Salsa Labs, a nonprofit fundraising and marketing software provider, has been acquired by Accel-KKR. The tech-focused private equity firm, with operations in Menlo Park, Calif., Atlanta, Ga., and London, UK, announced the deal on Thursday.
Financial details of the acquisition are not publicly available, according to Dan Quirk, director of marketing for Salsa Labs.
“Salsa Labs and its team have built a terrific position in the market helping nonprofits grow their organizations and deepen relationships with supporters,” said Joe Savig, principal at Accel-KKR, via a release. “We could not be more pleased to be working with the team through the next phase of their growth.”
Donna Myers, chief operating officer of Salsa Labs, will transition to the role of chief executive officer. Myers previously served as chief executive officer of DonorPro before the company merged with Salsa Labs in 2015. The 2015 merger was a consummation of months of talks, with Salsa Labs’ shareholders having a majority stake in the blended firm.
Scott Stouffer, who was installed as CEO by Salsa Lab’s previous funder, Edison Partners, will leave the company to pursue new opportunities, Quirk said.
Staffing cuts are not anticipated and, if anything, it is anticipated that Salsa Labs might add staff. The company is expected to keep both of its current operating offices in Bethesda, Md. and Wexford, Pa.
Myers, in a blog post announcing the acquisition and her new title, told customers that Salsa Labs had been actively pursuing a strategic financing partner. Accel-KKR’s backing will lead to greater, easier-to-use software products and more proactive and responsive support services.
“Nothing about this acquisition will adversely affect our users (you) or our employees (the people that serve you),” Myers wrote. “It’s business as usual. You’ll still have the same team that you’ve had in the past, but now we’ll have access to more resources to serve you even better.”
Quirk further explained that Edison Partners was not seeking to increase investment and Myers and Stouffer were active in looking for a new financial partner to continue to grow. Accel-KKR was a strong fit due to its past experience in the nonprofit software space with Abila, according to Quirk. Accel-KKR purchased Sage Nonprofit Solutions, which was later rebranded to Abila, from Sage Software in 2013. A majority stake was sold to Insight Venture Partners in 2017 and Abila was put under the umbrella of Community Brands.
Salsa Labs leadership will look to both grow the company organically with existing products and actively pursue partnerships with the new backing, according to Quirk, with enhancements possible with mergers and integrations.
“I’m sure you’ll see us being pretty active in the coming months and years,” he said.