Blackbaud Acquired JustGiving

Blackbaud, Inc., the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good, announced it has completed its acquisition of U.K.-based JustGiving, whose online social giving platform has played a powerful role in the growth of peer-to-peer fundraising.

Blackbaud purchased, through its U.K. subsidiary, all outstanding equity interests of Giving Limited, doing business as JustGiving, for an aggregate purchase price of £95 million, or approximately $127.4 million, financed with cash on hand and borrowings under its existing credit facility.

“We are proud to welcome JustGiving to the Blackbaud family,” said Blackbaud President and CEO Mike Gianoni. “Blackbaud is committed to accelerating the impact of individuals and organizations pursuing global good with modern, mobile-first and integrated cloud software. As we marry JustGiving’s leading innovation in social giving with our unmatched cloud solutions for social good, we can power game-changing breakthroughs that strengthen the entire social economy.”

The acquisition comes as fundraising driven by individual supporters rallying others to give (referred to as “peer-to-peer fundraising”) is playing a more significant role than ever in charitable giving. At the same time, social and mobile giving continue to grow. Blackbaud noted that this acquisition was in line with its broader commitment to helping customers respond to and leverage technological and social change.

“Individual supporters—and the new ways they are connecting with causes, organizations and one another—continue to transform the landscape and potential of the social good community,” said Jerry Needel, president and general manager of Blackbaud Consumer Solutions. “It’s key for us to equip these individual change agents to drive impact for the causes they care about and to ensure organizations have the right tools to navigate and respond to changes in the landscape.”

JustGiving is a leader in peer-to-peer giving, with people in 164 countries raising over $4.5 billion for good causes through its online platform since 2001. The company is a female-founded enterprise; started by Anne-Marie Huby and Zarine Kharas.

This acquisition doubles Blackbaud’s ongoing investment in peer-to-peer capabilities and expands what the company offers today through TeamRaiser and everydayhero, which are used by leading nonprofit organizations to connect their causes to the individuals who support them. The acquisition will also add a new personal crowdfunding capability (individuals raising funds for other individuals) as well as position Blackbaud to better serve the U.K. market, where it has operated for more than two decades, and where JustGiving is a fundraising leader.

“We’re passionate about growing the world’s giving and advancing good causes – and I can’t think of a better way to do it than as part of the world’s leading cloud software provider powering social good,” said Anne-Marie Huby, co-founder and managing director of JustGiving.

JustGiving is headquartered in London, U.K. Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, with operations around the globe, including in London. JustGiving’s staff will join Blackbaud’s London-based International Markets Group led by Jerome Moisan, senior vice president and president of Blackbaud’s International Markets Group. JustGiving will be led by Jerry Needel, president and general manager of Blackbaud Consumer Solutions.