Annual awards program celebrates excellence in investor relations

Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading provider of software for powering social impact, recently received an IR Magazine Award for Best ESG reporting in the small to mid-cap category. The company was honored at an awards ceremony in New York March 30 celebrating excellence in the investor relations profession across the U.S.

“We believe that we will drive long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders by building essential software for social impact and operating all facets of our business through the lens of our ESG program,” said Mike Gianoni, Blackbaud’s chief executive officer. “ESG is an intrinsic part of our operations, and our team is honored to be recognized for our commitment to excellence in this important work.”

Since the annual IR Magazine Awards launched in 1996, tens of thousands of analysts and investors have voted in the surveys that fuel the awards. The result: vital benchmarking information on which companies do the best investor relations. The awards-by-nomination categories cover a range of investor relations practice areas, such as annual reports, ESG reporting, investor meetings, use of technology and crisis management. Blackbaud was selected as the winner in the Best ESG reporting in the small to mid-cap category by a panel of independent, expert judges.

See related article: Blackbaud Powers Social Good Through Corporate Citizenship

As part of the nomination process, Blackbaud was given the opportunity to showcase how the company met the demands of shareholders looking for substance in ESG reporting. While operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner for over 40 years, Blackbaud focused on formalizing a framework and process around its ESG achievements. Since implementing a formal ESG strategy and governance structure in 2021, Blackbaud has:

• Achieved carbon neutrality as a company;
• Adopted the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) frameworks and is currently adopting the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework and reporting climate data to CDP to continue enhancing operational transparency;
• Transitioned to a remote-first company, fast-tracking goals for minimizing environmental impact and building diverse teams regardless of location;
• Made a multi-year, six-figure gift to Project Drawdown to advance climate solutions around the world;
• Updated its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) website to provide robust, real-time information regarding ESG priorities and metrics that is easily accessible to investors and governance teams; and
• Communicated an increased level of disclosure and transparency in ESG reporting to the investment community

Blackbaud continues its ESG work by focusing its 2023 philanthropic efforts on supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in partnership with five global organizations in each of the regions where Blackbaud operates: Action for Race Equality in the U.K., Braven in the U.S., Indspire in Canada, the Omar Dengo Foundation in Costa Rica, and the Ladder Project Foundation in Australia. Structured as a multi-year gift across these five organizations, Blackbaud’s investment seeks to feed global workforce development and economic empowerment by strengthening and diversifying representation and opening more paths to leadership for candidates from underrepresented backgrounds. In addition to supporting the organizations with a monetary donation, Blackbaud will facilitate opportunities for its employees to volunteer and engage with each organization, providing mentorship to youth around the world through things like career panels, resumé reviews, mock interviews and more. 

To learn more about Blackbaud’s investor relations program, visit https://investor.blackbaud.com. To learn more about the IR Magazine Awards – US 2023, visit https://events.irmagazine.com/usawards.

Source: PRNewswire