Intentional Major Donor Strategy and
Incorporating Modern Technology Drive Growth
TORONTO, Aug. 22,
2024 /CNW/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading
provider of software for powering social impact, today released its
2024 Status of Canadian Fundraising Benchmark Report. This report
provides essential data on current fundraising trends in
Canada, helping social impact
professionals understand the sector and benchmark their
performance. With a research focus on emerging innovations and
social impact technology ecosystems, the report also helps
nonprofit organizations inform their digital fundraising strategies
to maximize their impact.
"The annual Status of Canadian Fundraising Report gives a comprehensive view of
the social impact community in 2024, helping nonprofits understand
and benchmark their performance," said Philip Hunt, Senior Manager, Marketing,
Blackbaud International Markets. "The nonprofit sector is in a
constant state of change with economic and political uncertainties,
and the global pandemic aftermath. Despite this, we are seeing
success in more intentional strategies that focus on sustainable
growth by securing major gifts and maximizing the potential of
technology. AI, too, is shaping the nonprofit sector. These
modern innovations propose exciting new opportunities, but also
underline the need for accelerated policy making to ensure
responsible and ethical use of AI."
For this research, over 550 industry professionals completed an
online survey, and additional virtual interviews with participants
gave more in-depth insight into some of the key findings.
Key Findings
Major donors drive
growth.
- Growing nonprofits get most of their income from major
donors.
- In comparison, nonprofits reporting an income decrease are
significantly more reliant on grants.
The current economic situation continues to challenge the
sector.
- 80% of nonprofits say the economic situation, and subsequent
fewer donations, challenge them the most. 59% of those who
struggled to grow rank the wider macroeconomic environment as the
main reason behind income decline.
- Public perceptions of the sector are also top of mind for
participants.
Tech-savvy and innovative organizations are more likely to
experience income growth.
- Those ranking their organization below average digital maturity
are significantly more likely to say that their income decreased,
suggesting that tech-savvy organizations are better able to
capitalize on opportunities that help them grow.
Most organizations use AI, but many wish they had more
resources to explore fundraising use cases.
- 67% of participants use artificial intelligence, and most feel
positively about it. Despite this, many say they lack resources to
explore how to maximize the true potential of AI in their
organization.
- While most participants use AI, only 5% have an AI policy in
place but a further 15% say that they are working on one.
Improved data management would bring the biggest value to
fundraising strategies.
- Most nonprofits use and are satisfied with their CRM system,
but many recognize that additional training could help them realize
the full potential of their software.
- 52% of participants agree that improved data management would
bring the greatest value to their organization.
More research results can be found in the full Status of
Canadian Fundraising report. This resource is offered for free as
part of Blackbaud's commitment to accelerating social
impact.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ:
BLKB) is the leading software provider exclusively dedicated to
powering social impact. Serving the nonprofit and education
sectors, companies committed to social responsibility and
individual change makers, Blackbaud's essential software is built
to accelerate impact in fundraising, nonprofit financial
management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social
responsibility and education management. With millions of users and
over $100 billion raised, granted or
managed through Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud's
solutions are unleashing the potential of the people and
organizations who change the world. Blackbaud has been named to
Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies, Quartz's
list of Best Companies for Remote Workers, and Forbes' list of
America's Best Employers. A remote-first company, Blackbaud has
operations in the United States,
Australia, Canada, Costa
Rica and the United
Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries. Learn more
at www.blackbaud.ca or follow us on X/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;
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