“Can a nonprofit vertical SaaS company become the financial operating system for social-good organizations by embedding payments, insurance, international FX, and spend management directly into its mission-critical software suite?”
Founded in 1981 as a nonprofit software company, Blackbaud evolved from a desktop fundraising database (Raiser's Edge) into a cloud-based vertical SaaS platform serving nonprofits, K-12 schools, healthcare, and other social-good organizations. Over the past decade, Blackbaud embedded financial services directly into its platform — first with payment processing (Blackbaud Merchant Services, powered by Stripe), then with purchase cards (Blackbaud Purchasing Card, powered by Visa), and in 2025 launching Blackbaud Integrated Payments as a full Payments-as-a-Service offering extended to third-party software vendors via its Payments API. The company is now strategically positioning embedded finance (payments, insurance, international FX, spend management) as a monetization and retention layer on top of its core SaaS.
Blackbaud processes payments through Stripe Connect, Blackbaud Integrated Payments (self-operated) and Blackbaud Merchant Services (self-operated).
Blackbaud uses Flywire for FX and cross-border payouts.
Blackbaud's embedded insurance is provided by Vertical Insure.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 5 layers in Blackbaud's stack: Payments / PSP (Stripe Connect, Blackbaud Integrated Payments (self-operated) and Blackbaud Merchant Services (self-operated)); Insurance (Vertical Insure); FX & payouts (Flywire); Accounting (NetSuite and Ramp); Spend / AP (BILL).
Blackbaud was founded by Anthony Bakker and is founded in 1981, headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Blackbaud and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.