Non-Profit Tech Blog

Run, don’t walk, over to blogbaud.com. Shaun Sullivan and his gang have set up a blog hosted by a bunch of Blackbaud employees. I know I’m wondering if they’re going to do early announcements? Will they announce on the blog first before it goes up on the main Blackbaud page? Are they ready for the tons of comments from all the Raiser’s Edge users out there?

My real hope is that they become a blog more like Microsoft’s Cloud9 team than say a blog that serves mostly as a marketing point for Blackbaud’s sales team. “Buy NetCommunity, do a blog, just like us!” I want to see all the research they’re doing on their next release complete with video. They’re certainly not raising expectations yet but I have high hopes. Shaun and company, please sell the work to us techies before you sell it to our development directors who won’t really grok it anyway.

Who are blogbaud.com’s cast of characters? Let’s go down the list… All the information is straight out of a zoominfo.com search:

Dramatis Personae:

Michael Andrews

Michael Andrews is the director of Internet technology at Blackbaud. He joined the company in 1993 as a developer on The Raiser’s Edge 6 team. Staying with The Raiser’s Edge through version 7, he led the development of RE:Anywhere, the Internet version of the solution. Most recently, he has driven the design and development of Blackbaud NetCommunity, a .NET-based product for creating online communities built on top of The Raiser’s Edge 7 platform. Mr. Andrews holds a BS degree in management science from The University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business.

Jim Bush

Jim Bush, CFRE, has been with Blackbaud for more than four years. Prior to joining Blackbaud, Mr. Bush spent more than 14 years as a fundraiser and has experience in annual and major giving, reunion and special events, governments and foundations, and planned giving. His experience includes fundraising in higher education and the general nonprofit sectors. Mr. Bush holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration from Elon University, and a certificate in nonprofit management from Duke University. Jim has also served on the fundraising faculty for the YMCA.

Rich Conte

Rich Conte has been a senior business systems architect with Blackbaud since June of 2003. Previously, he was the product design manager with Thomson Investment Software in Boston, MA. He is a native of Cape Cod, MA, and is an avid surfer and softball player.

Lawrence Henze

Lawrence Henze, managing director of Blackbaud Analytics, has extensive experience in fundraising, market research, and the application of predictive modeling services to the nonprofit marketplace. The founder of Core Data Services, which Blackbaud acquired in 2001, he has also served as vice president of predictive modeling services at USA Group Noel Levitz and president of The Philanthropic Division of Econometrics, Inc. Mr. Henze has 15 years of experience in development, raising more than $125 million, primarily for higher education institutions. He holds a BA in political science from Carroll College in Wisconsin, and an MA in public policy and administration and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

David Lamb

David Lamb has been a prospect researcher for 15 years and is currently a prospect research consultant for Blackbaud. His Prospect Research Page is a popular and trusted list of Internet resources for prospect researchers. He has served as director of prospect research at the University of Washington and Santa Clara University. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from Sterling College (KS), a Master’s in sociology from Wichita State University, and a Master’s in Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary. He is a frequent speaker at professional conferences, including those sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA). In 1997, he received APRA’s Service Award for outstanding service to the profession, and in 2001, he was awarded CASE’s Steuben Apple Award for excellence in teaching.

Steve MacLaughlin

Steve MacLaughlin, a practice manager in Blackbaud’s Consulting Services division, is responsible for leading Blackbaud’s Internet services practice. Before joining Blackbaud, Mr. MacLaughlin spent more than eight years in the technology services sector, managing award-winning online projects with clients such as the American College of Sports Medicine, BMW of North America, Butler University, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, Finish Line, Indiana University School of Medicine, NCAA, and Thomson. Mr. MacLaughlin earned both his undergraduate degree and a master of science degree in interactive media from Indiana University.

Chad Norman (this is from the blogbaud.com site)

Hi! I’m Chad Norman, the Internet Marketing Manager for Blackbaud. I’m responsible for using the Internet to generate sales leads for Blackbaud products and services. Though new to this role, I have been with with company since 1997. I spent most of those years working on Web-based training and other creative projects, managing mid-sized teams of designers, developers, and writers. My passion has always been the Internet, and that’s how I ended up here at BlogBaud.com.

Prior to Blackbaud, I joined Indiana-based web firm Io Design after graduating from Indiana University in 1995.

Like most Blackbaud employees, I live/eat/breathe nonprofits, technology, and business. That’s what I will be posting about. If you like what you read, subscribe to my feed.

Shaun Sullivan

Shaun Sullivan is the chief technology officer at Blackbaud. He has been building, designing, and supporting software solutions for nonprofits for more than 15 years. Since joining Blackbaud in 1989, he has played a key role in every major release of the company’s flagship product, The Raiser’s Edge. Mr. Sullivan also led development of RE:NetSolutions, The Information Edge and, most recently, Blackbaud NetCommunity. As chief technology officer, he leads the teams that focus on the company’s technical direction and application of emerging technologies. He graduated with a degree in management information systems from Nichols College in Dudley, MA.

Allison Van Diest

Allison Van Diest is the product marketing manager for The Raiser’s Edge and Blackbaud Analytics. She joined the Blackbaud marketing team in 2002 after spending five years at Florida-based Design Data Systems, marketing CRM and accounting software for for-profit companies.