Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Wednesday, May 18 2022 - 10:00
AsiaNet
Blackbaud Releases 2021 Social Responsibility Report Highlighting Its Impact and Outlining Key Commitments to Build a Better World
CHARLESTON, S.C., May 18, 2022 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

-- 2021 Progress Includes Achieving Carbon Neutrality; Supporting its Workforce 
Through a Remote-First Approach; and Investing in Innovation for the Social 
Good Community

Blackbaud ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=3919990903&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackbaud.com%2F&a=Blackbaud 
) (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world's leading cloud software company powering social 
good, today released its 2021 Social Responsibility Report ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=611532501&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcsr.blackbaud.com%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dpr%26utm_source%3Dnewswire%26utm_campaign%3D2022-GLB-CB-UC-1A-2021SRREPORT&a=2021+Social+Responsibility+Report 
), sharing how the company is growing and strengthening the entire social good 
community, empowering its people, stewarding the environment and expanding 
responsible business practices.

"2021 was a year of perseverance and adopting a 'new normal,' despite the 
continued uncertainty of a global pandemic," said Mike Gianoni, president and 
CEO, Blackbaud. "Organisations and individuals didn't just accept the status 
quo -- they re-imagined what was possible in a now-hybrid world. And Blackbaud 
was right there with them, enabling impact through our technology, expertise, 
partnership and people. We're proud to share our achievements and priorities, 
and how we drive powerful impact to help good take over."

Blackbaud's priorities and 2021 progress are categorised by several key 
commitments:

Commitment to the Social Good Community
Nearly 150,000 organisations across the globe receive funds thanks to a 
Blackbaud solution, and Blackbaud makes it a priority to support this community 
of nonprofits and charities, schools, universities, companies, healthcare 
institutions, foundations, arts and cultural organisations, faith organisations 
and individual change agents.

Highlights of Blackbaud's investment in 2021 include:

    -- Providing free resources and engaging in cross-sector initiatives to 
       help strengthen the entire social good community, like providing 
       cutting-edge philanthropic research from the Blackbaud Institute 
       ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=2919826016&u=https%3A%2F%2Finstitute.blackbaud.com%2F&a=Blackbaud+Institute 
), 
       supporting the Giving Institute 
       ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=418841057&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackbaud.com%2Fnewsroom%2Farticle%2F2021%2F06%2F15%2Fblackbaud-announces-giving-usa-webinar-series-exploring-in-depth-subsector-insights&a=the+Giving+Institute 
) 
       and recruiting early-stage startups to the Blackbaud Social Good 
       Startup Program 
       ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=1046018375&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackbaud.com%2Fsocial-good-startup-program&a=Blackbaud+Social+Good+Startup+Program 
)
    -- Making donations in support of COVID-19 relief and disaster recovery
    -- More than 70% of Blackbaud employees volunteering in 2021, and 20% 
       serving on nonprofit boards
    -- Growing the Blackbaud Partner Network 
       ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=1025284845&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackbaud.com%2Fpartners%2Forganizations&a=Blackbaud+Partner+Network 
) 
       by 43%, making it easier for customers to access leading technology 
       and services firms, all focused on helping them make a bigger 
       difference
    -- Enabling customers through training and insights, which led to a 95% 
       customer support satisfaction rating

Commitment to People, Culture, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Blackbaud believes success comes from prioritising employees' personal and 
professional well-being and development, and it can only be realised by 
embracing diverse perspectives and experiences. Blackbaud's remote-first 
strategy provides opportunity for all regardless of location.

Highlights of Blackbaud's 2021 workplace progress include:

    -- Attracting top talent--55% of all new hires in 2021 came from 
       historically underrepresented groups, and 91% of employees said the 
       fact that Blackbaud operates in a socially responsible manner was 
       important to them
    -- Investing in employee development--40% of employees experienced career 
       progression in 2021, 99% of employees completed the Blackbaud Way 
       interaction training, and 85% of people managers attended engagement 
       labs and inclusive culture trainings
    -- Caring for employee well-being through a global wellness program, bi-
       monthly education sessions and encouraging participation in employee 
       affinity groups to enhance community and belonging in the virtual 
       setting

Commitment to Climate
As part of its responsibility to act in the fight against climate change, 
Blackbaud is dedicated to proactively protecting the environment. Blackbaud has 
set out to achieve this through responsible operations, decarbonisation, 
philanthropic partnerships and employee engagement. Since 2019, Blackbaud has 
reduced its global real estate footprint by 50%, reduced the emissions required 
to run its office space by 63% and reduced employee commuting emissions by 75%.

