Why K–12 Professionals Should Attend bbcon This Year
Mark your calendars! bbcon is coming to Philadelphia October 6–8! From admissions directors to technologists, business officers to advancement experts, this event brings together K–12 peers eager to exchange ideas, elevate practices, and connect with colleagues from schools across North America.
We’re combining the deep-dive “how-to” sessions of Blackbaud’s legendary K–12 User Conference (returning in 2026!) with global thought leadership to offer insights into education, fundraising, technology, and more. Some topics we’ll explore include:
- AI is Hot, Lawsuits Are Not
- Embracing the Next Generation Workforce
- Navigating Financial Uncertainty
The 2025 bbcon agenda is packed with solutions tailored to K–12 needs, offering tools to streamline operations and enhance student success. Discover actionable strategies built for your school’s unique challenges. Here are just a few reasons you and your teammates should be there.
What Can Admissions/Enrollment Professionals Expect?
For admissions and enrollment professionals, bbcon offers unparalleled opportunities to refine your strategies and prepare for the next enrollment season. Not only will you delve deeper into the tools and capabilities within Blackbaud software, but you’ll also get to learn from peers in sessions like these:
Reporting and Advanced Lists for Admissions
Zach Limoges, Punahou School
If you’ve ever struggled with which kinds of lists to use for different queries or communications—or how to get that particular field or filter in Advanced lists—please join us for some hands-on list building that you will be able to take away with you. Explained by a non-techie person for non-techie people.
Leveraging Blackbaud for Exceptional Customer Experiences and Enhanced Team Efficiency
Ann Marie Simonetti, The New Century School
In the highly competitive world of Admissions, delivering exceptional customer experiences is essential to stand out from the competition. This interactive session focuses on the powerful features of Admissions Scheduling, illustrated through real-world examples and hands-on demonstrations. Participants will gain practical insights, best practices, and actionable strategies to enhance team collaboration and elevate the customer experience.
How Does bbcon Support Student Success?
Education is about students, and Blackbaud has tools to support student success. From the assignment center and learning profiles to attendance, grades, and resources, we’ve got you covered. At bbcon, these schools explore deeper ways to use our software.
Master Mastery Learning with Brooklyn Friends School
Jaime Lassman, Brooklyn Friends School, and Mike Morrissette, Blackbaud
Learn how the folks at Brooklyn Friends School began their journey to using Mastery to assess student growth and provide quality feedback to students. They will delve into what inspired the change and the role of technology in their transition, implementation, and future planning. We’ll also explore the evolution of the Blackbaud Mastery module over the years and future enhancements.
Dynamic Communication via Blackbaud Education Management
Mary Mulvehill and Patrick Mulvehill, Hebron Christian Academy
This course will empower you to create visually engaging and effective communications using Blackbaud’s education management solutions. Participants will learn how to leverage the power of HTML coding—without knowing how to code—and create impactful announcements and push pages. We’ll explore how to leverage the power announcements and push pages to enhance the presentation of information and improve audience engagement. The course will also introduce user-friendly tools like BeePro and Canva to help simplify the design process and enable you to easily create professional-looking communications without extensive coding knowledge. By the end of this course, you will be able to design and publish dynamic communications that capture attention and deliver your message effectively.
Follow a Student’s Journey from Inquiry to Graduation at Ashley Hall
Betsy Sidebottom, Ashley Hall
Walk through a student’s journey at Ashley Hall—starting with that first inquiry form submitted by parents when their child is just two years old, all the way through to her senior year and graduation. We’ll cover everything from the admissions checklist and student billing to class pages, schedules, and how every milestone is captured. We’ll also dive into the Student Information System, covering important administrative features and how advanced lists have become essential for organizing and managing data efficiently. We’ll explain how the platform is designed to serve and support schools and highlight key integrations that boost efficiency in your processes.
What’s in it for Finance and Financial Aid Teams?
