EdTech Industry News

Cloud Software Giant Blackbaud Acquires SaaS Provider EverFi

• By Kristal Kuykendall
• 01/12/22

Blackbaud, a major cloud software company powering social good and serving nonprofits, the education sector, healthcare organizations, faith communities, arts and cultural organizations, and private companies, has acquired social-impact and education technology provider Everfi in a cash and stock transaction for approximately $750 million.

Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, S.C., and trades on NASDAQ under the symbol BLKB.

Everfi, headquartered in Washington, D.C., enables private, public and social sector organizations to respond to some of today’s most pressing challenges through education, activating community engagement at scale, delivered as a service through its technology and learning platform. The company has reached more than 45 million learners globally, in addition to delivering critical insight to its corporate partners so they can measure and amplify the impact of their educational programs in support of their environmental, social and governance, and corporate social responsibility goals, according to a news release.

Together, Blackbaud and Everfi “will strengthen the technology and data-driven social impact space, benefiting companies committed to social impact — and through them, will drive meaningful outcomes that build a better world,” the news release said. Everfi’s executive team and its CEO Tom Davidson are joining Blackbaud to work on the company’s expansion efforts.

“As companies continue to invest further in environmental, social and governance (programs) and corporate social responsibility programs to both give back and meet regulatory demands, they need a partner who can help connect their philanthropic goals to meaningful social impact opportunities,” said Blackbaud President and CEO Mike Gianoni. “Blackbaud and Everfi will work together to realize a shared vision of measurable social impact through world-class technology.”

Everfi’s Davidson said the two companies have similar cultures and a strong sense of purpose. “Together we offer an unparalleled commitment to customers, innovation and data-driven social impact, making us the one distinctive leader in the social impact space. Everfi’s software powers some of the largest ESG and CSR initiatives in the world, and this alignment will drive impact for millions of learners every year.”

The acquisition enables Blackbaud to better help corporations “drive meaningful social impact across a large span of technology-enabled program areas, from community education to volunteering to grant-making to philanthropy,” the company said. It also doubles Blackbaud’s total addressable market to more than $20 billion ‚ with half of that new opportunity being in the corporate sector.

“In the education sector, Everfi’s strong presence in the K-12 public school space complements Blackbaud’s strong presence in the K-12 private school and higher education markets,” Blackbaud said.

The deal is expected to vastly accelerate Blackbaud’s revenue growth, adding an estimated $120 million in 2022 revenue with a year-on-year growth rate approaching 20%, the company said in its announcement. Blackbaud reiterated its full year 2021 outlook provided Nov. 3, 2021, and available on the company’s investor relations webpage. The company expects to provide full year 2022 outlook, pro forma for the acquisition, when it reports its fourth quarter and full year 2021 financial results.