CHARLESTON, S.C., March 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, on International Women's Day, Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, is pleased to announce that the company will again host an emerging businesswoman mentee as a part of this year's Global Women's Mentoring Partnership program facilitated by the U.S. State Department and Fortune. Blackbaud welcomes Vuyiswa Mutshekwane, CEO of the South African Institute of Black Party Practitioners (SAIBPP) in Johannesburg, South Africa, for two weeks of on-site mentoring with its executive leaders.
The Fortune - U.S. Department of State Global Women's Mentoring Partnership connects talented, emerging businesswomen from all over the world with top American female executives. With the goal of providing the international women with the skills and experience to support growth and prosperity in their countries, the program begins in Washington, D.C., where they meet with senior women in government, business, and the nonprofit sector. Their two-week onsite professional mentorships give them the opportunity to learn about building a business and critical leadership skills, and cultivate a valuable network of global professionals.
"We're proud to participate in this program again to empower and support emerging leaders from around the world, advancing the status of women in business," said Mike Gianoni, Blackbaud president and CEO. "I am proud of the great work our female leaders take on in their communities, sharing their expertise and wisdom with many important causes, such as the Global Women's Mentoring Partnership program. We hope to provide Vuyiswa the tools she needs and access to networks for strengthening her business and home community after the program concludes."
Each program participant is assigned a female executive mentor to help the mentee develop skills, network with international leaders, share best practices, and more. Mutshekwane will be paired up with mentor Amy Lucia, who is Blackbaud's vice president of Corporate Marketing and a former nonprofit CMO. During her two-week visit, Mutshekwane will meet with Blackbaud executives, partner with Blackbaud innovation teams and meet prominent leaders in Charleston's robust business community on topics including: business planning and strategy, leadership development, marketing and branding, and more.
"Many of Blackbaud's customers are deeply involved in issues impacting women around the world and it's imperative, now more than ever, that women everywhere are given access to platforms that enable them to develop their leadership capabilities and to take active roles in shaping society," said Lucia. "Vuyiswa has built an impressive organization with great potential to scale. As someone who has personally benefited from great mentors and development opportunities throughout my career, I look forward to partnering with Vuyiswa to strengthen her networks and create experiential learning opportunities that will help take SAIBPP and those it empowers to new levels of impact."
SAIBPP is a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to address the under representation of previously marginalized groups including people of color, women and youth in the property industry and related value-chain. The organization is tasked with creating, running and facilitating programs with a core focus on education, small and medium size enterprise development, skills development, and advocacy in the property sector and built environment. SAIBPP currently has 926 members comprised of corporate members, individuals and state-owned entities / government departments.
"I want to thank Fortune and the U.S. State Department for selecting me to participate in this special mentorship program," said Mutshekwane. "Through this program and Blackbaud's mentorship, I'll be able to collaborate with innovative, purpose-driven leaders to help amplify the work we are currently doing, and most importantly, contribute positively to the future of Africa."
For more information about Blackbaud, visit www.blackbaud.com.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world's leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, foundations, corporations, education institutions, healthcare institutions and individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and empowers organizations to increase their impact through software, services, expertise, and data intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility, school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing, and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.
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