News Release Details

CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2005--Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), the leading provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, announced today the launch of Application Hosting Services for the company's fundraising and Business Intelligence solutions.

How it works

Blackbaud's Hosting Services provide a convenient, affordable alternative for nonprofits that would like to outsource the set up and management of the technology they rely on to run their operations. Application hosting allows nonprofits to access the solutions they choose via an encrypted Web browser session, while the actual software driving the applications resides on enterprise-class servers and is managed by Blackbaud at a secure data center facility. Blackbaud retains accountability for the entire platform, providing nonprofits a single point of contact for the complete solution - software, hardware, data protection, network, and security.

"We launched our Hosting Services to help nonprofits expand their technical capacity while staying focused on their missions," said Robert J. Sywolski, chief executive officer at Blackbaud, Inc. "No one knows Blackbaud software better than we do, and we are pleased to be deploying that knowledge in a new way that helps nonprofits save money and increase capacity."

One nonprofit's challenge

A division of Bethesda Ministries, Mission of Mercy is a Christian relief and development agency dedicated to helping meet the physical and spiritual needs of people in poverty-stricken areas of the world. Active in 21 countries on four continents, the organization manages an extensive sponsorship program where more than 22,000 sponsors fund relief for 33,000 children. Mission of Mercy needed a fundraising solution that could easily manage the complex details and relationships associated with sponsorships and enable the organization to report progress back to individual donors. The IT staff at Bethesda Ministries, which supports the use of technology by all divisions, also sought a solution that could be offered in a hosted environment and accessed by staff via the Web.

To this end, Mission of Mercy signed an agreement in June of 2004 to deploy a combination of software and services from Blackbaud including The Raiser's Edge(R) (for fundraising management), The Information Edge(TM) (for Business Intelligence) and application hosting.

"In Blackbaud, we found a vendor and business partner that exceeded our expectations. We wanted to work with a software delivery company that prioritized business process development as well as technology, had a clearly defined project delivery methodology, and was customer-driven. We were also looking for a company that could address Mission of Mercy's child sponsorship business model," said Henry Soto, chief information officer for Bethesda Ministries. "Blackbaud Hosting Services takes care of optimizing our system so that we can stay focused on our ministry to children living in desperate circumstances. In the end, we're spending less of our technical and capital resources and working more efficiently."

About Blackbaud, Inc.

Blackbaud is the leading global provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations. More than 12,700 organizations - including the American Red Cross, Bowdoin College, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, the Detroit Zoological Society, Episcopal High School, Help the Aged, the New York Philharmonic and United Way of America - use Blackbaud products and consulting services for fundraising, financial management, business intelligence, and school administration. Blackbaud's solutions include The Raiser's Edge(R), The Financial Edge(TM), The Education Edge(TM), The Patron Edge(TM), Blackbaud(R) NetCommunity(TM), The Information Edge(TM), WealthPoint(TM), and ProspectPoint(TM), as well as a wide range of consulting and educational services. Founded in 1981, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has operations in Toronto, Ontario; Glasgow, Scotland; and Sydney, Australia. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.

Blackbaud, the Blackbaud logo, The Raiser's Edge, The Financial Edge, The Education Edge, The Patron Edge, Blackbaud NetCommunity, The Information Edge, WealthPoint and ProspectPoint are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.

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: risk associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organizations; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; adoption of our products and services by nonprofits; risks related to our dividend and stock repurchase program, including potential limitations on our ability to grow and the possibility that we might discontinue payment of dividends; risk associated with product concentration; economic conditions and seasonality; competition; risks associated with management of growth; risks associated with acquisitions; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; 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 upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department.

    CONTACT: Media:
             Integrated Corporate Relations, Inc.
             Megan McDonnell, 203-682-8200
             mailto:mmcdonnell@icrinc.com
             or
             Blackbaud, Inc.
             Rachel Hutchisson, 843-216-6200 x3070
             mailto:rachel.hutchisson@blackbaud.com

    SOURCE: Blackbaud, Inc.