Case Study: Headwaters Foundation for Justice achieves $4M in rapid-response fundraising with Blackbaud integrated solutions

How Headwaters Foundation for Justice could confidently implement two rapid response funds raising $4 million

Headwaters Foundation for Justice is a Minnesota-based grantmaker that uses community-led philanthropy to advance equity and justice, funding BIPOC-led organizations and training community cohorts to lead grant decisions. As the foundation grew, staff needed integrated, cloud-based systems to eliminate duplicate processes, improve reporting, and scale quickly—capabilities they realized were essential when back-to-back crises in 2020 required rapid, large-scale fundraising and grantmaking.

By consolidating on Blackbaud’s cloud solutions (Raiser’s Edge NXT, Financial Edge NXT, Grantmaking, and Merchant Services), Headwaters streamlined workflows with intuitive dashboards, eliminated redundant data entry, cut external accounting fees by about 40%, and saved up to roughly 14 staff hours a month. Those efficiencies enabled the foundation to launch two rapid-response funds during COVID-19 and the George Floyd aftermath, raising over $4 million and delivering timely support to community partners.

Headwaters Foundation for Justice

Julie Remmelts

Vice President of Operations