InsideTrack Recap: Advancing AI-Powered Intelligence in Blackbaud Enterprise Fundraising CRM™

Alison Madrigal

Last week, I had the opportunity to host our latest InsideTrack session focused on AI-powered intelligence in Blackbaud CRM. The goal of this session was simple: give our customers a clear view into where AI is today, how we’re embedding it into fundraising workflows, and what it means for their teams moving forward. 

As with every InsideTrack, a big part of the value comes from hearing directly from our community. Through live polls and discussion, attendees shared where they are in their AI journey.  The responses made one thing clear: organizations are actively moving from exploration to execution. 

Where Organizations Are Today 

Poll results showed that most organizations are already experimenting with AI, piloting it in targeted use cases, with a growing number beginning to operationalize AI in production workflows. Only a small portion are still in early exploration. 

When asked where they’re most excited to apply AI, the answers were highly consistent. 
Automating manual work emerged as the clear leader, followed by improving insights, predicting outcomes, and enhancing donor engagement. Content generation is part of the mix but not the primary focus. 

Attendees were equally clear about what comes next. The top priorities center on building skills and expertise, alongside identifying high-value use cases and establishing governance and trust. Improving data readiness and scaling pilots are also top of mind. 

A consistent theme across all three polls: 
AI is no longer about “what’s possible,” it’s about how to scale it in a practical, responsible way. 

Embedding Intelligence into Fundraising Workflows 

Chris Ager kicked off the product discussion by grounding us in how Blackbaud is approaching AI overall. Rather than introducing standalone tools, the focus is on embedding intelligence directly into the CRM experience, so insights show up where teams are already working. 

This includes: 

• A foundation of Fundraising Intelligence across data, workflows, and reporting 
• A continued investment in enterprise scale, flexibility, and security 
• A strong emphasis on responsible AI, with privacy and governance built in from the start 

To support customers along this journey, we’re also continuing to expand the Blackbaud CRM Resource Center as a central place for guidance, updates, and learning. 

From Insight to Action: AI in Practice 

A key part of the session focused on how AI moves beyond insights into day-to-day execution. 

Chris shared a preview of AI Chat for Blackbaud CRM, which will allow users to interact with their data using natural language, asking questions, generating insights, and summarizing key changes directly within their workflows. The goal is to reduce the gap between data and action, helping teams move faster with greater clarity. 

We also spent time with Paul Goldstein and Scott Parrish walking through Agents for Good™, a new category of AI capabilities designed to act as digital team members. 

The first of these, the Development Agent, is designed to engage donors at scale; particularly mid-level and broad-base donors who often don’t receive the same level of personalized outreach as major donors. 

What stood out in the demo was how the agent: 

• Learns your organization’s brand voice and priorities 
• Delivers personalized outreach across channels (email and SMS) 
• Logs all activity directly in CRM 
• Includes human-in-the-loop controls, escalating when needed 

The big idea here is expanding capacity, helping teams reach more constituents in a meaningful way without requiring proportional staff growth. 

What We’re Hearing from Early Use 

We also spent time discussing early feedback from customers already using these capabilities. Across the board, responses have been encouraging. 

Donors are engaging with outreach, opt-out rates remain low, and organizations are seeing value in being able to connect more consistently with a broader set of constituents. Notably, engagement has been strong across demographics, including groups some initially expected to be hesitant. 

What’s Coming Next 

Looking ahead, the roadmap continues to build on this foundation. 

We’re investing in: 

• Goal-driven engagement, where agents manage multiple outreach objectives 
• Additional agents, including data health and operational use cases 
• Greater visibility into performance and impact 
• Continued enhancements to support customization and integration 

In terms of timing, customers can expect: 

• AI Chat previews later this year, with broader early access to follow 
• Development Agent early access for CRM beginning in 2027 

 Q&A Highlights 

We closed the session with a number of practical questions from attendees: 

• What’s included vs. additional? 
  Core AI capabilities like chat and insights will be included in Blackbaud CRM, while agent-based solutions are planned as separate subscriptions. 
• What’s required to take advantage of these innovations? 
  Customers will need to be on Feature Pack 42 and the modern architecture to access upcoming capabilities. 
• Will AI support customizations? 
  This is an active area of investment, with plans to better align AI capabilities with SDK and SKY UX extensibility. 
• How can customers participate early? 
  Early adopter programs (EAPs) are planned, and customers can express interest to be included as they open. 
• How are donors responding? 
  Early results show strong engagement, low opt-outs, and positive reception to more personalized communication. 

Key Takeaways 

A few themes stood out clearly from this session: 

• AI adoption is accelerating, with most organizations are already piloting or scaling 
• Automation is the entry point, with insights and prediction close behind 
• The focus is shifting to skills, governance, and scalable strategy 
• AI is becoming embedded in everyday workflows, not separate tools 
• Agents introduce a new model for expanding capacity without adding headcount 

As always, InsideTrack is about more than product updates, it’s about connection and transparency. The feedback and participation in this session continue to shape how we evolve these capabilities, and we’re excited to keep building alongside this community. 

👉 Missed the session or want to share it with your team? You can catch up anytime with the on-demand recording. 

👉 bbcon 2026 is the best place to go deeper on these topics, see what’s coming next across the portfolio, and engage with peers.  See the bbcon Preview: What’s Ahead in the Blackbaud Enterprise Fundraising CRM™ Track  blog for a preview of content specifically for Blackbaud CRM customers.