Blackbaud enables responsible AI-powered fundraising as presenting sponsor of Association of Fundraising Professionals’ flagship event
Charleston, South Carolina, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world’s leading provider of AI-powered solutions for social impact, is once again the presenting sponsor of AFP ICON, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)’s flagship global conference, taking place this week in San Diego.
As a long-time category leader in social impact technology, Blackbaud has a proven track record of partnering with social impact organizations to advance their global missions and support and drive fundraising efforts. Blackbaud is now leading the sector into a new era of impact, delivering purpose-built, responsible AI tools that help fundraisers navigate growing complexity, meet donor expectations, and accelerate results.
According to research from the Blackbaud Institute, the typical nonprofit saw revenue growth of about 4.3% last year, but that growth was concentrated among organizations with greater capacity. Adding capacity can be difficult when resources are scarce. That’s why technology that has the power to scale fundraising outcomes is critical.
“Fundraisers are being asked to do more than ever before,” said Tiffany Crampton, vice president and head of donor management and fundraising products at Blackbaud. “They need to build deeper relationships, personalize engagement at scale, and raise more money, often with limited time and resources.” “Our commitment is to help advance the profession by providing fundraisers with powerful solutions with intelligent features built directly into their daily workflows to extend personalization and translate philanthropic insights into real-world impact. AFP is a critical partner in shaping the future of fundraising, and together we share a deep commitment to trust, ethics, education, and advancement across the industry.”
Responsible AI to drive fundraising
At AFP ICON 2026, Blackbaud will showcase how AI solutions designed specifically for fundraising and built directly into existing workflows can help teams work smarter, expand capacity, build stronger donor relationships, and accelerate impact.
Blackbaud introduces the latest AI innovations including:
- Blackbaud’s first Agent for Good™ development agent: This autonomous, AI-powered digital teammate is the first-ever expert agent built into a purpose-built social impact platform. In collaboration with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® users, development agents identify, nurture and engage donors with timely, personalized and branded outreach efforts. This allows fundraising teams to expand their ability to engage with donors and scale donations at scale.
- Raiser’s Edge NXT intelligent assistance: These AI features help fundraisers work more efficiently by automating workflows and providing advanced analytics to make smarter decisions. Raiser’s Edge NXT’s AI-enhanced intelligent assistance uncovers strategic insights and recommended actions to increase productivity while maintaining greater control over your fundraisers.
- Raiser’s Edge NXT action strategy: New action strategies reduce the preparation time needed to engage donors by summarizing relevant donor context (recent activity, engagement signals, preferences, and recommended next steps) into concise, easy-to-read briefings within existing workflows. This strengthens fundraisers’ expertise and allows them to spend more time building relationships that drive philanthropic outcomes.
Blackbaud’s efforts to build trusted, industry-specific AI at scale were recently recognized by Microsoft. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, Blackbaud has achieved Non-Commercial AI Software Certification for Raiser’s Edge NXT. This demonstrates that the company’s AI capabilities meet Microsoft’s standards for enterprise-grade security, interoperability, and customer value. This is a key differentiator for customers seeking reliability when deploying agent and generative AI in mission-critical environments. Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT, Blackbaud Development Agent, and other proprietary solutions are available as tradeable offers through Microsoft’s Commercial Marketplace.
The power of connected systems
AFP ICON attendees can also learn how their organization can benefit. Blackbaud’s Unique network effects as a provider that connects the entire social impact ecosystem, from fundraising to corporate impact, financial management and more.
- Take advantage of workplace giving: The Blackbaud Verified Network allows nonprofits to increase visibility to more than 500 companies and 9 million employees who partner with Blackbaud®’s YourCause® to strengthen the purpose of employee giving, volunteerism, and community investment initiatives. Being part of the network builds trust with donors and allows us to process donations the fastest on the market. YourCause’s collaboration with Blackbaud Integrated Payments allows Blackbaud’s nonprofit customers to receive these donations exponentially faster using Blackbaud’s unique rapid donation feature.
- Back office connections: By connecting leading fundraising products like Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and Blackbaud Enterprise Fundraise CRM™ directly to Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT®, your team gains greater visibility, accountability, and confidence as they scale their impact.
Long-standing partnership with AFP
together, blackbow And AFP invests in professional development, ethical standards and innovation that strengthen the global fundraising community and help nonprofits thrive. blackbow proud to support AFP We fulfill our mission through conference sponsorships, educational programs, research, and ongoing collaboration.
“Blackbaud has been a valued partner for AFP and our fundraising professionals for many years,” said Chris Amos, AFP’s senior director of business development. “Their continued investment in education, innovation, responsible technology, and efforts to power fundraising align closely with our mission to advance philanthropy and support professionals at every stage of their careers.”
On-site at AFP ICON 2026
Conference attendees will be able to connect with Blackbaud experts through conference sessions featuring discussions on overcoming uncertainty and the responsible use of data and AI, learning labs featuring practical, hands-on fundraising strategies, and live demos at the Blackbaud booth showcasing the latest AI-enabled features and workflows.
Visit the Blackbaud booth (#501) for more information.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world’s leading provider of AI-powered solutions that impact society. Blackbaud serves nonprofits, educational institutions, corporate social responsibility companies, and individual change makers with the industry’s most intelligent solutions for fundraising and engagement, education solutions, financial management, CSR, and grantmaking to drive impact at scale. With the world’s largest philanthropy dataset, most connected workflows, and the deepest expertise leveraging the most powerful influence networks, Blackbaud’s solutions are building a future where resources are freed up at the speed you need them. Blackbaud has been recognized for AI innovation, responsible leadership, and workplace excellence by Fast Company, Newsweek, Quartz, Forbes, and more. Blackbaud operates in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, and the United Kingdom, and supports users in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit or follow us at www.blackbaud.com. X/TwitterLinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook.
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