The Buzz: October 2023 Edition

Hello Community,

Can you believe it’s already October? It’s our favorite time of the year, because October means bbcon! And after bbcon, GivingTuesday is right around the corner. We have a lot of great resources and news for you this month, so keep reading!

All Things bbcon 2023

Denver, get ready! It’s finally time for bbcon 2023. This year’s conference takes place in the mile high city on October 22-24th. Registration is still open, so if you have not signed up, now is the time.

Read more about this year’s fabulous mainstage events and all the other in-person activities happening: You won’t BELIEVE what’s on the bbcon agenda this year! There is also a 3-minute read, “An Insider’s Guide to bbcon 2023 in Denver,” featuring details on this year’s Celebration event, ways to give back at the conference, and how you can find out the latest innovations being showcased in the Marketplace.

If you can’t attend in person, make sure to sign up for our FREE virtual bbcon experience! You will get access to bbcon live broadcasts from Denver and a select number of on-demand sessions beginning on November 6th.

Last but definitely not least, if you are registered but have not yet claimed your attendee badge in Community, you can do that now and show the community that you are attending bbcon. Claiming your attendee badge will also land you a square in this year’s bbcon bingo game! Are you playing? It’s super easy and you can earn some beaucoup bonus points in the community.

October Challenge:

This month’s exclusive badge opportunity is tied to one of the most important actions a community member can take, creating a welcoming and friendly environment for our new members. This month, we are encouraging all our members to write on five new members walls, welcoming them to the community, and offering any other words of advice or encouragement to get them started. Are you new here yourself? This is a great opportunity to connect with other new members!

You can find new members easily by clicking on member search under the members menu in the top navigation. All new members will be on the first couple of pages!

If you welcome five new people in the month of October by writing on their walls, you’ll receive October’s badge.

GivingTuesday

GivingTuesday is coming in less than two months! Whether you’re still preparing your strategy or have your plans ready but could use a few more ideas, Blackbaud has you covered! We’ve prepared free resources to help you get the most out of your campaigns and take a little work off your plate with expert insights and templates:

• Quick-start goals and planning worksheet

• Email templates and sample timing schedule

• Social media worksheets and post templates

• Tips on how to leverage AI to create campaign content

Featured Discussions:

This month we are featuring a few discussions that anyone can chime in on!

• If you had to describe the Blackbaud Community in one word, what would that word be? It’s a one-word challenge over in Just for Fun! One word challenge! The Blackbaud Community is _________!)

• Engaging Front Line Employees: Share your organization's volunteer engagement success story That’s the conversation happening over in Organizational Best Practices!

Featured Member

Marcella Jewell, director of development operations for the University of Kansas Health System, is our newest featured member! Some fun facts about Marcella: her happy place is the zoo, she’s got her hands full with three young kids under the age of six, and she loves triathlons. Read more about this super woman and her experience running a successful grateful patient program.

Community Tip of the Month

Did you know that you can play a role in keeping Blackbaud Community free of spam? While the moderators are always hard at work to identify anything that slips through, we rely on our members to keep their eyes open as well. If you suspect a spam account, you can click on the name and then hit report member and the Community team will investigate and take any further actions if necessary.

Want more tips on how to help us keep the community clean? Check out this helpful how-to!

Events

Check out these upcoming events that will help you maximize your impact:

bbcon: October 22-24th in Denver, Colorado (in person) and virtual passes available.

Webinar: Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® Town Hall: The Future of Tables (three sessions)

• Wednesday, October 11th at 6pm et

• Thursday, October 12th at 8am aest

• Thursday, October 12th at 10am et

Webinar: Embracing AI in End-of-Year Fundraising (Thursday, November 2nd at 11am et)

Webinar: How You Can Transform Uncertainty into Greater Impact (October 26th at 11am et)

Workshop: Power Platform Regional Workshop - Mountain View, CA (Tuesday, November 7th 9am-4:30pm)

October Birthdays

We want to wish a Happy Birthday to our community members born in October. If you are among the Libras and Scorpios, happiest of birthdays to you. Let us know you are celebrating in the comments below!