New Features and Future Roadmaps Reveal How Blackbaud is Reshaping Nonprofit Technology with Purpose-built AI

Blackbaud, the leader in AI for social impact, kicked off its bi-annual Product Update Briefings last week, highlighting recent innovation and future roadmap direction for Blackbaud’s suite of solutions.

“We’re moving beyond systems of record to systems of intelligent action,” said Sudip Datta, Chief Product Officer at Blackbaud. “Our product roadmaps build on the goodness of the past, while investing in the future. The responsible inclusion of artificial intelligence is essential to that strategy, and these product update briefings show how that vision is becoming reality across our portfolio.”

Built specifically for fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management, Blackbaud’s essential software fuels impact through unmatched expertise and powerful data intelligence. During the Product Update Briefings, Blackbaud showcased its latest innovations featured at bbcon 2025, including the Development Agent – the very first of the company’s Agents for Good™ – which will operate proactively to manage donor portfolios, communicate with supporters, follow through on outreach, and enable organizations to reach prospective donors they couldn’t reach before. Attendees explored product roadmaps, got early previews of upcoming features, and heard directly from Blackbaud experts about long-term development priorities.

Additional highlights from the Product Update Briefings included:

Donor Management & Fundraising

• Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT^®: Blackbaud is committed to the full UX modernization of its flagship product and shared major updates on that progress. The modernization includes the depth and richness of Raiser’s Edge NXT. It is also expanding AI capabilities in Raiser’s Edge NXT with powerful new features that streamline fundraising workflows and deepen donor engagement. Chat for Blackbaud AI enables users to interact with donor data using natural language, summarizing histories, generating personalized outreach, and identifying high-value prospects. Integrated with Prospect Insights Pro, the new Cultivation Assistant will automate major gift cultivation by guiding users through opportunity creation and action scheduling. Looking ahead, other intelligent assistants will help retain and expand revenue by automating stewardship for at-risk donors, boost sustainer conversions, and support leadership in setting strategic goals. Additionally, new AI-assisted Recognition Programs will simplify the process of honoring donor impact—automating qualification, generating dynamic donor lists, and enhancing stewardship across lifetime giving, annual contributions, and loyalty milestones.
• Blackbaud Enterprise Fundraising CRM™: Blackbaud continues to modernize and innovate its Enterprise Fundraising CRM with powerful new capabilities designed to improve usability, intelligence, and integration. Through Blackbaud’s Cloud Operations Framework, Blackbaud CRM users soon gain deeper insights into donor behavior, built with Blackbaud’s leading enhanced proprietary philanthropic datasets, which enable smarter engagement strategies that foster stronger relationships and long-term loyalty. All customers will have a modernized user interface powered by SKY UX, which delivers a dynamic and intuitive experience, featuring streamlined navigation, faster workflows, customizable dashboards, and responsive design for seamless access across devices. Additionally, ongoing Cloud Portal enhancements are equipping IT teams with advanced tools to manage hosted environments more efficiently—accelerating recurring processes, simplifying administration, and speeding up the user development cycle.
• Online Giving: Blackbaud continues to evolve its Optimized Donation Forms to help organizations raise more effectively. The latest updates prioritize recurring gifts, expand SKY add-in support, and offer greater flexibility with designations, communications consent, and tribute collection. For Canadian organizations, direct debit payments are now processed automatically, simplifying PAD mandate creation and enabling timely donor reminders. Looking ahead, Chat for Blackbaud AI will provide access to even more intelligent automation in Online Giving, helping users summarize donation form performance, activate new fundraising features, automate form creation and branding, and apply best practices based on peer benchmarks.

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Financial Management & Grantmaking

• Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT^®: Blackbaud is transforming nonprofit finance with new AI-powered capabilities in Financial Edge NXT. Document Intelligence, now available through the Early Adopter Program, automates invoice management by extracting key details, summarizing content, and identifying inconsistencies—eliminating manual data entry and improving accuracy. Native with Expense Management and Payment Assistant™, this feature streamlines accounts payable workflows and frees up time for mission-critical work. Financial Edge NXT is also evolving into an intelligent command center, with innovations like smart reconciliation, AI-powered record summaries, and virtual agents. Enhancements such as the Closing Assistant, Smart Mapping, and GL Reconciliation Tracker support a connected ecosystem that addresses industry challenges like fraud prevention, accounting shortages, and the growing demand for predictive insights.
• Blackbaud Integrated Payments™: Blackbaud is enhancing its Integrated Payments experience with new tools that simplify transactions and improve flexibility. Organizations in the U.S. can now accept in-person, contactless payments using only an iPhone and the Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal app—no additional hardware required. Supporters can pay using contactless cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other digital wallets. A new, modern checkout experience is also available across Luminate Online, TeamRaiser, Online Giving, and Raiser’s Edge NXT Registration Forms, offering expanded payment methods, recurring wallet support, and zero downtime during releases. Coming soon, Chat for Blackbaud AI will allow users to generate and filter transaction lists using natural language, streamlining reporting and analysis.

