May Blackbaud CRM Product Update Briefing Summary: Building the Future of Enterprise Fundraising

Alison Madrigal

Last week, we hosted our May 2026 Product Update Briefing for Blackbaud Enterprise Fundraising CRM™ and Blackbaud Internet Solutions™. In this session, we shared how we’re continuing to invest in smarter, more intuitive fundraising technology—grounded in the workflows our customers trust and accelerated by modern platforms and AI innovation.

Here’s a recap of the key highlights.

Introducing SKY UX for Blackbaud CRM

A major milestone shared in this briefing was the introduction of SKY UX for Blackbaud CRM—a modernized user experience designed to make day‑to‑day fundraising work faster and more intuitive without disrupting trusted processes.

Key highlights include:

• Persistent, icon‑based navigation for faster orientation and fewer clicks
• A cleaner, more responsive interface aligned with other SKY experiences
• Improved accessibility, consistency, and scan‑ability across pages
• Familiar layouts and workflows to minimize retraining and change management effort

SKY UX is not a rewrite of your business rules or data model. Validations, workflows, and data integrity remain intact—allowing teams to adopt the new experience confidently and incrementally.

The rollout will follow a phased approach, starting with the most frequently used workflows such as constituents and interactions, and expanding over time to cover prospect management, revenue, events, reporting, and administration.

A Clear Vision for Smarter, Scalable Fundraising

We opened with our long‑term vision for Blackbaud CRM: strengthening proven enterprise fundraising workflows while making them easier to use, more connected, and more impactful. Central to this vision is purposeful AI—designed not as a side experiment, but as a secure, compliant, and practical way to reduce manual effort and help teams focus more time on relationships.

Our AI strategy follows a natural progression:

1. Human‑led intelligence that surfaces insights quickly
2. Intelligent assistance that accelerates everyday tasks
3. Agentic AI that expands team capacity while keeping humans in control

All of this innovation is built on the Blackbaud SKY Platform, which provides the secure, scalable foundation that enables faster delivery, greater reliability, and ongoing innovation across Blackbaud CRM.

Fundraising Intelligence and Blackbaud AI

We also shared early progress on Chat for Blackbaud AI, designed to help users interact with CRM data using natural language—directly in the flow of work.

With Chat for Blackbaud AI, users can:

• Ask questions in plain language and receive context‑aware responses
• Instantly view AI‑generated summaries of constituents, including giving history and engagement
• Get suggested next actions and talking points to prepare for donor conversations

Over time, this experience will evolve beyond Q&A to deliver proactive insights and guided actions—helping teams move more quickly from data to decisions.

New Resource Center and Enablement Tools

To support adoption and ongoing success, we also introduced the new Blackbaud CRM Resource Center—a centralized hub for trusted guidance, documentation, learning content, and updates.

The Resource Center includes:

• Task‑oriented documentation and best practices
• Security, compliance, and cloud migration resources
• What’s New videos for quick updates
• Deeper learning content through Blackbaud University‑led courses

This hub is designed to reduce friction, simplify discovery, and help teams get more value from Blackbaud CRM over time.

Platform, Data, and Operational Updates

Additional updates shared during the session included:

• Continued progress on Windows and SQL certifications, including upcoming SQL 2025 validation
• Improved identity resolution powered by enhanced matching services, delivering higher match rates and better data confidence
• Expanded cloud capabilities, including extended backup restore windows
• Ongoing enhancements across Blackbaud Internet Solutions, including accessibility improvements, form updates, and upcoming payments innovations

Agents for Good™: Expanding Fundraising Capacity

One of the most anticipated updates in the session was Agents for Good, Blackbaud’s next generation of agentic AI innovation.

Agents for Good are designed as digital teammates that work securely within Blackbaud CRM to expand capacity—not replace staff. The first of these, the Development Agent, helps organizations scale personalized outreach to mid‑level and lapsed donors while keeping human oversight firmly in place.

Highlights include:

• Personalized outreach at scale via email and SMS
• Built‑in transparency and consent tracking
• Real‑time interaction logging directly in the constituent record
• Intelligent escalation to human fundraisers when needed

The Development Agent will enter an early adopter program for U.S.‑based Blackbaud CRM customers in 2026.

What’s Next

We wrapped up the session with a look ahead:

• Continued rollout of SKY UX and Blackbaud AI capabilities
• Early adopter programs for AI chat and agentic AI
• Deeper InsideTrack sessions focused on AI strategy and use cases
• Expanded learning, community engagement, and upcoming events—including a dedicated Blackbaud CRM track at bbcon

Thank you to everyone who joined us live and shared feedback. We look forward to continuing this journey with you—building smarter, more connected fundraising tools that help advance your mission.

