Blackbaud Newsroom
Blackbaud Solutions Power Record COVID-19 Donations for Humanitarian Aid Organization
Direct Relief relies on Blackbaud fundraising solutions during historic peak in donations that includes high-volume celebrity fundraisers like Diddy’s Team Love Dance-A-Thon
Charleston, S.C. (April 16, 2020) — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good, is fueling the technology behind Direct Relief’s complex fundraising needs as it receives an outpouring of generous donations – including this past weekend’s multimillion dollar Dance‑A-Thon fundraiser on Instagram from Diddy and Team Love.
“We are so grateful to all of those around the world who are supporting Direct Relief during this pandemic,” said Heather Bennett, vice president, partnerships and philanthropy, Direct Relief. “And, we’re deeply grateful to Blackbaud for ensuring that our technology backbone for philanthropic efforts is robust and scalable. Blackbaud’s commitment ensures that the extraordinary generosity from individuals and institutions to help keep healthcare workers safe is immediately put to use to help those who help others.”
Direct Relief received more than $3.7 million in donations, many of which came through Blackbaud Luminate Online®, during Diddy’s star-studded Team Love Dance-A-Thon, which included guest appearances from Jennifer Lopez, Drake and many others.
“We felt confident in our cloud-based technology throughout the 12-hour dance-a-thon,” Bennett said. “We knew that our Blackbaud solutions could handle the donation volume and this surge in transactions. Blackbaud provides easy solutions that work across a very broad and visible scale.”
Direct Relief also uses Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® to track and manage its donations, ensuring that funds are allocated to the specific causes and geographic regions that the donor intends. While Direct Relief is supporting efforts for COVID-19, it is also responding to other disasters throughout the world, including this week’s deadly tornados across the Southern U.S. Since Direct Relief is often responding to multiple disasters at any given time, having technology in place to manage and honor donor intent of funds is critically important.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to infuse organizations like Direct Relief with the technology needed to quickly make an impact during the pandemic,” said Jay Odell, president and GM of Blackbaud Nonprofit Solutions. “At Blackbaud, our mission is to provide cloud software, services, expertise and data intelligence that empower and connect people to drive impact for social good. Our work with Direct Relief is a perfect example of the power of social good and technology to bring about meaningful change in the world.”
To learn more about special offers and resources Blackbaud is providing to social good organizations in the wake of COVID-19, click here.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, higher education institutions, K–12 schools, healthcare organizations, faith communities, arts and cultural organizations, foundations, companies and individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and empowers organizations 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, corporate social responsibility, school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
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