The man who led Charleston’s yet-to-open but long-awaited International African American Museum through its fundraising process has taken a job advancing diversity at Blackbaud Inc., a software company in Charleston that added the role in the wake of protests earlier this summer advocating for racial justice.
Daniel Island-based Blackbaud announced the job for Michael B. Moore, who was president and CEO of the museum until his resignation in mid-2019, on Tuesday. Moore has been with the company since early 2020, according to an announcement, and was recently appointed as its first diversity and inclusion officer.
Maggie Driscoll, Blackbaud’s chief people officer, said in a statement the new position helps the company, which sells software for nonprofits, schools and churches, achieve its goals of furthering inclusivity.
“Like so many companies, we are continually evaluating our progress toward fulfilling that vision and evolving our approach to ensure we’re creating a culture consistent with who we are as an employer, technology leader and community steward,” Driscoll said.
Moore was a founding leader of the museum, scheduled to open to the public in 2022 on Gadsden’s Wharf in downtown Charleston. He resigned a few months before the museum broke ground. At the time of his resignation in mid-2019, Moore said he always planned to see the museum through its fundraising and planning missions. He also indicated he planned to return to the private sector.
Though he spent roughly three years at the museum, Moore’s background prior to the philanthropic effort to fund the new institution is in private industry. He worked for companies including Coca-Cola, Glory Foods and Kraft.
Bernard Powers, a College of Charleston professor and founder of its Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston, is serving as the museum’s interim chief executive.
Blackbaud and the International African American Museum were already connected; the software company donated $1 million to the fundraising campaign, which at the time was the largest donation Blackbaud had ever made. The $1 million was earmarked for the Center for Family History, an archive that researches the genealogy of African Americans.
Michael Gianoni, CEO of Blackbaud, has also been serving on the museum’s board of directors since 2016.
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