Blackbaud the world's leading provider of AI-powered solutions for social impact, brought together thousands of nonprofit, education, corporate social responsibility and philanthropy professionals at bbcon 2026 to explore how connected data, purpose-built AI and intelligent action can help organizations expand capacity and accelerate impact. As organizations face growing demands and limited capacity, Blackbaud introduced new connected operating system and fundraising-specific language model to ensure the social impact sector gets the best outcomes from AI.
Conference attendees were the first to hear about Blackbaud's Platform for Good, a connected foundation designed to bring together data, intelligence, workflows, AI and partners across the Blackbaud ecosystem. Built beneath the solutions organizations already use, Platform for Good is designed to help customers identify opportunities faster, make more informed decisions and act with greater confidence.
"Last year, we introduced a vision for how AI could help social impact organizations work smarter," said Mike Gianoni, president, CEO and vice chairman of the board of directors, Blackbaud. "At bbcon 2026, we focused on what happens next: bringing together connected data, purpose-built intelligence, trusted expertise and secure AI experiences into the workflows organizations use every day. The opportunity isn't simply to add AI to existing processes. It's to help organizations unlock more capacity, make better decisions and ultimately drive greater impact."
Blackbaud also made a splash unveiling Lantern, the first domain-specific language model purpose-built to optimize fundraising intelligence. Built through a strategic collaboration with Databricks, Lantern brings more than four decades of Blackbaud's fundraising expertise, data, and context, to reflect real world patterns and the unique complexity of fundraising. Embedded in the Intelligence Layer, Lantern will power tailored intelligence directly where customers already work.
"bbcon 2026 has been a great experience, from the exciting announcements on the mainstage, to the breakout sessions and personal connections made," said Michelle Edgerton, executive vice president and chief advancement officer, YMCA of the North. "I'm particularly excited for the enhancements coming to Raiser's Edge NXT, which keeps getting better, and for the intelligence that Lantern will bring, allowing us to surface better insights so that we can focus on raising the funds we need to best serve our communities."
In addition to product innovation, bbcon 2026 featured conversations with technology leaders, customers and sector experts focused on responsible AI adoption and organizational transformation. Day two keynote speaker Priya Lakhani, founder and CEO of CENTURY Tech, spoke about responsible and intentional AI adoption alongside Carrie Cobb, chief data and AI officer at Blackbaud, Renee Ducre, chief information officer at UNCF, and Tim Cerato, assistant vice president at Boston University.
A hallmark of every bbcon is celebrating organizations creating meaningful change. Blackbaud recognized the 2026 Blackbaud Impact Awards winners including Le Phare, Enfants Et Familles for Changemaker Award, Boston University for Futurist Award and Michelle Edgerton for Outstanding Leadership Award. The 2026 Social Good Startup Program winners included DonorAtlas, Apps NXT, Untapped Solutions and People's Choice winner Bridgit.
Blackbaud envisions a future where resources are unleashed at the speed of need, with technology that is purpose-built, anchored in trust and connects fragmented systems for more seamless and intelligent workflows.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud is the world's leading provider of AI-powered solutions for social impact. Serving nonprofits, educational institutions, companies committed to corporate social responsibility, and individual change makers, Blackbaud propels impact at scale with the sector's most intelligent solutions for fundraising and engagement, education solutions, financial management and CSR and grantmaking. With the deepest expertise powered by the world's largest philanthropic data set, the most connected workflows, and the most powerful impact network, Blackbaud's solutions are building a future where resources are unleashed at the speed of need. Blackbaud has been recognized by Fast Company, Newsweek, Quartz, Forbes and more for AI innovation, responsible leadership and workplace excellence. Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India and the United Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries.
