Convio's Enhanced Advocacy Tools Empower Nonprofits to Bust Through Capitol Hill Email Glut

Cause-Driven Groups Now Can Deliver More Messages, Optimize Impact On Public Policy Issues

(Austin, Texas - November 19, 2002) Convio -- the leading provider of software and services to help nonprofits use the Internet for developing loyal and more involved supporters -- today announced release of enhanced online advocacy tools to ensure that nonprofits reach more lawmakers and other public policy decision makers with maximum impact on a timely basis.   The advocacy enhancements are contained in Convio 3.6(tm) which also includes enhancements to the other software modules comprising Convio's comprehensive product offering.   

"It is imperative that today's advocacy groups have sophisticated yet easy-to-use tools for reaching lawmakers and influential third parties via the Internet," said Vinay Bhagat, founder and CEO, Convio, Inc.  "Convio now makes it possible for organizations to more precisely target the right leaders, simplify the response process for constituents and utilize 'persistent' technologies to ensure that messages bust through the Capitol Hill email clutter and get delivered on time."

Many of the nation's most active advocacy organizations already are using Convio Advocacy, consistently influencing legislative and other public policy outcomes.  These groups include The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA, http://www.aspca.org/), The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (http://www.cbf.org/), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Citizens Against Government Waste (http://www.cagw.org/) and Planned Parenthood affiliates (http://www.pphouston.org/, http://www.ppnne.org/).  

Convio has further strengthened its already robust online advocacy product at a time when many nonprofits are stepping up their use of the Internet to communicate efficiently in near real time with legislators and other leaders on key issues.  These groups are waging massive online campaigns, mobilizing huge armies of supporters to send emails, especially to Congress.  But many messages don't get delivered on a timely basis -- if at all -- or aren't reviewed by Congressional staff unable to keep up with the barrage. 

Capitol Hill Buried In Email

According to an August 2002 report issued by the Congress Online Project, "inbound e-mail to Members of Congress continues to remain at staggering levels."  The report notes that "from 1999-2002 (projecting this year's numbers using six months of data), inbound e-mail to House Members increased 186%. The House and Senate received 117 million inbound e-mail messages in 2001. On an average day, House offices received 234,245 e-mail messages and Senate offices get 88,009."

To better manage the bombardment, more Congressional offices are no longer accepting constituent emails and instead require people to submit their comments, concerns and contact information through forms on their Web sites.  While use of Web forms does reduce spam, some activists and groups don't like this method because by taking email out of the equation, it is more difficult for non-constituents to use the Internet for reaching Representatives and Senators who do not represent them.

New Convio Advocacy Features

With the latest version of Convio Advocacy, organizations and their activists will have an even stronger set of Internet tools for getting through to a maximum number of lawmakers and/or other decision makers.  Convio has fortified its "persistence" features, which include:

• Automatic conversion of activists' emails to a format accepted by Web forms, ensuring that the content of these messages still reaches lawmakers;
  
  
• Rollover delivery of messages via fax when emails aren't successfully delivered;
  
  
• "Success" and "failure" reports so organizations know whether emails and faxes are getting through initially and on successive attempts, and whether they need to wage supplemental campaigns in coming days, weeks or months; and
  
  
• One-touch email reply capability so advocates who receive an email action alert only have to hit "reply" to take action versus clicking on a link in the email to get to an organization's Web site where he or she might have to provide a lot of information and also click through to other Web pages.

The new version of Convio Advocacy also has improved functionality for:

• Creating graphical, attention-getting, Web site "action" pages;
  
  
• Identifying and targeting appropriate legislators and non-legislative leaders by geography and/or for specific issues (e.g., the U.S. President and Vice President, CEOs of major corporations, government agency officials); and
  
  
• New graphical analysis tools, including drill-down reporting to analyze constituent responses by multiple dimensions (including geography, district, and donor status) and graphs to analyze response over time.

About Convio

Austin-based Convio is the leading online Constituent Relationship Management, or eCRM, company serving the nonprofit sector.  Convio's mission is to increase the effectiveness of how nonprofit organizations attract, engage, motivate and retain constituents to provide funding and other forms of support.  The Convio software solution consists of six product suites: Advocacy, Special Events, eFundraising, eMarketing, Content Management and the Constituent Center.  Using Convio, nonprofits can send targeted, personalized email communications; conduct fundraising, membership and advocacy campaigns; publish personalized and fresh Web content; manage registrations, RSVPs, ticket sales and other event logistics; tap volunteers and their personal networks for campaigns; track constituent interactions; connect online systems to off-line systems, e.g., donor databases; and more. The Convio platform automatically shares data among all six product suites, giving nonprofits a unified view of each constituent so staff can conduct more personalized and targeted marketing. Convio also provides services to help nonprofits adopt online marketing best practices.

Convio serves national and regional organizations in all segments of the nonprofit sector including advocacy, political campaigns, disease and disorder, education, healthcare, human services, associations, museums and other visitation facilities, and public broadcasting. In addition to The ASPCA, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, MADD, Citizens Against Government Waste and Planned Parenthood affiliates, Convio's clients include: Easter Seals, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, American Humane Association, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, National Trust For Historic Preservation and KCET (Los Angeles Public Television).  For more information, please visit www.convio.com.