Blackbaud to Highlight Museum Management Software, Announce Partnership with Leading Fundraising Firm, and Lead Panels at 2011 AAM

CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) today announced its participation at the American Association of Museums Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo (2011 AAM) in Houston from May 22-25. This annual event is the largest gathering for AAM members. AAM includes over 15,000 museum professionals and 3,000 institutions, such as aquariums, zoos, historic sites, and science and technology centers.

With over 4,500 museum professionals expected to attend, this year’s conference presents an ideal opportunity for Blackbaud to spotlight Altru, its unified museum management solution. Altru is a web-based solution for managing every aspect of a general admissions arts and cultural organization, including cultivating supporters, scheduling events, and managing earned and contributed revenue. It was launched at last year’s AAM Conference.

“The theme for this year’s conference is ‘The Museum of Tomorrow,’ with all events, sessions, exhibits, and workshops geared to preparing our members for the global, economic, and technological challenges of the future,” said Ford W. Bell, president of the American Association of Museums. “Blackbaud is a natural fit for this mission since the company provides solutions that enable AAM members to manage their operations, patron relationships, and communications efficiently.”

Partnership with Leading Consulting Firm
Blackbaud is also announcing its intent to form a new partnership with one of the country’s top arts and cultural fundraising/consulting firms, Alexander Haas, headquartered in Atlanta. Through this partnership, Blackbaud will market fundraising best practices recommendations from Alexander Haas as a companion offering to Blackbaud's Altru software. Dashboards of key metrics will be configured within Altru to track fundraising progress. Other services Altru customers will receive from Alexander Haas through this partnership include: assessment of current processes and procedures, examination of selected materials and reports to assess trends, recordkeeping, and an annual re-assessment to gauge progress and look for additional enhancements.

“We’re excited to combine Alexander Haas’ unsurpassed arts and cultural fundraising expertise, best practices in constituent relations, and fundraising assessment with our comprehensive technology suite for arts and cultural organizations,” said Jay Odell, Blackbaud’s vice president and general manager of Altru.

Among its promotional activities at AAM, Blackbaud will sponsor the Altru Cyber Café, the only hot spot in the exhibit hall offering visitors free Wi-Fi, handheld device charging stations, social networking, as well as video presentations of Altru.

AAM Panels
Melissa Baffa, Executive Director of Gull Wings Children’s Museum, will be on hand at the Blackbaud Exhibitor Forum, Monday, May 23, 2011 from 2:00-3:15pm to discuss how her museum benefits from using Altru. Baffa will also join Blackbaud’s Michael Culler for a special event: “Career Café Organizational Skills Lab: The Value of Sharing Data across your Museum,” on Tuesday, May 24, from 3:45-5:00pm. They will provide practical advice on how museum departments can eliminate redundant data entry by sharing Altru’s searchable, relational database.

Blackbaud Product Manager Kathryn Matthew will chair a session entitled, “Collaborations with Museums in the Middle East,” a panel discussion about how cross-cultural partnerships between museums around the world can help the industry stay relevant and vital.

Blackbaud will also sponsor AAM’s Development and Marketing annual luncheon on Tuesday, May 24, from 12:15-2:00pm.

Built for the future
“We’re extremely pleased to participate in this year’s AAM Conference, and we have a great story to tell about how Altru can enable arts and cultural organizations to meet their organizational mission and operational objectives,” said Odell. “While Altru is new to this marketplace, we’re confident that it is a platform that arts and cultural organizations will be able to build on well into the future.”

Blackbaud recently partnered with AAM, Association of Children’s Museums, and American Public Gardens Association to offer exclusive discounts on Blackbaud Altru to their members.

For more information about Blackbaud and its products and services visit: http://www.blackbaud.com.

About Alexander Haas
Alexander Haas traces its roots back to 1954, when Principal Consultant Mrs. Leonard (Be) Haas launched Grizzard & Haas, which developed into the leading fundraising firm in the Southeast. The current partners have worked to develop a results-oriented firm since the 1980s and have led the firm to national prominence. Alexander Haas is headquartered in Atlanta and services clients throughout the United States. The company’s Results Team has conducted hundreds of successful campaigns for organizations of all sizes with goals totaling in the billions of dollars. For more information, visit www.fundraisingcounsel.com

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud is the leading global provider of software and services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, enabling them to improve operational efficiency, build strong relationships, and raise more money to support their missions. Approximately 24,000 organizations — including The American Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, Earthjustice, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Lincoln Center, The Salvation Army, The Taft School, Tulsa Community Foundation, Ursinus College, the WGBH Educational Foundation, and Yale University — use one or more Blackbaud products and services for fundraising, constituent relationship management, financial management, website management, direct marketing, education administration, ticketing, business intelligence, prospect research, consulting, and analytics. Since 1981, Blackbaud’s sole focus and expertise has been partnering with nonprofits and providing them the solutions they need to make a difference in their local communities and worldwide. Headquartered in the United States, Blackbaud also has operations in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.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.

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