Case Study: Charleston Battery boosts nonprofit visibility and community impact with Blackbaud

Charleston Battery - Customer Case Study

Blackbaud, a nonprofit-focused software company, and the Charleston Battery professional soccer team—both founded by Tony Bakker—formalized a philanthropy partnership in 2010 to use their combined local presence to raise awareness and support for area nonprofits. The challenge was to create a repeatable, high-visibility way to help community organizations recruit volunteers, donors and advocates by connecting them with thousands of game-day attendees.

They launched the Blackbaud Nonprofit of the Match, which spotlights a different nonprofit at each home game with benefits like free tickets, on-field recognition, stadium promotional space, program ads and public service announcements. The program featured numerous local charities in 2012 and delivered measurable results—new volunteers and community connections (Operation R&R, for example, gained 25 volunteers from its night), increased visibility for partners and a partnership praised as a vital part of the Battery game-day experience.

Charleston Battery

Andrew Bell

President