Press Release

CHARLESTON, S.C., March 11, 2019/PRNewswire/ — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good, today will host a group of students from South Carolina historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) at the company’s world headquarters in Charleston, S.C.The students are part of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Education & Workforce Foundation’s SC HBCU STEM program, which gives students hands-on experience and exposure to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers.

During today’s program, students will hear from Blackbaud’s IT and Human Resources leaders as they are introduced to the company and its various STEM careers. Through presentations, meetings, and a networking lunch, students will learn from Blackbaud engineers, and recruiters as they prepare to enter the workforce. Rich Friedberg, Blackbaud’s chief information security officer, will present on cybersecurity careers, while Heather Templeton, senior director, Software Development will speak about women in engineering.    

“We are privileged to host this talented group of students and look forward to highlighting some of the outstanding STEM career opportunities available at Blackbaud,” said John Mistretta, executive vice president, Human Resources at Blackbaud. “At Blackbaud, we take our commitment to the communities we serve as seriously as we take our commitment to our customers. Through this important program, we are proud to continue our evolving journey of diversity and inclusion while empowering the next generation of leaders in the state of South Carolina.” 

The SC HBCU STEM program was developed to help connect students at South Carolina’s HBCU institutions interested in STEM careers with companies across the state. The program offers a select group of students—primarily juniors and seniors who hold high GPAs and have shown interest in STEM careers—a unique opportunity to interact, learn from and work with South Carolina companies and business leaders in STEM-related fields.

Blackbaud’s support of STEM education and its commitment to diversity and inclusion continues to make an impact throughout the company’s worldwide operations, as well as in the local communities surrounding the company’s world headquarters in Charleston.

• Last month, more than 20 employee volunteers hosted the company’s seventh annual Camp Blackbaud for 24 fifth-grade students from the Charleston community through Blackbaud’s longstanding partnership with the Charleston Promise Neighborhood, a nonprofit that seeks to break the cycle of poverty in some of the local community’s poorest areas and promotes a college-bound culture. The students spent two days at Blackbaud’s world headquarters in Charleston learning about technology careers and coding.
• BLEND (Black Employees Encouraging Diversity), one of the company’s affinity groups, hosted a summer field trip for students from the Upward Bound Math and Science Center (UBMSC), which serves high school students from Berkeley County (S.C.) who have demonstrated both aptitude and interest in science and/or mathematics.
• Blackbaud’s largest donation in the company’s history, a $1 million gift to the International African American Museum, will help provide digital access to the museum and extend its reach to a broader community worldwide. Blackbaud president and CEO Mike Gianoni is a member of the museum’s board of directors.
• Blackbaud is an active supporter of the Coastal Community Foundation (CCF), donating nearly $700,000through a dedicated fund since 1997 with a committee of company employees advising on funding decisions. CCF has supported South Carolina communities for more than 40 years by empowering individuals, families and organizations to make a lasting impact on coastal communities in South Carolinathrough permanent, endowed funds for charitable giving. 

Blackbaud has been recognized for its efforts, earning the Corporate Citizenship Award from the Charleston Trident Urban League in 2018. In January, Blackbaud was recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity for the second consecutive year.   

Click to Tweet: .@Blackbaud welcomes students from South Carolina HBCUs for @scchamber #STEM Program https://blkb.co/2EQLZiF

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, foundations, companies, education institutions, healthcare organizations and individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and empowers organizations to increase their impact through cloud software, services, expertise, and data intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility, school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing, and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com, or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.