{"id":23944,"date":"2024-11-26T09:40:49","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T14:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blackbaud.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=23944"},"modified":"2025-07-29T15:00:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T19:00:57","slug":"celebrating-five-years-of-blackbauds-social-good-startup-program","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.blackbaud.com\/newsroom\/article\/celebrating-five-years-of-blackbauds-social-good-startup-program","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Five Years of Blackbaud\u2019s Social Good Startup Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Blackbaud\u2019s Tech Accelerator Program Has Produced Nine Cohorts, Graduating 68 Startups that Have Raised More Than $205M \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>For the last five years, Blackbaud\u2019s 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\u2019re reflecting on the incredible journey of this program, the outstanding achievements of its participants, and the transformative solutions they\u2019ve delivered.<\/p>\n<p>Since its inception, the Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program has supported 68 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 \u2013 a number that speaks to the program&#8217;s commitment to fostering scalable solutions built specifically for social impact organizations.<\/p>\n<p>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 68 startups still operating today. This remarkable achievement highlights the program\u2019s ability to identify and nurture the brightest innovators in the sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we celebrate this five-year milestone, we&#8217;re reflecting on the success of this program thus far, and our continued commitment to investing in the future of social impact innovation,\u201d said Jerry Needel, vice president of innovation and incubation, Blackbaud. \u201cWe&#8217;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\u2019re thrilled to kick off our next cohort in January 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Social Good Startup Program Highlights<\/strong><br \/>\nThe top three Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program alumni by funding raised are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freewill.com\/\">FreeWill<\/a> (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.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.givechariot.com\/\">Chariot<\/a>, (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.<\/li>\n<li>Civic Eagle (rebranded to <a href=\"https:\/\/pluralpolicy.com\/\">Plural<\/a>; January 2021 cohort), $12.5M raised: \u00a0Plural is an intuitive AI-powered legislative data tracking tool that helps users interpret and collaborate on public policy change<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program has also played a role in creating startups that attract significant acquisition or merger interest. Notable examples include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>NonprofitOS (July 2023 cohort) was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/iwave-launches-generative-ai-with-the-acquisition-of-nonprofit-operating-system-301958737.html\">acquired<\/a> by IWave in October 2023<\/li>\n<li>Give inKind (July 2021 cohort) was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prweb.com\/releases\/wolfe-llc-acquires-give-inkind-a-social-giving-platform-847245453.html\">acquired<\/a> by Wolfe in December 2022<\/li>\n<li>Hopeful (January 2021 cohort), was <a href=\"https:\/\/betakit.com\/wisely-acquires-hopeful-to-create-ai-powered-fundraising-powerhouse\/\">acquired<\/a> by Wisely (January 2020 cohort) in October 2021<\/li>\n<li>PeerPal (January 2020 cohort) was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/graduway-acquires-peerpal-cementing-its-position-as-the-leading-provider-of-education-management-and-engagement-software-301346302.html\">acquired<\/a> by Graduway in August 2021<\/li>\n<li>Team by Tuesday Company (January 2020 cohort) was <a href=\"https:\/\/campaignsandelections.com\/campaigntech\/helm-appears-poised-to-shakeup-civic-tech-with-acquisition-of-the-tuesday-company\/\">acquired<\/a> by Helm in May 2021<\/li>\n<li>OutreachCircle (January 2020 cohort) was <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.outreachcircle.com\/2021\/01\/13\/release-premier-political-data-firm-acquires-supporter-engagement-platform-to-expand-services-and-reach\/\">acquired<\/a> by PDI in January 2021<\/li>\n<li>Mobilize (January 2020 cohort) was <a href=\"https:\/\/join.mobilize.us\/blog\/mobilize-joins-everyaction\/\">acquired<\/a> by EveryAction in November 2020<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additionally, Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program alumni are shaping the industry through their own acquisitions, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>FreeWill\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/freewill-acquires-grantassistant-an-ai-based-platform-to-speed-and-simplify-grant-proposals-for-nonprofits-and-international-development-organizations-302282203.html\">acquisition<\/a> of Grant Assistant and their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/freewill-acquires-cocatalyst-as-donations-of-appreciated-assets-to-nonprofits-surge-301437460.html\">acquisition<\/a> of CoCatalyst<\/li>\n<li>Giving Compass\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/giving-compass-rebrands-x4impact-as-giving-compass-insights-and-welcomes-brandolon-barnett-as-head-of-innovation--philanthropy-301954464.html\">acquisition<\/a> of X4Impact<\/li>\n<li>Wisely\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/betakit.com\/wisely-acquires-hopeful-to-create-ai-powered-fundraising-powerhouse\/\">acquisition<\/a> of Hopeful (as mentioned above because both companies are Blackbaud Social Good Startup Program alumni!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackbaud.com\/newsroom\/article\/blackbauds-bbcon-2024-brings-thousands-of-social-impact-professionals-together-for-innovation-inspiration-learning-and-celebration\">bbcon 2024<\/a>, Blackbaud hosted a Social Good Startup Program showcase, introducing startups to Blackbaud\u2019s community of customers and partners. Highlights included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>22 startups represented by 48 team members<\/li>\n<li>19 SGSP alumni speakers<\/li>\n<li>6 alumni startups participating as conference sponsors<\/li>\n<li>4 conference sessions presented by startup participants<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Blackbaud Partner Summit was particularly special this year, as FundMiner and Simpliphi \u2013 both Social Good Startup Program alumni companies \u2013 were honored as Blackbaud Partners of the Year.<\/p>\n<p>Blackbaud\u202faccepts\u202fapplications for the\u202fSocial Good Startup Program on a rolling basis.\u202fTo learn more and apply for the upcoming January 2025 or other future cohorts,\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackbaud.com\/social-good-startup-program\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Questions? Reach out to\u202f<a href=\"mailto:sgsp@blackbaud.com\">sgsp@blackbaud.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the last five years, Blackbaud\u2019s 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\u2019re reflecting on the incredible journey of this program, the outstanding achievements of its participants, and the transformative solutions they\u2019ve delivered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":23948,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"single-news-product-and-innovation.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"news-category":[481,636],"news-topic":[630],"class_list":["post-23944","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-category-announcements","news-category-product-and-innovation","news-topic-social-good-startup-program"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Celebrating Five Years of Blackbaud\u2019s Social Good Startup Program - Blackbaud<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The program has been a catalyst for innovation, bringing together mission-driven startups to revolutionize the social impact space.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackbaud.com\/newsroom\/article\/celebrating-five-years-of-blackbauds-social-good-startup-program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrating Five Years of Blackbaud\u2019s Social Good Startup Program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The program has been a catalyst for innovation, bringing together mission-driven startups to revolutionize the social impact space.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.blackbaud.com\/newsroom\/article\/celebrating-five-years-of-blackbauds-social-good-startup-program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blackbaud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/blackbaud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-29T19:00:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.blackbaud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/blackbaud-social-good-programme-logo.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"870\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"358\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@blackbaud\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.blackbaud.com\/newsroom\/article\/celebrating-five-years-of-blackbauds-social-good-startup-program\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.blackbaud.com\/newsroom\/article\/celebrating-five-years-of-blackbauds-social-good-startup-program\",\"name\":\"Celebrating Five Years of Blackbaud\u2019s Social Good Startup Program - 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