Third Party Data Breach

Recently, FARA learned of a data breach at Blackbaud Inc., a third-party data service provider we use for our fundraising efforts. FARA was one of many nonprofits and schools that was impacted by this incident.

Blackbaud informed us that they discovered and stopped a ransomware attack and, with the help of independent forensics experts and law enforcement, successfully prevented the cybercriminal from locking them out of the system and taking full control of their files. However, the attackers were able to remove a backup file that contained some personally identifying information about Blackbaud's nonprofit clients' donors and prospective donors, including those of FARA. Please note that no credit card or bank account information was compromised in this breach. Click HERE to read a full description of the incident on Blackbaud’s website.

Blackbaud believes they have successfully retrieved the stolen data. Furthermore, Blackbaud has firmly expressed to us that based on the nature of the incident, the research performed by them, and information provided by third-party investigators and law enforcement, that they do not believe that any data was or will be misused; or will be disseminated or otherwise made available publicly.

Ensuring the safety of our donors’ data is of the utmost importance to FARA and we make every effort to safeguard your information. FARA’s contractual agreements have always required Blackbaud to keep our constituent information confidential and to have security procedures in place to minimize breaches. As part of their ongoing efforts to help prevent something like this from happening in the future, Blackbaud has implemented changes to further protect your data. Such measures include identifying and rectifying the vulnerability associated with this incident, and confirmation testing by multiple third parties, including the appropriate platform vendors, that the fix withstands all known attack tactics.

Although Blackbaud asserts that there is a very low risk from this breach, should you encounter any suspicious activity that you believe may be related, we recommend you promptly report it to us and to the proper law enforcement authorities. If you have any related questions or concerns, please contact us at (484) 879 6160 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..