, and 85% of people managers attended engagement labs and inclusive culture trainings
• Caring for employee well-being through a global wellness program, bi-monthly education sessions and encouraging participation in employee affinity groups to enhance community and belonging in the virtual setting

Commitment to Climate
As part of its responsibility to act in the fight against climate change, Blackbaud is dedicated to proactively protecting the environment. Blackbaud has set out to achieve this through responsible operations, decarbonization, philanthropic partnerships and employee engagement. Since 2019, Blackbaud has reduced its global real estate footprint by 50%, reduced the emissions required to run its office space by 63% and reduced employee commuting emissions by 75%.

Highlights of Blackbaud's climate progress include:

• Transitioning to a remote-first workforce approach, which fast-tracked the company's ability to minimize the environmental impact of its operations
• Achieving carbon neutrality across its business operations and data centers by reducing emissions and investing in renewable energy credits and carbon offset projects
• Passionate members of Blackbaud's sustainability employee affinity group educating and engaging their colleagues in environmental efforts and volunteer events

Commitment to Data Privacy and Protection
Blackbaud continues to make significant investments in its cybersecurity program to provide customers with confidence that their technology and data are secure. This is further strengthened by incorporating data privacy and protection education into the customer onboarding and implementation process, and providing ongoing resources such as webinars, best practices content and one-on-one consultations.  Learn more about Blackbaud's commitment to data privacy and protection here.

ESG Progress and Metrics
Blackbaud seeks to drive long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders by living out its higher purpose of helping good take over, and by operating as a socially responsible business. In addition to these core commitments, Blackbaud transparently tracks and reports on its operations through a robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) program.

As part of its ESG program, Blackbaud has:

• Joined the UN Global Compact and signed on to its 10 principles that outline the fundamental responsibilities of business for human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption
• Developed a structure to guide and provide oversight of ESG initiatives, including CEO sponsorship, board oversight, an employee-led, cross functional steering committee, employee impact teams and affinity groups
• Tracked impact through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—particularly SDGs 3, 4 and 16

More detailed information on Blackbaud's ESG program and 2021 impact metrics can be found here. 

Blackbaud powers the Ecosystem of Good®—and serves as an active participant in it. To learn more about how the company is helping build a better world, view the full 2021 Social Responsibility Report here, and hear from CEO Mike Gianoni here.

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world's leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, higher education institutions, K–12 schools, healthcare organizations, faith communities, arts and cultural organizations, foundations, companies and individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and empowers organizations to increase their impact through cloud software, services, expertise and data intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG), school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing and analytics. Serving the industry for more than four decades, Blackbaud is a remote-first company headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, with operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit  www.blackbaud.com or follow us on 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, particularly in larger organization; 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.

SOURCE Blackbaud, Inc.