Blackbaud named among 200 best small companies in America

Blackbaud, the Charleston-based firm that designs software for nonprofit organizations, is ranked No. 73 in Forbes magazine’s list of America’s 200 Best Small Companies for 2008.

The list includes companies with sales between $5 million and $750 million and a stock price of $5 as of Sept. 29, according to the magazine. The ranking is based on return on equity, sales growth and profit growth over the past 12 months and also over five years. Another factor is a company’s stock performance as compared with that of its industry peers.

This is the third consecutive year that Blackbaud has made the list. Blackbaud was ranked No. 21 in Forbes’ 2007 list of America’s 200 Best Small Companies.

Of the companies in the magazine’s 2007 list, 83 did not make the cut this year. Nineteen grew too large, and eight fell of the listing because they were acquired. Thirty-seven companies appeared on the list for the first time this year.

Blackbaud announced today that it will report its third-quarter financial results after the U.S. financial markets close on Nov. 3.