I wanted to respond to Steven’s comment with a THANK YOU. I did not know that “disclaimer” was on our website. It has now been removed. It is NOT representative of how we approach partnerships now, though I do understand that it was in the past. Check out:

https://www.blackbaud.com/partners

We have several partner programs depending on what is right for your organization.

And Jack, I’ve asked the head of our partner program to contact you.

Best regards,
Jana Eggers
SVP, Products & Marketing

Thanks for your open letter. We truly value the nptech community’s feedback, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond.

First, respecting and integrating Convio’s people is my top priority. Blackbaud and Convio are closely aligned in missions and values, based on a dedication to and passion for the nonprofit market. It is the key reason why people join both companies. As Corey mentioned above, our first week together was amazing. And, we are working to make sure that continues until we are fully integrated – taking the best from both cultures to create an outstanding place to work.

I agree that we absolutely need to improve in helping customers find the right solution for them, even if that isn’t one of ours. We currently work with many customers to integrate with a wide variety of systems and have been and will continue to increase our focus in this area. We need customers to be successful, and if they don’t have the right solution, it is difficult to be successful. And, while our product mix is broad and deep, because nonprofits vary by vertical, size and mission, that breadth and depth is often needed to provide that right solution.

Regarding the roadmap, which includes integration of products, we are asking for folks in the nonprofit community to help us define that through our discovery process. The feedback you have on open APIs and connection to other platforms is a great example of an area we want to understand more fully during this process. I encourage those interested to head over to http://www.blackbaud.com/discovery and sign up to give us feedback on what’s important for their organization or those they support.

I hope to hear from you and others in the community in the coming months that you have found our actions have spoken even louder than my words. I want to know if you see us not delivering on my promise to help nonprofits raise more money, engage constituents and implement successful campaigns. I know we are capable of delivering that and more.

Marc

As the pioneering and leading developer of event fundraising software, I have hundreds of Raiser’s Edge users. Most have made direct requests, to Blackbaud many times over, that Raiser’s Edge directly integrate to our application suite. The result? The request has fallen off deaf ears and our users are left out in the cold. Other donor management applications have been very gracious in working with us to establish integration points because they know that it is a win-win opportunity for all.

Hopefully Blackbaud will eventually act for the good of the market and recognize that they are not the only software vendor. That integration among vendors is a healthy thing! The winner then becomes the nonprofit organization who is trying to raise funds to support their programs.

Speaking from my personal perspective but as a former employee of Convio and (as of last week) now Blackbaud, I can say that the welcome and respect that I have felt from my peers at Blackbaud has been amazing over the last 5 days. We have formal programs and plans in place already to introduce teams to one another and a more informal “buddy” program to allow individuals to casually exchange information. The energy has been positive and filled with curiosity as we get to know each other and figure out the best way to serve our clients. Again, this is all my personal perspective but I’m optimistic that the success that we have with your third point will lead to positive results with your first and second points. As a member of the NPTech community, I’m proud of the start that the we have made after week one of integrating the two companies.

Corey

https://www.blackbaud.com/disclaimer.aspx

Hopefully, they will open up over time. Either way, it would just be nice to have some transparency about corporate policy

For the record, here at SofTrek we have a deep commitment to playing nicely with others. Non-profits should be encouraged to select the best, and most cost-effective, solutions that fit their needs. More good can be done in the world that way.