New Report from the Blackbaud Institute Shows Clear Link Between Social Impact Organizations' Tech Use and Fundraising Revenue Growth

Report Illustrates How Tech-Savvy Organizations Are Gaining a Competitive Edge in the Age of AI

TORONTO, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ -- The Blackbaud Institute, a research lab at Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading provider of software for powering social impact, today released a new report, the Status of Canadian Fundraising: A Benchmarking Report for the AI Era, that provides insights from over 450 industry professionals across Canada. Through a collaboration between the Institute and the Blackbaud Canada team, this annual report provides essential year-over-year 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 digital maturity, the report also helps nonprofit organizations inform their digital fundraising strategies to maximize their impact.  

"As we navigate an era of rapid technological advancements, this research offers useful perspectives on how technology and innovation are being embraced by various organizations within the philanthropic sector," said Sean Laughlin, Canadian Markets Leader, Blackbaud. "One of the remarkable trends highlighted in this year's research is the growing recognition of AI as a tool to enhance fundraising impact and organizational efficiency. Our findings reveal a significant increase in social impact organizations exploring AI use, and those with high digital maturity are recognizing the substantial benefits of AI in fundraising, embracing it as a complementary tool that enhances, rather than replaces, the indispensable human touch that defines the sector. These efficient tech users are also experiencing enhanced growth, underscoring the importance of adequate tools for organizational success." 

Key Findings  

Nonprofit performance is trending positively.  

• 66% of participants reported their income had increased or remained static over the last full financial year.
• 63% said they either met or exceeded their fundraising targets.

All sectors identified the current economic landscape as the fundraising challenge that concerned them most.

• For the third consecutive year, fundraisers pointed to broader economic conditions as the fundraising challenge that concerned them most.
• Despite the prevalence of this concern, the majority of organizations saw their voluntary income from fundraising increase or remain consistent.

Tech-savvy and innovative organizations are more likely to experience income growth.    

• Those ranking their digital maturity score above average are significantly more likely to say that their income increased, suggesting that tech-savvy organizations are better able to capitalize on opportunities that help them grow.  

The sector is seeing significant growth in AI usage year on year, but adoption outpaces policy development.  

• AI use has risen from 67% in 2024 to 83% in 2025, with most organizations employing AI tools at a higher rate than the previous year.
• Organizations are increasingly prioritizing and dedicating resources to AI adoption.
• While AI policy development is more prevalent this year—11% now having a policy in place compared to 5% in 2024—policy development remains critical given the rapid adoption.

More research results can be found in the full report, The Status of Canadian Fundraising: A Benchmarking Report for the AI Era. All Blackbaud Institute resources are offered for free, as part of Blackbaud's commitment to accelerating social impact through data-driven insight. 

Supporting the Sector
The findings of this year's Status of Canadian Fundraising report were previewed at this year's Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) national conference in April, where Blackbaud Canada was the presenting partner, and at the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) Convene Canada conference and Leading Forward executive forum, where Blackbaud was the Diamond Sponsor. The Blackbaud team was proud to have the opportunity to share this original research at both events and discuss how Blackbaud's technology innovations can empower nonprofits, educational institutions, and healthcare philanthropy organizations to raise more, reach further and deliver more impact for their causes. 

About the Blackbaud Institute
The Blackbaud Institute develops leading-edge research and convenes expert voices to equip the social impact community with knowledge, insight, and confidence. The Blackbaud Institute draws from Blackbaud's data set, the most comprehensive in the social impact community. In addition, the Institute facilitates public research studies to drive original qualitative and quantitative insight. Our research agenda is grounded in a commitment to topics that social impact organizations can apply immediately to better understand, benchmark, and improve their essential business operations. We are guided by our commitment to the social impact sector to provide timely, transparent, and well-rounded research that is free to access. From how organizations run to how donors give, we're 100% focused on research and resources for this sector. 

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, India 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