Blackbaud Development Agent

Blackbaud’s CEO told investors in April 2026 that its Development Agent will cost “in the tens of thousands per year” as an annual subscription, with no seat or usage charges yet. For that, a nonprofit on Raiser’s Edge NXT gets an AI fundraiser that finds mid-level and lapsed donors no gift officer has time for, writes to them by email and text, follows up and logs everything in the CRM. Blackbaud says a typical Raiser’s Edge NXT customer has about 1,200 high-potential mid-level donors, while a major gift officer usually manages 75 to 150 prospects.

The Development Agent is best for US nonprofits already on Raiser’s Edge NXT with a large base of mid-level donors and a small major gifts team. It currently works inside Raiser’s Edge NXT in the US, and early results, which Blackbaud describes as above industry benchmarks, have not yet been published as figures; sharing them would help buyers. It became generally available on March 17, 2026. This review is based on Blackbaud’s announcements and earnings calls as of October 2026; we have not used it ourselves. We rate it 8.0/10 on our scale.

Launch and Earnings Facts From a Public Company

Blackbaud is a public company, so the clearest facts about the agent come from its launch release, earnings releases and earnings calls. Each figure below was checked on the source page.

The pricing guidance is the fact most buyers will not find elsewhere. A price in the tens of thousands a year puts the Development Agent closer to a part-time hire than a software add-on, so the case rests on new gifts from donors who would otherwise get no personal outreach. The flat annual model also means no surprise bills if the agent contacts more donors.

The results figures are less detailed than the pricing. Blackbaud has told investors twice that reply, open and gift-size figures beat benchmarks without publishing them, so ask for anonymized results from early customers of your size. Blackbaud’s scale and recurring revenue suggest long-term support, and four more agents on the roadmap signal a long-term commitment.

An Agent Living Inside Raiser’s Edge NXT Records

The agent lives inside Raiser’s Edge NXT and works directly on constituent records, so there is no separate tool to connect and no data export. Blackbaud describes it as operating autonomously with human oversight, like any team member.

Setting Up the Agent

1. Give it an identity. The team names the agent and picks a personality, so donors hear a consistent voice.
2. Choose channels and style. Pick email, text or both, and set tone and message length to match the organization’s brand.
3. Pick the donor pool. Let the agent work from unassigned donors in the database or from a group the team assigns. There is no cap on the number of prospects.
4. Start slowly. Blackbaud advises reviewing the first messages and adjusting before increasing volume.

Finding Dormant Donors and Running Multi-Touch Outreach

Once running, the agent identifies prospective and dormant donors outside major gift officers’ portfolios, drafts personalized messages, sends them and follows up across multiple touches. It uses Blackbaud’s analytics to suggest ask amounts and timing, drawing on the same machine-learning prospecting that more than half of Raiser’s Edge NXT customers already use. Every interaction is logged in the CRM in real time, so gift officers see the full history if a donor is later moved to their portfolio.

Staff Set Who Is Off Limits and Handle Replies

Staff decide which donors the agent may contact and which are off limits, review early messages, and handle escalations when a donor replies with something that needs a person, such as a major gift conversation, a complaint or a request to talk. Gift officers still own major donors. Leaders should also decide how often the agent may contact any one supporter.

Where It Fits in Blackbaud’s Plans

The Development Agent is the first of Blackbaud’s Agents for Good. On its July 2026 earnings call the company listed a Data Health Agent, an Admissions Agent for independent K-12 schools, a Digital Marketing Agent and an Accounts Payable Agent for Financial Edge NXT as coming next. Support for Blackbaud Enterprise Fundraising CRM comes before international availability.

The CEO’s Earnings Call Guide to Price

Blackbaud sells the Development Agent by quote to Raiser’s Edge NXT customers. Its CEO gave the clearest public guide on the April 2026 earnings call.

Eight Gift Officers or One Agent for 1,200 Mid-Level Donors

Covering the mid-level gap with people. Using Blackbaud’s own figures, 1,200 mid-level donors would need 8 gift officers at 150 prospects each, or 16 at 75 each. Few nonprofits can staff that, which is the gap the agent targets.

Break-even on new gifts. If your quote comes in at $25,000 a year, the agent needs to raise $25,000 in gifts that would not otherwise have come in: 50 gifts of $500, or 250 gifts of $100. At a $50,000 quote, that doubles to 100 gifts of $500. These quote levels are examples within the CEO’s range; your number will differ.

Per donor reached. Spread across all 1,200 mid-level donors, a $25,000 subscription is about $20.83 per donor a year, and a $50,000 subscription about $41.67. That is the figure to compare with your cost per donor for mail or phone appeals.

Hidden and variable costs. The agent requires Raiser’s Edge NXT. Gifts it brings in run through Blackbaud Integrated Payments, and Blackbaud added a platform fee on certain online giving transactions in 2026, which donors can choose to cover. Budget staff time to review early messages and handle escalations.

Blackbaud Development Agent Compared With Bonterra Que, Agentforce and HubSpot Breeze Agents

Bonterra Que is the closest rival from a nonprofit software vendor. Agentforce and HubSpot Breeze are general CRM agents some nonprofits use.

