Blackbaud

Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), announced that The Tesseract School in Eagan, MN is among the increasing number of schools that have turned to Blackbaud’s new Student Information System, a hosted solution created exclusively for small independent schools. Blackbaud for Small Schools™ combines the Blackbaud solutions only a small independent school would need, helping them to manage student information more efficiently and keep track of critical student data, while giving teachers the tools they need to help students succeed.

Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), the leading provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2008.

Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) today announced that The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) will partner with the company on a multi-year project to change the organization's strategic approaches to constituent relationship management, financial management, and online collaboration. With the aid of Blackbaud's solutions and services, the LCMS will develop new business processes, procedures, and information systems to support a holistic view of the constituent.

Do you need help developing long-term relationships with your mid-level donors? Do you want to launch some special mailings and tailored communications for these high-level donors but don’t know where to begin? Or is your current mid-level program in dire need of some fresh ideas?

Several organizations have made a big impact on the bottom line by attracting donors to the mid-level and by maintaining long-term, fruitful relationships with them, L.W. Robbins Associates President Lynn Edmonds said at Blackbaud’s 2008 Conference for Nonprofits held last month in South Carolina.

Bryan Terpstra, vice president of client services at Robbins, added that, “A big focus is on the creative approach used to attract the mid-level donors and how this differs from the approach used for other segments of the donor file.”

Why do people give? Because they are asked. Why do they give the amount they give? Because that’s the amount they are asked for.

These are two basic principles that Katherine Swank, a consultant with Blackbaud’s Target Analytics, encouraged attendees at Blackbaud’s 2008 Conference for Nonprofits held last month to accept as the truth.

Swank said that the trick during a recession is to keep asking, and to ask for the right amount. The key to asking for the right amount is knowing your constituency and pinpointing which prospects have the greatest giving potential, she said.

Instead of waiting for the next big idea to happen and the next generous donor to appear at your door, why not create and find your own extraordinary ideas and donors?

Dr. Jeffrey Patchen, president and CEO of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, talked about identifying and developing transformational ideas and donors at Blackbaud’s 2008 Conference for Nonprofits held last month in South Carolina.

“Achieving passion-driven leadership in your community is the key to establishing personal relationships. It’s about making that emotional connection.”

So said Nancy Bocskor, president of campaign consultancy The Nancy Bocskor Company, in a session at Blackbaud’s 2008 Conference for Nonprofits held last month in South Carolina.

Bocskor explained that “passion-driven leadership is the ability to inspire action in others by harnessing the boundless enthusiasm and deep feelings of the human heart.”

Fundraising is about more than ROI and cost to raise a dollar. It’s about justifying the work being done by an organization and maximizing efficiency. And transparency is key to determining the real value of a fundraising campaign. That according to Michael Lowstetter, vice president of finance and chief financial officer of the Union Grove, Wis., nonprofit Shepherds Ministries, who spoke at a session at Blackbaud’s 2008 Conference for Nonprofits held last month in South Carolina. Lowstetter said that popular fundraising measures such as ROI, total revenue, total expense and cost to raise a dollar are important — but, he asked, are they enough?

Customizing a fundraising campaign that speaks to every generation isn’t just a question of whether an appeal should be delivered by postman or sent electronically to an inbox. The method of delivery matters, but so does its message, Blackbaud enterprise solutions engineer Samantha Cohen said at a Blackbaud Delivers event held earlier this month in Philadelphia. “It’s not just mail for the older and e-mail for the younger,” Cohen said. “It’s about what you say.” Demographics affect retention Cohen explained that fundraisers must remember that each age group seeks a different relationship with the institutions it supports. “It is much more than

Donor retention boils down to loyalty. “If you have a loyal constituent, you are able to retain them,” Blackbaud enterprise solutions engineer Samantha Cohen said at a Blackbaud Delivers event about donor retention held last week in Philadelphia. “A donor will talk about a hospital, a symphony, an animal-rescue organization that they support. A loyal donor will talk about my hospital, my symphony or my animal-rescue mission,” she said. “That my is a shift to loyalty. They are emotionally invested in that institution.” Every nonprofit should be striving for loyal donors, Cohen said. Organizations can achieve this by building relationships with donors