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Blackbaud Launches Altru a" a Revolutionary Platform for Managing General Admissions Arts and Cultural Organizations

^{Published on 2010-05-18 07:21:23 - Market Wire}
 

CHARLESTON, S.C.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: [ BLKB ]) today announced the launch of[ Altru^a" for general admissions artsand cultural organizations ]. Organizations including the[ Gibbes Museum of Art ], [ South Florida Museum and Bishop Planetarium ], and [ Tallahassee Museum ] have recently selected and will use Altru to gain a complete view of their organization, data, and visitors; streamline operations; and better engage and cultivate visitors and supporters.

"AAM is proud to join with Blackbaud in offering a product to our members that provides simple solutions, enabling museums to streamline operations and maximize productivity in all operational areas."

aWe needed an affordable solution for all our data, one that provides a 360-degree view of the museuma™s operations and everyone that walks through the door,a said Brynne Anne Besio, South Florida Museum and Bishop Planetarium, Inc.a™s executive director. aThis organization of data will allow us to better serve our customers, save staff time, and also provide critical information to our board for fundraising. We can now focus on donor development with an accurate picture of each person.a

[ Altru ] is the first technology solution designed to centralize all the information a general admissions arts and cultural organization collects. It instantly displays this information in a single view, and presents it in a way that helps staff members better plan and execute activities. It is the only integrated web-based platform that centralizes the information arts and cultural organizations need into a single view for all user roles.

aAltru provides a revolutionary approach to improving the way general admissions arts and cultural organizations operate,a said Marc Chardon, Blackbauda™s chief executive officer. aWith Altru, organizations are able to gain a clear view of their supporters and organizational data while increasing their efficiency to achieve success.a

Blackbaud will feature Altru at the upcoming [ American Association of Museums ] (AAM) Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo^a" in Los Angeles from May 23 to 26. aMuseums of all types and sizes are always searching for more efficient ways to do business, particularly in this economic climate,a said Ford W. Bell, American Association of Museumsa™ president. aAAM is proud to join with Blackbaud in offering a product to our members that provides simple solutions, enabling museums to streamline operations and maximize productivity in all operational areas.a

With Altru, general admissions arts and cultural organizations can:

• Get a 360-degree view of their organizations, data, and visitorsa"with unified functionality for memberships, fundraising, ticketing, and marketing; global reporting; and centralized calendaring.
• Become more efficient to focus on their missions, not administrative tasksa"by eliminating silos and centralizing data, centrally managing group sales and scheduling, and reducing paper and manual data entry to eliminate duplications and reliance on institutional memory.
• Better engage and cultivate visitors and supporters with centralized records and informationa"with access to a single, holistic constituent record of each visitor, by tracking constituent activity to better understand donor preferences and motivations, and by offering better service to increase member retention and acquisition.
• Get better results from their external and internal communication effortsa"through personalized, targeted communications; powerful segmenting; and enabling online donations, membership acquisition, ticket purchases, and event registrations.
• Save money with a web-based platforma"with in-product training, award-winning live support, role-based views for staff, and remote access through Blackbauda™s secure servers.

Additional features and functionality include management tools for: constituent relationships, membership programs, program sales and ticketing, group sales and facility rentals, resource allocation, marketing and communications, fundraising, special events, online transactions, and reporting.

aAltru is an intuitive solution that allows staff to work more efficiently, communicate better, and have a global view of our organization while helping us know and serve our visitors better,a said Russell Daws, executive director of the Tallahassee Museum.

aWith Altru, the education department will be able to access a membership status as easily as the front-line staff,a said Angela Mack, executive director of Gibbes Museum of Art. aPreviously, we were entering everything three times in order to work around each departmenta™s databasea"we only had random data on member visits.a

More than 1900 arts and cultural organizations worldwide use Blackbaud to meet their goals, using such products as: The Patron Edge^®, The Patron Edge^® Online, Blackbaud^® NetCommunity^a", The Raisera™s Edge^®, and The Financial Edge^a". With the addition of Altru, Blackbaud has expanded its portfolio, offering a complete platform for arts and cultural general admissions organizations.

Visit [ www.blackbaud.com/altru ] for more information and to register for the web seminar, a[ Introducing ALTRU! A Clear View ]a to learn more.

About Blackbaud

Blackbaud is the leading global provider of software and services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, enabling them to improve operational efficiency, build strong relationships, and raise more money to support their missions. Approximately 22,000 organizations a" including University of Arizona Foundation, American Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, The Taft School, Lincoln Center, In Touch Ministries, Tulsa Community Foundation, Ursinus College, Earthjustice, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the WGBH Educational Foundation a" use one or more Blackbaud products and services for fundraising, constituent relationship management, financial management, website management, direct marketing, education administration, ticketing, business intelligence, prospect research, consulting, and analytics. Since 1981, Blackbauda™s sole focus and expertise has been partnering with nonprofits and providing them the solutions they need to make a difference in their local communities and worldwide. Headquartered in the United States, Blackbaud also has operations in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit [ www.blackbaud.com ].

Forward-looking Statements

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks related to our dividend policy and share repurchase program, including potential limitations on our ability to grow and the possibility that we might discontinue payment of dividends; risks relating to restrictions imposed by the credit facility; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organization; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SECa™s website at [ www.sec.gov ] or upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.