Charitable Giving Experiences Biggest Boost Since Great Recession

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The Blackbaud Index shows overall giving was up 4.9 percent in 2013, while online giving grew 13.5 percent

Charleston, S.C. (February 4, 2014) — Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) today released its Charitable Giving Report, featuring the sector’s first look at actual data showing how nonprofit fundraising performed in 2013, as well as commentary from leading experts in the field. The Report draws from The Blackbaud Index, which tracks $12.5 billion in U.S.-based charitable giving from more than 4000 organizations on a monthly basis to provide the largest analysis of overall and online giving trends in the nonprofit sector.

•    Download the report: www.blackbaud.com/charitablegiving
•    Watch a video: 5 Key Findings from the 2013 Charitable Giving Report

“2013 really showed that the fundraising environment is continuing to improve for the vast majority of organizations,” said Steve MacLaughlin, co-author of the Charitable Giving Report and director of Blackbaud’s Idea Lab. “The combination of growth across organizations of all sizes and a reversal of negative trends by all sectors contributed to a positive year.”

Helping to drive that growth, according to the Report, was a recovering economy and a focus on fundraising fundamentals, including: investment in fundraising capacity and attention to cultivating major donors, using data to better understand and segment donors, refining communications, focusing on impact, and making more effective use of technology.

Key findings from the Charitable Giving Report include:

• Overall charitable giving grew 4.9 percent in 2013, while online giving grew 13.5 percent.
• Online giving accounted for 6.4 percent of all charitable giving in 2013.
• Large organizations had the greatest increase in overall charitable giving in 2013, while small organizations had the greatest increase in online giving.
• International affairs organizations had the greatest increase in overall charitable giving in 2013 (13.2 percent), while faith-based organizations had the greatest increase in online giving (18.1 percent).
• More than one-third (33.6 percent) of overall charitable giving happens in the last three months of the year, with the highest percentage (17.5 percent) coming in December.

Nonprofit fundraising performance differed greatly based on the size and sector of the organization. Nonprofits with the most effective fundraising operations focused on their return on investment and recognized that spending on overhead is “essential,” according to Bill McGinly, president and CEO of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP). “You’re not going to raise dollars unless you are hiring people and paying the overhead necessary to support those activities,” he said.

Overall giving by size and sector
Fundraising by large organizations, with annual total fundraising more than $10 million, was up by 5.7 percent. This was a significant rebound from 2012 and was the highest growth rate among organizations in the analysis. Medium organizations, with annual total fundraising between $1 million and $10 million, had an increase of 3.8 percent in 2013 while small nonprofits, with annual total fundraising less than $1 million, grew their fundraising 3.6 percent.

Every sector had year-over-year fundraising growth in 2013. This includes strong growth by environment and animal welfare organizations, as well as education institutions. Healthcare, human services, international affairs and public and society organizations all returned to positive growth compared to 2012. This indicates strong momentum heading into 2014, especially for some sectors that have struggled in recent years.

Online giving by size and sector
Nonprofit organizations of all sizes grew their online giving in 2013, and their growth rates exceeded 2012 growth levels across the board. Small nonprofits grew their online fundraising 18.4 percent, medium nonprofits had a year-over-year increase of 11.3 percent and large organizations grew by 12.7 percent.

Online giving to faith-based organizations grew the most in 2013. Healthcare, education and environment and animal welfare organizations also had very positive online giving growth in 2013. Arts and culture, public and society benefit, and medical research nonprofits had single-digit growth rates in 2013. This reflects the trend in overall giving to these types of organizations.

About the 2013 Charitable Giving Report
The Charitable Giving Report leverages findings from The Blackbaud Index to provide the largest analysis of actual overall charitable giving and online giving data in the nonprofit sector. The aim of the Report is to provide a benchmark for giving and help inform nonprofits’ fundraising strategies in 2014. It also provides valuable insight from experts in the field, exploring trends and successful fundraising tactics in the A Closer Look section. View more charitable giving trends, and take a closer look at strategies for success by downloading the report at www.blackbaud.com/charitablegiving.

To stay up-to-date on the latest fundraising trends as reported by The Blackbaud Index, visit www.blackbaud.com/blackbaudindex where you can sign up for monthly email and mobile alerts.

About Blackbaud
Serving the nonprofit and education sectors for 30 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) combines technology and expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works with more than 29,000 customers in over 60 countries that support higher education, healthcare, human services, arts and culture, faith, the environment, independent K-12 education, animal welfare and other charitable causes. The company offers a full spectrum of cloud-based and on-premise software solutions and related services for organizations of all sizes including: fundraising, eMarketing, advocacy, constituent relationship management (CRM), financial management, payment services, analytics and vertical-specific solutions. Using Blackbaud technology, these organizations raise more than $100 billion each year. Recognized as a top company by Forbes, InformationWeek, and Software Magazine and honored by Best Places to Work, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.

Media Contact

Melanie Mathos
Blackbaud
843.216.6200 x3307
media@blackbaud.com

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. 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 related to our dividend policy and share repurchase program, including potential limitations on our ability to grow and the possibility that we might discontinue payment of dividends; risks relating to restrictions imposed by the credit facility; 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.