The Walker School Relies on Blackbaud's Online Community Solution to

The Walker School Relies on Blackbaud's Online Community Solution to Build Interactive Alumni Network

    Business Editors

    CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2005--

Deploys Blackbaud NetCommunity(TM) to develop strong relationships with computer-savvy graduates
    Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), the leading provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, announced today that The Walker School is relying on the company's online community solution to develop closer relationships with its growing base of young alumni.
    "With Blackbaud NetCommunity, we're not only using the latest technology to provide a truly interactive Web site, we're giving graduates an easy way to stay involved with The Walker School," said Susan Bargo, director of alumni relations. "With an alumni base dating back to only 1981, we knew the Internet was the best - and least expensive - way to keep graduates engaged so we can sustain relationships with them for a lifetime."
    The Walker School is an independent co-educational day school in Marietta, Georgia. A kindergarten and elementary school in its early days, the School expanded to include a middle and upper school, with the first senior class graduating in 1981. As the number of alumni grew, the School recognized the need to invest more heavily in the Internet, giving graduates an easy way to maintain a strong connection with life on campus and each other. The Walker School began a search for a technology solution that would enrich its newly redesigned Web site while reducing the costs associated with keeping up with a highly mobile alumni base.
    To this end, the School signed an agreement in December 2004 to deploy a combination of software and services from Blackbaud including Blackbaud NetCommunity (for online community building) to work in conjunction with The Raiser's Edge(R) (for fundraising management). With the solution, the School was able to not only add online donation capabilities to its Web site, but also offer alumni access to online class notes, online directories, and interactive career networking. Looking to the future, the School will use its Web site to offer alumni the ability to register for events.
    "Blackbaud has a long history of helping independent schools strategically deploy technology," said Robert J. Sywolski, chief executive officer of Blackbaud, Inc. "We designed Blackbaud NetCommunity to help organizations like The Walker School fully extend their development and alumni relations efforts to the Web, ultimately enriching the valuable relationships they maintain with all their key stakeholders."

    Building lasting relationships with alumni

    Blackbaud NetCommunity was developed to work seamlessly with The Raiser's Edge, which The Walker School has relied on since 1992 to manage its fundraising and alumni relations operations. Now, the School can better target its direct marketing using personalized information from traditional fundraising profiles as well as a graduate's online activity.
    "Blackbaud was the perfect choice for The Walker School. Although other solution providers claim they work with The Raiser's Edge, Blackbaud NetCommunity is the only one with true real-time integration of our fundraising and alumni information. We are able to connect with alumni more frequently and more appropriately than ever before," said Bargo.

    About The Walker School

    Founded in 1957, today The Walker School is a nonprofit, non-sectarian, independent, co-educational school. The school recently completed an $11.5 million Dollar building program that significantly enhanced the academic and athletic facilities. Walker's curriculum is college preparatory, and the school serves average-to-superior students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the Atlanta area.

    About Blackbaud, Inc.

    Blackbaud is the leading global provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations. More than 12,700 organizations - including the American Red Cross, Bowdoin College, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, the Detroit Zoological Society, Episcopal High School, Help the Aged, the Mayo Foundation, the New York Philharmonic and United Way of America - use Blackbaud products and consulting services for fundraising, financial management, business intelligence and school administration. Blackbaud's solutions include The Raiser's Edge(R), The Financial Edge(TM), The Education Edge(TM), The Patron Edge(TM), Blackbaud NetCommunity(TM), The Information Edge(TM), WealthPoint(TM) and ProspectPoint(TM), as well as a wide range of consulting and educational services. Founded in 1981, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has operations in Toronto, Ontario, Glasgow, Scotland, and Sydney, Australia. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.
    Blackbaud, the Blackbaud logo, The Raiser's Edge, The Financial Edge, The Education Edge, The Patron Edge, Blackbaud NetCommunity, The Information Edge, WealthPoint and ProspectPoint are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.

    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: risk associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organizations; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; adoption of our products and services by nonprofits; risks related to our dividend and stock repurchase program, including potential limitations on our ability to grow and the possibility that we might discontinue payment of dividends; risk associated with product concentration; economic conditions and seasonality; competition; risks associated with management of growth; risks associated with acquisitions; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; 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 upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department.

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CONTACT: Media: Integrated Corporate Relations, Inc. Megan McDonnell, 203-682-8200 mailto:mmcdonnell@icrinc.com or Blackbaud, Inc. Rachel Hutchisson, 843-216-6200, ext. 3070 mailto:rachel.hutchisson@blackbaud.com or The Walker School Sharon Hurst, 678-581-6915 hursts@thewalkerschool.org

KEYWORD: SOUTH CAROLINA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: EDUCATION GOVERNMENT BANKING INTERNET E-COMMERCE SOURCE: Blackbaud, Inc.

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