The Development Agent is the most autonomous of the nonprofit-specific options: it sends and follows up on its own, where Bonterra Que drafts work for staff to approve. Agentforce and HubSpot Breeze are more flexible but are not built around donor data and giving patterns, and nonprofits must design the fundraising logic themselves. More choices are on our nonprofit agents page.

US Nonprofits With Large Mid-Level Donor Files

• US nonprofits on Raiser’s Edge NXT with large mid-level files: the agent targets the donors between annual fund and major gifts who rarely get personal outreach.
• Small advancement teams: a few gift officers cannot cover more than 1,200 prospects; the agent works the rest of the file.
• Universities and schools: the University of New Haven used it in early access to speed donor connections.
• Organizations with lapsed donors: it looks for dormant donors outside current portfolios as well as new prospects.
• Teams that already trust Blackbaud’s prospecting scores: the agent uses the same analytics for ask amounts and timing. Compare email-focused tools on our email agents page.

Bonterra, Salesforce and Non-US Organizations Have Other Paths

• Nonprofits on other CRMs: it works only inside Raiser’s Edge NXT, so Bonterra, Salesforce or HubSpot users should look at their own vendors’ agents.
• Organizations outside the US: international availability is planned but not yet live.
• Small nonprofits with a few hundred donors: a subscription in the tens of thousands of dollars a year takes a larger donor file to earn back.
• Teams that want phone outreach: the agent uses email and text only.

Unpublished Benchmarks and Donor Relationship Care

• Results not yet published: Blackbaud says reply, open and gift-size results beat benchmarks and has not released the figures yet; ask for data from a similar customer.
• Donor relationships: the agent writes in your organization’s name, so set rules on tone, frequency and off-limits donors, and review escalations daily.
• Pricing changes: Blackbaud said it is looking at usage-based and other pricing models, so lock terms into a multiyear contract if the current model suits you.
• Payment fees: gifts run through Blackbaud Integrated Payments, and a 2026 platform fee applies to certain online giving transactions.
• Long contracts: Blackbaud said more than 20% of its customers are on four-year or longer terms; check how an agent add-on ties into your renewal date.
• Data and opt-outs: confirm how the agent handles unsubscribes, text consent and donor privacy before launch.

General Availability Ahead of Schedule in July 2026

On July 29, 2026, Blackbaud’s second-quarter earnings call said the Development Agent reached general availability ahead of schedule, reported above-benchmark reply rates, open rates and gift sizes, and named four more Agents for Good in development. The company did not assume meaningful 2026 revenue from its new AI products.

On April 29, 2026, Blackbaud reported first-quarter revenue of $281.1 million and said early demand for the agent had been exceptional; on the earnings call, the CEO said pricing would be an annual subscription in the tens of thousands of dollars a year. On March 17, 2026, Blackbaud announced general availability of the Development Agent for US Raiser’s Edge NXT customers.

When Gift Officers Cannot Reach the Mid-Level File

For a US nonprofit on Raiser’s Edge NXT with hundreds or thousands of mid-level donors and not enough gift officers, it is worth a serious look. The Blackbaud Development Agent scores 8.0/10 on our scale. It does real work on its own, finding prospects, writing, sending and following up, with every touch logged in the CRM and escalations routed to staff. Blackbaud’s scale, its prospecting data and a roadmap of four more agents make it a safe vendor bet.

Published results, wider CRM support and international availability would lift the score, and the price in the tens of thousands of dollars a year suits larger donor files. Run the break-even math on your own donor file, ask for a reference from a similar organization, and start with a defined donor segment, reviewing messages closely in the first weeks. If you run on Bonterra instead, Bonterra Que is the comparable choice.

Subscription Cost in Blackbaud’s Own Words

How Much Does the Blackbaud Development Agent Cost?

Blackbaud sells it by quote. On the April 2026 earnings call, CEO Mike Gianoni said it is an annual subscription expected to cost in the tens of thousands of dollars a year, with no seat-based or usage-based pricing yet. You also need Raiser’s Edge NXT.

Does the Development Agent Work Without Raiser’s Edge NXT?

No. It runs inside Raiser’s Edge NXT for US customers. Blackbaud plans Enterprise Fundraising CRM support next, followed by international availability.

How Does the Development Agent Decide How Much to Ask For?

It uses Blackbaud’s analytics to suggest ask amounts and timing. Those analytics build on the machine-learning donor prospecting that more than half of Raiser’s Edge NXT customers already use, which Blackbaud says produces nearly 30 billion predictions a year.

Is Bonterra Que an Alternative to Blackbaud’s Development Agent?

Only if you use Bonterra software. Que drafts donor emails, texts and segments that staff approve before sending, while the Development Agent sends and follows up on its own inside Raiser’s Edge NXT.

Can the Development Agent Call Donors or Ask for Major Gifts?

It contacts donors only by email and text. Major gift conversations stay with gift officers, and the agent escalates replies that need a person.