From AI-powered fundraising and content tools to digital assistant chatbots, startups in the July 2024 cohort are delivering innovative solutions to nonprofits, donors, schools, businesses, and communities.
CHARLESTON, S.C. , July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), a leading provider of software for social impact, today announced the newest group of participants in its Social Good Startup Program, a technology accelerator designed to support early-stage software companies focused on solving problems that matter to the social impact community.
The July 2024 class will support startups focused on developing solutions that extend or complement Blackbaud’s solutions to maximize their impact for nonprofits, schools, and socially responsible businesses.
“The Social Good Startups program not only allows us to deliver the critical software and capabilities Blackbaud is known for, but also allows us to partner with cutting-edge startups in the social impact space to accelerate the speed and diversity of innovation our customers receive,” said Jerry Needel, vice president and chief of innovation at Blackbaud. “We’re excited to see how this cohort of companies will benefit Blackbaud customers who are making a difference in the world every day.”
The startups included in the July 2024 cohort are:
Arbor is an AI-powered storytelling platform that partners with nonprofits to create and share impact stories through video and more. Arbor combines human interviewers with a proprietary production platform to deliver authentic storytelling at scale. Arbor AI generates social clips, newsletters, email campaigns, talking points and more, allowing content to be delivered directly from the platform. Chat2Impact is a digital assistant that enables charities to leverage chatbot technology quickly and cost-effectively. It’s packed with useful features, including donations, event and volunteer registrations, and answers to frequently asked questions. Chat2Impact is directly integrated into Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT®, so new or existing constituent data is passed from the chatbot directly to your organization’s CRM, unlocking more insights and improving efficiency. Giving Compass empowers impact-driven donors to transform their generosity into meaningful change for their communities and society. As the premier donor education platform, Giving Compass supports individuals and businesses at every step of their generosity journey. Our AI-powered tools connect users to high-performing but underfunded nonprofits and provide strategic insights from trusted giving experts to maximize the impact of every donation. LifeWeb 360 is a digital space to collect and share memories of loved ones, including stories, photos, and video links. Schools and associations can create branded sites with memorial pages for each deceased member, where everyone can share memories and photos that honor that person’s life. The platform allows users to connect with potential donors, spotlight legacy society members, and re-engage the community when it matters most. Ribon helps companies turn corporate giving into an employee engagement machine. Honored by the Gates Foundation as one of the world’s best innovations, Ribon transforms every corporate donation into employee donation vouchers that give to causes your company supports on a weekly basis. You can even add more funds and invite family and friends to join you. Your Mission Possible is a consulting firm that brings technology to nonprofit fundraising, helping staff spend less time in front of computer screens and more time in the community. Their new product, Blueprint, provides fundraisers with templates for any fundraising event and gives nonprofits project management tools to help them complete 95% of the administrative work needed to be successful.
“We’re thrilled to welcome these six incredible companies to our July 2024 cohort,” said Lizzy Schaffer, general manager of BlackBud’s Social Good Startup Program. “By partnering with the industry’s leading innovators in social impact technology through our Social Good Startup Program, BlackBud will continue to increase opportunities for purpose-driven organizations to leverage our cutting-edge products and solutions, ultimately giving our customers even more ways to increase their impact and achieve their goals.”
About the Blackbud Social Good Startup Program
Since launching the first cohort of its Social Good Startup program in January 2020, Blackbaud has supported a total of 60 startups across the past eight cohorts, which have collectively raised more than $185 million in funding. Participating startups have contributed more than 30 new solutions to the Blackbaud Marketplace, where customers can easily discover and adopt them. Additionally, more than 60% of founders of startups that have participated in the program come from backgrounds that are typically underrepresented in the technology industry.
At bbcon, Blackbaud’s annual tech conference, taking place September 24-26 in Seattle, founders from this year’s group will have the opportunity to pitch their solutions to Blackbaud leaders and customers at the 2024 Startup Showcase. bbcon attendees will be able to meet with the founders, hear more and vote for their favorite solution. The winners from the 2023 showcase will also be in attendance.
Blackbaud is accepting applications for the Social Good Startup Program on an ongoing basis. To apply for the January 2025 cohort or other future cohorts, learn more and apply here. Program participants will receive select access to Blackbaud resources, marketing opportunities, and non-dilutive grant funding. Blackbaud will also work with startup teams to design a unique plan that addresses each company’s growth goals.
About Blackbud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is a leading software provider dedicated to accelerating social impact. Powering the nonprofit and education sectors, socially responsible businesses and individual change-makers, Blackbaud’s essential software is built to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grant making, corporate social responsibility and education management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through the Blackbaud platform each year, Blackbaud’s solutions unlock the potential of people and organizations to change the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek’s “America’s Most Responsible Companies” list, Quartz’s “Best Companies for Remote Workers” list and Forbes’ “America’s Best Employers” list. A remote-first company, Blackbaud operates in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the U.K. and supports users in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com or follow us at: X/TwitterLinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
Media Inquiries
media
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements, expectations and assumptions included in this news release, other than historical information, including statements regarding the expected benefits of the products and product features, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. While Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in these forward-looking statements, future circumstances may differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include general economic risks, uncertainties regarding the growth and renewal of business from existing customers, continued success in growing sales, managing the integration of acquired companies and other risks related to acquisitions, risks related to the successful implementation of multiple integrated software products, our ability to attract and retain key personnel, risks related to managing growth, lengthy sales and implementation cycles, technological changes that may make our products and services less competitive, and other risk factors described from time to time in Blackbaud’s SEC filings. These filings 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 mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.
To download multimedia, view original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/six-new-startups-join-blackbauds-tech-accelerator-to-bring-innovative-technology-to-the-social-impact-sector-302203638.html
SOURCE Blackbaud