K-12 Solutions

• Blackbaud Tuition Management™: Blackbaud is introducing new features that simplify tuition operations and improve flexibility for schools and families. A forthcoming setup page will allow administrators to automatically generate Truth in Lending Statements, accessible to both payers and staff via the admin portal and parent site. Schools will also be able to issue direct refunds within the platform, eliminating the need for manual checks or fee offsets. Additionally, a new payment scheduler enables families to set up future payments from multiple accounts, offering greater convenience for households with varied payment needs.
• Blackbaud Billing Management™: Blackbaud is introducing new automation features to simplify school billing and improve payment reliability. The new auto-pay for incidentals allows payers to automatically cover charges not included in their standard payment plans, with schools able to make enrollment optional or required. Coming soon, the Collections Assistant will leverage Blackbaud AI to generate tailored follow-up emails for past due accounts, with communications recorded directly in student billing profiles—streamlining collections and improving engagement.
• Blackbaud Financial Aid Management™: Blackbaud is streamlining the aid application process through deeper integration and automation. The application is now embedded within the Blackbaud Enrollment Management™ workflow and accessible via single sign-on (SSO) on the Resource Board. Additionally, by connecting to the IRS API, the system can automatically retrieve 1040 and W2 data—eliminating manual uploads and accelerating review times for families and administrators.
• Blackbaud Student Information System™: Blackbaud is introducing new tools to help schools manage grading and student success more effectively. The new Grading Hub provides a centralized location for updating Grade Plan Dates and editing formulas in bulk—an enhancement highly requested by the community. Meanwhile, Student Success Insights empowers educators to proactively support students by identifying those in need, managing personalized support plans, and organizing documentation to streamline interventions and keep teams aligned.
• Blackbaud Learning Management System™: Blackbaud is enhancing the online learning experience with new tools that support secure assessments, personalized feedback, and improved communication. The optional Lockdown Browser helps maintain academic integrity during high-stakes exams by preventing access to external resources. Teachers can now use generative AI to easily provide richer, more personalized feedback through a simple, intuitive interface. Additionally, Parent Initiated Attendance allows families to submit attendance directly, increasing flexibility and engagement.
• Blackbaud Enrollment Management System™: Blackbaud is introducing new checklist enhancements that give schools greater control over the candidate experience. Soon, administrators will be able to set conditions tied to milestones, allowing checklist steps to appear dynamically based on each applicant’s progress—streamlining workflows and improving personalization.
• Blackbaud Award Management™: Blackbaud is streamlining the scholarship and award process with new tools that improve visibility, efficiency, and integration. The new Award Cycle Manager Dashboard centralizes key analytics for tracking performance and fund utilization, while the redesigned Applicant Centric Awarding interface offers real-time updates in a dynamic, modernized view. Enhanced integration with Ellucian Ethos, Raiser’s Edge NXT, and Financial Edge NXT supports seamless data exchange, helping institutions operate more efficiently within a unified technology ecosystem.

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Corporate Impact

• Blackbaud is delivering powerful new tools to help corporate impact professionals measure and communicate program outcomes more effectively. Blackbaud Impact Edge™ now features expanded AI capabilities, including new dashboards for tracking custom KPIs and a Charity Discovery Tool that integrates data from True Impact^® and Candid to support strategic, outcome-driven investments. YourCause^® GrantsConnect^® has launched its first phase of Form Intelligence, using AI to help grant managers craft impactful applications, along with expanded translation capabilities for global reach. Meanwhile, YourCause^® CSRconnect^® is advancing corporate giving with updates to its Expedited Giving pilot, a forthcoming Processing Portal, and modernized employee giving options. Looking ahead to 2026, Blackbaud is focused on enhancing the volunteering experience for CSR admins, employees, and nonprofits alike.

Data Intelligence

• Blackbaud is strengthening data intelligence capabilities with Persistent Key (U.S.), a powerful tool for master data management across systems. By assigning unique individual and household keys using Blackbaud’s referential dataset, organizations can match and link records across locations with greater accuracy. These keys are now accessible via Blackbaud SKY API, enabling seamless integration and improved data consistency for large-scale operations.

Luminate Online^® and TeamRaiser^® 

• Blackbaud is enhancing Luminate Online and TeamRaiser with new features that improve fundraising efficiency and donor experience. Organizations can now eliminate or offset transaction fees with Donor Cover & Complete Cover™, ensuring more of each gift goes directly to the mission. A new Gen AI Content Writer & Tone Enhancer helps teams craft engaging, on-brand coaching emails in seconds, while an updated WYSIWYG Content Editor offers a more modern and accessible authoring experience. Coming soon, these AI tools will expand to additional editors, alongside a high-performing Optimized Donation Form Template, a redesigned Participant Center 4, and new payment options including Amazon Pay, DAF Pay, and Donor Cover Plus for greater flexibility.