From 135 Applications to a Global Stage: Celebrating Blackbaud’s First Social Good Startup Program Cohort in India
How Indian startups and Blackbaud teams came together to address real-world challenges for the social impact sector
Ideas that solve real-world challenges deserve an ecosystem that helps them scale.
That belief shaped the first India edition of Blackbaud’s Social Good Startup Program (SGSP), a focused 12-week experience that connected high-potential Indian startups with Blackbaud product and engineering expertise.
Delivered in collaboration with T-Hub, SGSP India 2026 brought Blackbaud’s established startup-engagement model to India for the first time. But this was not a direct replication of the broader US-based program. The India edition was intentionally designed as an accelerated, challenge-led experience: startups began with defined product challenges, collaborated with dedicated Blackbaud teams and worked toward integrations and final pitches within 12 weeks.
An Enthusiastic Response from India’s Startup Ecosystem
Interest in the program was strong from the outset:
- 135 startups applied
- 15 were invited to pitch
- Eight were selected
- Seven completed the program and presented final solutions
- Five were recognized as winners or runners-up
The selected cohort worked across four areas: education, financial management, fintech and fundraising. Participating startups received mentorship, technical access, structured reviews and opportunities to collaborate directly with Blackbaud engineers, product managers and business leaders.
“Our first SGSP program in India reflected both the depth and diversity of the country’s startup ecosystem, bringing together first-time entrepreneurs and seasoned operators,” said Lakshmi Ponnaluri, SGSP India 2026 program lead. “By adapting the global framework into an intensive 12-week experience, defining real product challenges upfront and embedding dedicated technical support, we helped startups move faster while creating valuable learning opportunities for Blackbaud teams in India and globally.”
Meet the Recognized Startups
The recognized startups reflected the range of challenges addressed through the India edition, spanning payment and collections experiences, financial workflows, AI-enabled compliance and digital security. Three startups were selected as winners:
- CredResolve: An AI-native collections infrastructure platform helping organizations improve efficiency, streamline recovery processes and make more informed decisions through intelligent automation. Through SGSP India, its work focused on educational payment revenue acceleration.
- CogniSwitch: An AI compliance infrastructure platform that helps turn unstructured enterprise knowledge into traceable, audit-ready intelligence for regulated workflows. Its program work focused on investment pool accounting for foundations.
- VyaptIX: An AI-powered payments integration platform that helps developers build, test and deploy secure, scalable payment integrations across multiple providers. Its program work focused on accelerating payment integrations for developers.
Aczen and DOMDOG were recognized as runners-up for the strength of their integrations. Aczen brought AI-powered financial operations and compliance capabilities, while DOMDOG brought page-level security and privacy solutions designed to protect modern donation and payment experiences.
For the recognized startups, the support did not end with the final pitch. The winning prize combined a cash reward to support their continued development with an opportunity for select startups to attend Blackbaud’s annual customer conference, bbcon 2026, to showcase their solutions and connect with Blackbaud leaders and the wider social impact technology ecosystem.
StaTwig and ZEN PY Technologies also completed the program, bringing solutions spanning digital public infrastructure, transparency, education and future-ready digital skills.
Across the 12 weeks, dedicated Blackbaud engineers, solution architects, and product managers supported the startups through reviews, demonstrations and integration work across all four program pillars.
“What stood out to me about the India pilot was how quickly the startups turned real product challenges into working integrations,” said Lizzie Schaffer, Product Manager, Social Good Startup Program, Blackbaud. “Their creativity and collaborative spirit made this a valuable exchange—giving startups a chance to put their capabilities to work and helping us see fresh possibilities for the Blackbaud ecosystem.”
Taking SGSP India to bbcon 2026
Winners CogniSwitch and VyaptIX, along with runner-up DOMDOG, travelled to Columbus, Ohio, to participate in the Innovation Hub at bbcon 2026. The startups showcased their solutions at the Social Good Startup Program booth, presented to focused groups, and connected with Blackbaud product leaders and members of the wider social impact technology ecosystem.
Their participation brought the first SGSP India cohort’s work onto a global stage, extending the journey from a focused India program into opportunities for wider visibility, connections and continued enablement.
Building on the First India Edition
SGSP India 2026 demonstrated how a focused, challenge-led model can create value in both directions. Startups gained access to experienced product and engineering teams, technical support and global visibility. Blackbaud teams gained working integrations, product insights and a closer view of the technologies and operating models emerging from India.
Just as importantly, the experience showed the role Blackbaud India can play in connecting India’s startup ecosystem with a global social impact technology organization. That connection creates pathways for promising startups to engage beyond the local market, while bringing informed perspectives on India’s innovation landscape into Blackbaud’s global teams.
As we celebrate the inaugural India cohort, we are carrying forward a clear lesson: when real challenges are matched with the right expertise, access and entrepreneurial thinking, innovation can move further and faster.