Blackbaud Announces New Measures to Support Customers and Global Community in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

CEO of social good software leader voluntarily forgoes paycheck; releases free resources to customers; gives donation to fight virus; expands employee matching gift program

CHARLESTON, South Carolina, March 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, announced new measures to support its customers and the broader social economy as many organizations are thrown into crisis mode in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the COVID-19 crisis evolves around the globe, social good organizations are experiencing unprecedented challenges, and even disruptions to their operations. The need for funding, support and resources is significant as organizations work to pivot their models, activate supporters and minimize disruptions to their services and work.

When addressing Blackbaud's global workforce this morning, president and CEO Mike Gianoni outlined a series of measures to support customers, fuel critical innovation and help employees. Among the measures outlined, Gianoni announced he would stop taking a paycheck until the business stabilizes.

"At Blackbaud, we believe the world will be a better place when good takes over," said Gianoni. "And, that higher purpose has taken on entirely new meaning and importance during this unprecedented time. We are taking measures to ensure business continuity while remaining critically focused on the success of our customers. We want to empower them to not only survive this pandemic, but to thrive. We also want to do our part to help bring the global economy back to a powerful place. And, most importantly, we want to do our part to help save lives."

Blackbaud is seeing the needs and impact of COVID-19 manifest in many ways for its customers depending on the organization type. Many private K–12 schools across the U.S. are benefitting from Blackbaud's cloud solutions by being able to swiftly move classes online. Food banks are receiving record high donations through Blackbaud Merchant Services – up more than 500% year-over-year. Meanwhile, other nonprofits like arts and cultural organizations face entirely different challenges, which Blackbaud is working diligently to support through resources and guidance. Blackbaud is helping churches recapture weekly offering by quickly setting up virtual platforms. Blackbaud solutions support virtual events, so as organizations around the world are having to cancel important in-person events—even marathons—they're able to quickly move fundraising aspects online and recapture revenue. For example, Blackbaud's JustGiving platform is experiencing a rise in COVID-19-related virtual events, individual crowdfunding and direct donations from charities, individuals and celebrities. In support of this, Blackbaud's team is working hands-on with organizations and redeploying resources to accelerate the "go live" of all COVID-19 campaigns.