BETHESDA, Md., July 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attentive.ly, a software provider that allows organizations to conduct social listening, identify key influencers and drive engagement, today announced it has been acquired by Blackbaud (BLKB), the leading provider of software and services for the global philanthropic community.

Attentive.ly, a Blackbaud partner which was co-founded by CEO Rosalyn Lemieux and Cheryl Contee, has been operating in the nonprofit sector since 2012 and is one of two successful business ventures created and led by the two female executives. The company is widely known for its advanced capabilities that help nonprofits turn supporters into vocal advocates.

"We couldn’t be more thrilled about the opportunity this acquisition creates for Attentive.ly to further fuel the rapid innovation already taking place within Blackbaud,” said Lemieux. “We’ll be able to put powerful social engagement and advocacy tools into the hands of more nonprofits—faster and with increased value—which will translate to bigger outcomes across the entire social good movement. And for our existing customers, they now join Blackbaud’s ecosystem of good, which means exposure to leading software, services, expertise, data intelligence and more.”

The social media engagement platform already integrates with Blackbaud’s digital marketing solution, Luminate Online™, which has proven beneficial for the two companies’ many shared customers. Blackbaud plans to more deeply integrate Attentive.ly’s capabilities into the next generation version of Luminate Online and intends to pursue other opportunities to leverage functionality across its broader portfolio over time. Once deeply integrated, Attentive.ly will activate an advanced level of social listening for Blackbaud customers; helping them organically grow campaigns while providing a new level of service and community to supporters. Blackbaud will continue to support current Attentive.ly customers who are using the platform as a stand-alone product, and will also continue to support current third-party integrations.

“The acquisition of Attentive.ly will dramatically accelerate Blackbaud’s ability to integrate critical social media capabilities into our portfolio of solutions while putting new innovation in the hands of customers,” said Blackbaud President and CEO Mike Gianoni. “This addition complements our vision to offer customers even more effective engagement pathways with their supporters through strategic social, mobile and other digital campaigns.”

Lemieux, along with the company’s 10 employees will join Blackbaud effective immediately, reporting up through Kevin McDearis’ Research, Delivery and Operations Group. Contee will serve as strategic adviser to Blackbaud as she continues to lead consulting firm, Fission Strategy.

“Blackbaud has been on an exciting journey to bring customers rapid innovation in the cloud, as evidenced by the thousands of new capabilities we’ve introduced to the market this year alone,” said Kevin McDearis, executive vice president of Research, Delivery and Operations at Blackbaud. “We’re committed to exposing our customers to the best tools available in the market, and sometimes that means rather than inventing or partnering, we seek to more closely align ourselves with providers who have extensive expertise, proven products and deeply satisfied customers. Attentive.ly is one such example because an acquisition allows us to better integrate a market-leading leading platform for social listening and engagement into our portfolio now, while giving us a strong foundation to build on as we continue to push the envelope of innovation for the entire philanthropic community.”

Contee added: “Today is a great day for Attentive.ly customers, for Luminate Online customers, and for the entire nonprofit community. I look forward to continued collaboration with Blackbaud as we join forces to help mission-driven organizations embrace digital marketing with excellence. And, most importantly, I want to thank our Attentive.ly customers for their ongoing support, and for helping build a well-networked community that has already, without question, broadened the impact of social good.”

The acquisition of Attentive.ly allows Blackbaud to offer customers:

• Plug and play cloud tools to enable social listening by finding relevant conversations already happening on social channels
• Improved engagement and conversion with actionable social behavior data integrated into Luminate Online
• An enriched supporter experience with greater cross-channel engagement and connectivity
• Social influencer engagement to amplify their cause, including advocacy, fundraising and awareness-building campaigns

This acquisition also brings expanded advocacy capabilities to Blackbaud customers, specifically in the cause and cure space. Attentive.ly’s capabilities will help nonprofits use grassroots social marketing to turn influencers into advocates, raise awareness, and shape broader conversations around issues, bringing about change in legislation at the local, state and federal levels of government.

Attentive.ly is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, with operations around the globe. For more information, visit www.Blackbaud.com/Better-Together.

About Blackbaud
Serving the worldwide philanthropic community for 35 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) combines innovative software, services, and expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works in over 60 countries to power the passion of approximately 35,000 customers, including nonprofits, K-12 private and higher education institutions, healthcare organizations, corporations, foundations, and other charitable giving entities. The company offers a full spectrum of cloud and on-premise solutions, as well as a resource network that empowers and connects organizations of all sizes. Blackbaud's portfolio of software and services supports nonprofit fundraising and relationship management, digital marketing,advocacy, accounting, payments and analytics, as well as grant management, corporate social responsibility, and education. Organizations that use Blackbaud technology raise, invest, manage, and award more than $100 billion each year. Recognized as a top company, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.

About Attentive.ly

Attentive.ly drives engagement with your campaigns by turning quiet supporters into vocal advocates. Our plug-and-play solution enriches CRMs with actionable social behavior data for radically improved response. We power influencer engagement, fundraising, and advocacy campaigns. We have worked with brands across the non-profit, commercial and political space helping them understand their supporters and boost engagement. For more information, visit www.attentive.ly.