This isn’t a surprise to me;  hopefully this will give Kintera the financial backing it has long needed.  But I wonder how will Blackbaud integrate Kintera’s products with the other organizations it has acquired in the past year: eTapestry, GiftMakerPro, and Target Analytics.  After years of keeping Raiser’s Edge as a locally installed product, is Blackbaud really prepared to sell itself as an online organization?  A few recent experiences indicate otherwise:

1. Blackbaud recently hosted an Interactive Internet Symposium in New York City.  I subscribe to many blogs and elists, yet did not learn of this event until a week after it was past. 
2. So I would not miss out on similar events in the future, I visited Blackbaud’s web site to signup for its enewsletters.  But Friday and again today, I was unable to complete my signup.  After selecting a user name and password, I received no acknowledgment either online or in email about whether my signup was successful.  But I was unable to login with my selected credentials, nor have I received any email confirmations..

If Blackbaud relies on its own marketing to distribute information about events and if signup to receive electronic communications is so difficult, does this sound like a company that is committed to providing online services?