Blackbaud CEO says AI tools expand customer spend and strengthen competitive moat

Investing.com -- Blackbaud is seeing faster-than-expected adoption of artificial intelligence across the nonprofit sector, with President and CEO Mike Gianoni saying the technology is already expanding customer spending and widening the company’s competitive advantage.

Gianoni told Investing.com in an interview that fundraising teams face a structural labor challenge, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing more than 10,000 fundraising roles must be filled annually, while a 2023 survey by the National Council of Nonprofits found widespread vacancies in public-facing positions.

“AI can help these very stretched fundraisers to extend their reach and reduce the burden of repetitive, time‑intensive work,” said Gianoni. “At the very least, it will reduce the technology learning curve by helping them communicate with tools in natural language. But, it does not stop there.

Blackbaud, a cloud computing provider that supports nonprofits, recently introduced its Agents for Good autonomous AI products, including a Development Agent that analyzes donor data, prioritizes prospects and executes multistep outreach.

Gianoni expects the system to allow fundraisers to deepen high-value donor relationships while automating repetitive work.

He added that annual charitable giving in the United States remains resilient, with charitable contributions nearing $600 billion and corporate giving at record levels. However, the CEO noted that large nonprofits continue to outperform smaller ones, making AI-driven donor targeting increasingly important.

Furthermore, Gianoni highlighted that the company’s advantage lies in its proprietary philanthropic dataset, which is not available to public large language models from companies such as Microsoft or Salesforce.

“AI is only as good as the data it can access, and the line of sight it has within the operating environment, and this is what gives Blackbaud a competitive advantage,” he commented. “Our data brings together licensed consumer insights, proprietary philanthropic intelligence, outcomes benchmarks, high‑performer usage patterns, real‑time feedback signals, and ecosystem intelligence.”

“This data is not publicly available on the internet where LLM’s can access it. We are able to give our customers a uniquely comprehensive view of the trends, risks, opportunities, and behavioral dynamics shaping generosity and social impact.”

Blackbaud’s data underpins forecasting tools that generate roughly 30 billion predictions annually, enabling more accurate donor insights and recommendations across fundraising, education and corporate social responsibility.

Gianoni mentioned that AI is helping to find new donors and making staff more efficient at reaching existing ones. “Our flagship fundraising tool, Raiser’s Edge NXT, is the most powerful in the market, helping customers see a 44% average increase in total dollars raised,” he remarked.

“With AI embedded directly in the product, we’re helping nonprofits accomplish several things at once.”

Customers using AI-enabled products such as Raiser’s Edge NXT are said to have lifted total dollars raised by an average of 44%, attributing the gains to improved donor identification and efficiency.

For this year, Gianoni believes donor confidence will depend on transparency and clearer communication of impact.

“We continue to see the trend of more dollars being given by fewer donors. It’s resilient but selective generosity. Cultivating a broad donor base and engaging everyday donors will be key for nonprofits, and building trust is the foundation of that,” he explained.

Looking ahead, Gianoni stated that Blackbaud aims to expand its AI capabilities, supported by an open ecosystem strategy and partnerships such as its integration with Anthropic.

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