Blackbaud Invests in Generative AI Startup for Social Impact

Blackbaud the leading provider of software for powering social impact, today announced a strategic investment in Momentum, a leading AI-focused Blackbaud partner, graduate of Blackbaud's Social Good Startup tech accelerator program, and winner of Blackbaud's 2022 startup showcase.

Blackbaud recently unveiled a major new wave of its Intelligence for Good(r) strategy, with a commitment to increase the availability of AI-enabled partner solutions in the Blackbaud Marketplace. This investment in Momentum is one way the company is accelerating product delivery and focusing on the creation of AI capabilities embedded in Blackbaud solutions. With Momentum's integration with Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT(r), Blackbaud customers can optimize their fundraising and stewardship processes.

"A tremendous opportunity exists for social impact organizations to use AI to address key operational and financial challenges," said Mike Gianoni, president and CEO, Blackbaud. "Blackbaud is actively investing in organic analytics and AI capabilities, and partnering with leading AI companies such as Momentum, to enable our customers to reach donors at a scale never seen before."

Momentum, founded by behavioral scientists from Duke's Center for Advanced Hindsight, launched the first version of its solution in 2019. Key to Momentum's success is a focus on the use of AI to create fundraising tools that build lasting relationships between high impact charities and their donors.

In its current release, the Momentum platform connects donor portfolios with automation and generative AI capabilities to deliver personalized first-draft communications and outreach recommendations directly to a fundraiser's email inbox. Customers using Momentum thus far have experienced a 400% increase in the number of personalized touchpoints their fundraisers could produce and an average of $60,000 per month in increased donations.

Momentum originally joined the Blackbaud ecosystem through participation in the Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program, where the company was connected to Blackbaud experts and fast-tracked into Blackbaud's partner program.

According to Nick Fitz, founder and CEO of Momentum, "Blackbaud's tech accelerator has been a pleasure to be a part of. With their help, we've refined our AI capabilities and integrated core infrastructure. We're working directly with fundraisers---helping people build more meaningful relationships with less psychological burden---and we're excited to learn from the leader in the space. This investment, and guidance from Blackbaud, will help us better serve the people powering the social good sector."

As Blackbaud continues to enhance its AI offerings, partners are a key piece of the company's strategy to grow the ecosystem around its leading solutions and services for social impact organizations. Learn more about Blackbaud's Intelligence for Good approach here and read more about the Blackbaud Partner Network here.