Blackbaud Launches Technology to Help Arts and Cultural Organizations Cultivate Meaningful Relationships With Supporters During and After COVID-19

Innovative enhancements to Blackbaud Altru® position organizations for increased giving, sustained engagement and safe operations

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Blackbaud

Apr 21, 2020, 10:30 ET

CHARLESTON, S.C., April 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, today announces three rapid innovation enhancements to Blackbaud Altru^®, the cloud-based solution designed specifically for general admission cultural organizations such as aquariums, gardens, museums and zoos. As many arts and cultural organizations have been forced to close their doors due to COVID‑19, Blackbaud offers features to help them cultivate relationships with supporters during and in the aftermath of the pandemic through meaningful virtual touchpoints.

"We have more than 30 years of experience partnering with arts and cultural organizations on software solutions, and we understand the challenges they're up against right now," said Dale Strange, president and GM, Blackbaud Arts and Cultural Solutions. "That's why we're launching new features to our Blackbaud Altru cloud software solution to help these organizations while their doors are closed for COVID-19 and help them quickly and safely reopen once we're through this challenging time."

Cultivating Relationships with Supporters
Now more than ever, arts and cultural organizations need to have a strong pulse on their supporter base so they can bring in donations and maintain relationships to carry them through this pandemic. To further support these organizations, Blackbaud is releasing Major Giving/Prospect Management functionality to all Blackbaud Altru customers. This feature gives organizations valuable visibility into the constituent journey, so they can make informed appeals to donors and take supporters to the next level of engagement.

"With attendance revenue at a standstill, arts and cultural organizations need insights into which supporters and prospects could help to sustain operations during this critical time," said Strange. "This key capability should provide the visibility our Blackbaud Altru customers need to power successful fundraising operations and reopen strong."

Extended Membership Terms During Closure
Blackbaud will soon launch Blackbaud Altru Membership Utility, which will allow arts and cultural organizations to easily extend membership terms by up to 12 months. This new capability will be automatically available to all Blackbaud Altru customers at no additional charge and enables organizations to provide value to members by granting them additional months of membership to use post-pandemic, while also potentially capturing membership revenue during this critical moment. After hearing the need for this type of capability directly from its customers, Blackbaud immediately acted upon the feedback to build and launch the extended membership technology in a matter of weeks.

"The utility solution the Blackbaud team created is just what we were looking for – a universal way to update expiration dates without time-consuming manual labor, so we can be concentrating on what matters most – our mission," said Lori Elder, member services manager, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. "Once we're able to open our doors after the pandemic, our members will be able to use their memberships to the fullest – a day we're very much looking forward to."

Managing Traffic Flow in the Pandemic Aftermath
Once arts and cultural organizations can reopen their doors after the pandemic, they will need to be cognizant of the traffic flow to allow safe distancing between visitors. Blackbaud Altru customers already have access to Timed Entry capabilities, which will become a critical feature in the coming months. Timed Entry allows organizations to sell tickets based on set entrance times to avoid lines and crowding. This seamless technology will take some of the guesswork out of reopening, while also making visitors feel secure and comfortable.

To learn more about Blackbaud's solutions for arts and cultural organizations, visit Blackbaud.com/who-we-serve/arts-and-cultural-organizations.

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, school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has 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