👉 Missed the session? Watch the on‑demand recording to catch all the details.

👉 Go deeper on AI: Register for the June InsideTrack session to learn more about Blackbaud’s AI strategy for Blackbaud CRM, including what’s coming next with chat and agentic AI.

PUB Q&A Summary

Blackbaud AI, Chat, and Agents for Good

Q: Is Chat for Blackbaud AI included with my current Blackbaud CRM subscription?

A: Yes. Chat for Blackbaud AI is included for Blackbaud CRM customers using Cloud Operations. There is no additional charge for Chat when it becomes available in your environment.

Q: Is Chat for Blackbaud AI and Agents for Good available for on‑premise or self‑hosted customers?

A: No. Chat for Blackbaud AI and Agents for Good are available only to Blackbaud CRM customers on Cloud Operations.

Q: What are Agents for Good / the Development Agent, and are they included?

A: Agents for Good (including the Development Agent) are intelligent AI agents designed to help nonprofits work smarter, act faster, and advance their mission. They are additional, optional subscriptions and are not included with standard Blackbaud CRM subscriptions.

Q: How does Blackbaud ensure AI data security and privacy?

A: Blackbaud AI operates only within your organization’s environment. Data and AI‑generated responses are not shared across customers, in alignment with Blackbaud’s responsible AI principles.

Q: Does the AI retain memory of chat conversations?

A:Questions related to how AI interactions are stored and retained are part of ongoing governance work. We recognize the importance of trust with AI, and detailed guidance will be shared as Chat for Blackbaud AI continues to evolve.

Q: What if Chat for Blackbaud AI provides incorrect or incomplete information?

A: We recognize the importance of accuracy and trust. Guidance on how to provide feedback or report issues with AI‑generated responses will be shared as the feature becomes generally available.

SKY UX

Q: Is SKY UX included with Blackbaud CRM or is it an add‑on?

A: SKY UX is included with Blackbaud CRM and is not an add‑on.

Q: Can SKY UX be enabled only for certain users?

A: Yes. SKY UX can be controlled at the security group level, allowing organizations to enable it for specific users or teams.

Q: Will familiar features like shortcuts still be available in SKY UX?

A: Yes. Key productivity tools will continue to be available in the SKY UX experience. Some features may be adjusted to improve usability and support for accessibility.

Q: How will the transition work as SKY UX is released in stages?

A: As SKY UX is rolled out incrementally, each month you will see more capabilities released and updates to previous releases. Blackbaud will demonstrate and document how each release builds to a complete user experience through Blackbaud University and release posts through the Blackbaud CRM Resource Center.

Q: Are there regional differences in the SKY UX release timeline?

A: No. SKY UX release timing is the same across regions.

Q: Is Blackbaud ID (BBID) required for SKY UX?

A: Yes. BBID is required to use SKY UX. Hosted customers not currently using BBID will need to migrate to SSO. Learn more: BBID Overview

Developers, SDK, and Integrations

Q: Can we continue using the SDK with SKY UX?

A: Yes. The SDK will continue to be supported, and Blackbaud will provide additional guidance to support development with SKY UX. Early releases of SKY UX in 2026 will not display customizations.

Q: Will developer documentation be updated?A

: Yes. Blackbaud plans to refresh and modernize documentation, including SDK materials, with an increased focus on SKY UX–based customization.

Q: Is AI available inside query tools today?

A: Questions about AI‑assisted querying are under active consideration. More details will be shared as capabilities mature.

Internet Solutions (BBIS)

Q: What is the future of Blackbaud Internet Solutions (BBIS)?

A: Blackbaud Internet Solutions is a vital capability of the Blackbaud CRM solution. We are planning to begin discovery for BBIS modernization in early 2027.

Release & Availability

Q: When will the Development Agent be available in Europe?

A: Blackbaud is targeting late 2026 or early 2027 for availability in Europe.

Q: Is Blackbaud CRM 4.0 SP42 available?

A:Yes. Blackbaud CRM 4.0 SP42 is available now.View the SP42 release announcement

Blackbaud CRM Resource Center

Q: How do I access the Blackbaud CRM Resource Center?

A: Customers can access the Resource Center through a direct link and from within Blackbaud CRM. Attendees were encouraged to bookmark the Resource Center so it’s easy to return to whenever questions come up during day‑to‑day work. 

To navigate to the Blackbaud CRM Resource Center, open Blackbaud CRM, click the ? (Help) icon in the top‑right corner, scroll down, and select Visit the Resource Center.