Highlights of Blackbaud's climate progress include:

    -- Transitioning to a remote-first workforce approach 
       ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=1678961615&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackbaud.com%2Fnewsroom%2Farticle%2F2021%2F11%2F01%2Fblackbaud-transitions-to-a-remote-first-workforce-approach&a=remote-first+workforce+approach 
), 
       which fast-tracked the company's ability to minimise the environmental 
       impact of its operations
    -- Achieving carbon neutrality 
       ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=3413923619&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackbaud.com%2Fnewsroom%2Farticle%2F2022%2F04%2F18%2Fblackbaud-achieves-carbon-neutrality-and-commits-to-new-transparent-sustainability-reporting&a=Achieving+carbon+neutrality 
) 
       across its business operations and data centers by reducing emissions 
       and investing in renewable energy credits and carbon offset projects
    -- Passionate members of Blackbaud's sustainability employee affinity 
       group educating and engaging their colleagues in environmental efforts 
       and volunteer events

Commitment to Data Privacy and Protection
Blackbaud continues to make significant investments in its cybersecurity 
program ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=143614007&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackbaud.com%2Fsecurity&a=cybersecurity+program 
) to provide customers with confidence that their technology and data are 
secure. This is further strengthened by incorporating data privacy and 
protection education into the customer onboarding and implementation process, 
and providing ongoing resources such as webinars, best practices content and 
one-on-one consultations.  Learn more about Blackbaud's commitment to data 
privacy and protection here ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=3428078008&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcsr.blackbaud.com%2Fcommitment%2Fdata-privacy-and-protection%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dpr%26utm_source%3Dnewswire%26utm_campaign%3D2022-GLB-CB-UC-1A-2021SRREPORT&a=here 
).

ESG Progress and Metrics
Blackbaud seeks to drive long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders by 
living out its higher purpose of helping good take over, and by operating as a 
socially responsible business. In addition to these core commitments, Blackbaud 
transparently tracks and reports on its operations through a robust 
environmental, social and governance (ESG) program.

As part of its ESG program, Blackbaud has:

    -- Joined the UN Global Compact and signed on to its 10 principles that 
       outline the fundamental responsibilities of business for human rights, 
       labour, environment and anti-corruption
    -- Developed a structure to guide and provide oversight of ESG 
       initiatives, including CEO sponsorship, board oversight, an employee-
       led, cross functional steering committee, employee impact teams and 
       affinity groups
    -- Tracked impact through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)--
       particularly SDGs 3, 4 and 16

More detailed information on Blackbaud's ESG program and 2021 impact metrics 
can be found here ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=1756046033&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcsr.blackbaud.com%2Fesg%2F2021-approach%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dpr%26utm_source%3Dnewswire%26utm_campaign%3D2022-GLB-CB-UC-1A-2021SRREPORT&a=here 
). 

Blackbaud powers the Ecosystem of Good(R)--and serves as an active participant 
in it. To learn more about how the company is helping build a better world, 
view the full 2021 Social Responsibility Report here ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=3981507451&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcsr.blackbaud.com%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dpr%26utm_source%3Dnewswire%26utm_campaign%3D2022-GLB-CB-UC-1A-2021SRREPORT&a=here 
), and hear from CEO Mike Gianoni here ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=2318858472&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcsr.blackbaud.com%2Fceo-letter%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dpr%26utm_source%3Dnewswire%26utm_campaign%3D2022-GLB-CB-UC-1A-2021SRREPORT&a=here 
).

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world's leading cloud software company powering 
social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits and charities, 
higher education institutions, schools, healthcare organisations, faith 
communities, arts and cultural organisations, foundations, companies and 
individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and empowers organisations to 
increase their impact through cloud software, services, expertise and data 
intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of 
vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, 
peer-to-peer fundraising, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing 
and analytics. Serving the industry for more than four decades, Blackbaud is a 
remote-first company headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, with 
operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United 
Kingdom. For more information, visit  www.blackbaud.com.au or follow us on 
Twitter ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=904408320&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fblackbaud&a=Twitter 
), LinkedIn ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=1140082021&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fblackbaud%2F&a=LinkedIn 
), Instagram ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=3614923797&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fblackbaud%2F&a=Instagram 
) and Facebook ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3540121-1&h=3014400461&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fblackbaud%2F&a=Facebook 
).

Media Inquiries
media@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, 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 and the other 
risk factors occasionally set forth in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, of which 
free copies are available 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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SOURCE Blackbaud, Inc.