Celebrating Five Years of Blackbaud’s Social Good Startup Program

Blackbaud’s Tech Accelerator Program Has Produced Nine Cohorts, Graduating 69 Startups that Have Raised More Than $205M  

For the last five years, Blackbaud’s Social Good Startup Program has been a catalyst for innovation, bringing together mission-driven startups to revolutionize the social impact space. As we prepare to welcome our 10th cohort in January 2025, we’re reflecting on the incredible journey of this program, the outstanding achievements of its participants, and the transformative solutions they’ve delivered.

Since its inception, the Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program has supported 69 startups across 9 cohorts, providing them with mentorship, resources, and the tools to thrive in the social good ecosystem. These companies have gone on to raise more than $205 million in funding – a number that speaks to the program’s commitment to fostering scalable solutions built specifically for social impact organizations.

While the average success rate for tech startups is less than 50%, and most startups face a 65% failure rate within 10 years, the Blackbaud Social Good Startup program has seen an impressive 90% success rate, with 62 of the 69 startups still operating today. This remarkable achievement highlights the program’s ability to identify and nurture the brightest innovators in the sector.

“As we celebrate this five-year milestone, we’re reflecting on the success of this program thus far, and our continued commitment to investing in the future of social impact innovation,” said Jerry Needel, vice president of innovation and incubation, Blackbaud. “We’re proud to help these highly innovative companies grow faster, ultimately helping our social impact customers reach their missions. Working with these passionate, mission-driven entrepreneurs over the last five years has been incredibly inspiring to our team, and we’re thrilled to kick off our next cohort in January 2025.”

Social Good Startup Program Highlights
The top three Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program alumni by funding raised are:

• FreeWill (January 2020 Cohort), $30M raised: FreeWill is a social good enterprise offering online tools that empower Americans to address commonly faced estate planning needs and make charitable donations in tax-advantaged ways, all for free.
• Chariot, (January 2024 Cohort) $15M raised: Chariot is a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) fundraising solution designed for nonprofits and enables real-time data capture to thank DAF donors immediately.
• Civic Eagle (rebranded to Plural; January 2021 cohort), $12.5M raised:  Plural is an intuitive AI-powered legislative data tracking tool that helps users interpret and collaborate on public policy change

The Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program has also played a role in creating startups that attract significant acquisition or merger interest. Notable examples include:

• NonprofitOS (July 2023 cohort) was acquired by IWave in October 2023
• Give inKind (July 2021 cohort) was acquired by Wolfe in December 2022
• Hopeful (January 2021 cohort), was acquired by Wisely (January 2020 cohort) in October 2021
• PeerPal (January 2020 cohort) was acquired by Graduway in August 2021
• Team by Tuesday Company (January 2020 cohort) was acquired by Helm in May 2021
• OutreachCircle (January 2020 cohort) was acquired by PDI in January 2021
• Mobilize (January 2020 cohort) was acquired by EveryAction in November 2020

Additionally, Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program alumni are shaping the industry through their own acquisitions, such as:

• FreeWill’s acquisition of Grant Assistant and their acquisition of CoCatalyst
• Giving Compass’s acquisition of X4Impact
• Wisely’s acquisition of Hopeful (as mentioned above because both companies are Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program alumni!)

At bbcon 2024, Blackbaud hosted a Social Good Startup Program showcase, introducing startups to Blackbaud’s community of customers and partners. Highlights included:

• 22 startups represented by 48 team members
• 19 SGSP alumni speakers
• 6 alumni startups participating as conference sponsors
• 4 conference sessions presented by startup participants

The Blackbaud Partner Summit was particularly special this year, as FundMiner and Simpliphi – both Social Good Startup Program alumni companies – were honored as Blackbaud Partners of the Year.

Blackbaud accepts applications for the Social Good Startup Program on a rolling basis. To learn more and apply for the upcoming January 2025 or other future cohorts, click here.

Questions? Reach out to sgsp@blackbaud.com.