Image by Flickr user Aidan Jones

Blackbaud, Inc., the leading global provider of nonprofit software and services, announced today that it is partnering with the Charleston Battery professional soccer team to incorporate a different philanthropic theme to every home match.

Here's what we know from the press release sent out this afternoon:

Blackbaud and the Charleston Battery will bring the company’s mission of “making the world a better place” to life at 13 home matches by featuring a nonprofit-of-the-match, raising awareness for a local nonprofit organization. With philanthropic focus areas including the environment, education, and families in need, Blackbaud and the Charleston Battery will work together to make each home game a special “giving back” event.

“Blackbaud is well known both locally and within the nonprofit community; it’s an organization that knows nonprofits,” said Andrew Bell, president of the Charleston Battery. “Our season starts with the first home game on March 13, and we are looking forward to leveraging the expertise Blackbaud has with the nonprofit industry and bringing a sense of philanthropy to our community.”

The Charleston Battery has an 18-year history of community involvement with initiatives such as Kicks for Kids, a program that provides complimentary game tickets to youth in the tri-county area. The Battery players and staff are regular visitors at area schools, organizations and soccer clubs throughout the year and Blackbaud Stadium is a focal point within the community for fundraising events.

The Charleston Battery is also committed to spreading the word about the preservation of the environment. In the past three years, the soccer facility has undergone a “‘green” retrofit, a process that included the installation of an 11-kilowatt solar array at the scoreboard end of Blackbaud Stadium.

“The Charleston Battery shares our commitment to giving back to the community,” said Rachel Hutchisson, Blackbaud’s director of corporate relations and philanthropy. “The goal of the program and our partnership is to increase awareness within the Charleston community of the important work nonprofits do and to help remove the barriers that often exist between a citizen’s desire to give back and the knowledge of how to do so.”

There is much more information on Blackbaud’s philanthropy efforts as well as the Charleston Battery at your fingertips.