Financial aid and business officers will find bbcon 2025 to be a valuable resource for tackling some of the most pressing challenges in K–12 education. Gain insights into emerging financial aid trends, discover strategies to optimize tuition and billing processes, and explore tools that streamline operational efficiency. Here are just two examples:
Financial Aid Trend Tracking: Key Findings from the 2025–26 Season to Steer Next Year’s Strategy
Alisa Evans, Mission Enrollment Strategy Solutions, and Aaron Wachholz, Blackbaud
Do you feel equipped to navigate the shifting landscape of financial aid with confidence? This session will be your financial aid GPS, guiding you through this season’s trends from three vantage points—family applications, school protocols, and FA assessment settings. We’ll chart common themes that emerged from family applications and explore how schools are recalibrating their protocols and deadlines. Join us for a full picture of this season to help you forecast and set coordinates for a successful 2026-2027 financial aid season.
K–12 IT-Finance Fusion: The Next Frontier (Show Your Business Office Some Love!)
Jenn Haley, Blackbaud
Were your tuition and accounting systems developed with independent schools in mind? Or does it seem like they were built by software engineers with no input from people with real-world school accounting experience? Your school’s long-term financial sustainability relies on your business office, admissions, and IT operations. When poorly designed software or unreliable integrations disrupt workflows and the flow of information, your bottom line suffers. Join us in this session to discover how a fully functioning general ledger and tuition subledger can streamline processes, empower your staff, and protect your school.
School IT and Operations Professionals Thrive at bbcon
One of the highlights of bbcon 2025 is the opportunity to learn directly from schools that are at the forefront of innovation in education. These institutions represent a wide range of experiences and approaches, providing valuable insights into best practices that can be applied to your own school.
Proactive Implementation: An All-School Approach
Jacob Glickman, Jessica Parker, and Brett Scaglione, NSU University School
As a school operations leader, there are key concepts to consider before implementing new software at your school. How do you set your team up for success? What are the change management and project management considerations to prepare and make the most of your team’s valuable time? Join Jacob Glickman, Jessica Parker and Dr. Brett Scaglione to learn how NSU University School took a proactive approach to their software implementation with Blackbaud.
Automating Raiser’s Edge NXT Query and Advanced List Data Feeds to PowerBI via SKY API
Nicholas Marchese, Emma Willard School/Collar City Consulting, and Matt Clemmens, Clemmens Consulting
In this session, Nick and Matt will explore the automated tools they use to feed data from Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, and Blackbaud’s education management solutions to Microsoft’s PowerBI data visualization software. They will demonstrate how to build queries in Raiser’s Edge NXT and schedule hourly exports to Google Sheets while automating Advanced List data feeds from the education management suite to Google Sheets, too. They will then demonstrate how to feed this data to Microsoft’s PowerBI suite to build reporting dashboards that leverage data from all of the above Blackbaud software via SKY API. Finally, they will review the ways to publish these auto-refreshing reporting tools to the online PowerBI portal for distribution to members of the school community.
Fundraiser Learning Opportunities at bbcon
There’s no better place than bbcon for your advancement team to learn from other successful fundraisers! These peers will share strategies and tools they use to help keep their schools financially sustainable.
Leveraging Technology for Smarter Prospect Research and Donor Outreach
Kyle Abraham, Westminster School, and Kevin Brunson, Omatic Software
Successful fundraising starts with knowing your supporters, but scattered data and outdated tools can slow you down. Learn how Avon Old Farms School accelerated donor research and outreach by using technology to bring student, alumni, and donor data together. You’ll leave with practical tips to scale and streamline the way you manage data, identify top prospects more easily, and connect with donors in a more meaningful way—without adding extra work for your team.
Matching Magic: How Gonzaga College High School Maximizes Matching Gift Donations
Brittany Mack and Marshall Marks, Gonzaga College High School
This session will be a case study on how Gonzaga College High School was able to increase their Matching Gifts by over 300% from 2023 to 2024 and continues the momentum. By using Raiser’s Edge NXT, Double the Donation, dedicated personnel, and organized processes Gonzaga can maximize donors’ ability to execute Matching Gifts year over year.
Conclusion
At bbcon 2025, you’ll have the chance to connect with hundreds of professionals in the education sector. Blackbaud’s conference is a hub for networking, providing you with countless opportunities to exchange ideas, share experiences, and build lasting relationships with peers who understand the challenges and opportunities unique to K–12 education.
bbcon is more than a conference—it’s an investment in your school’s future. Don’t miss this chance to grow, collaborate, and lead your school to new heights. Register today and secure your spot at bbcon 2025—bbcon attendees get an automatic discount on Blackbaud’s 2026 K–12 User Conference! Together, let’s shape the future of K-12 education!
