Convio Tributes Lets Nonprofits Put a Face On Their Mission to Drive New Sources of Online Fundraising

Nonprofits Now Can Give Constituents Tools to Build Tribute or Memorial Web Sites, Raise Money and Awareness for Organization

AUSTIN, TEXAS (October 5, 2005) Convio, Inc. the leading provider of software and services to help nonprofits use the Internet for driving support today announced release of Convio Tributes, the latest in the company’s family of constituent-led fundraising solutions that let an organization effectively leverage supporters and take Internet fundraising to a new level.

With Convio Tributes, a nonprofit can provide constituents with online tools to quickly and easily create their own highly personalized Web sites for fundraising in honor or memory of a friend or relative.  Supporters also can use their Web pages to help recruit new constituents and put a personal face on the nonprofit’s mission.  Although many nonprofits provide such tools to people participating in events such as walks and races, Convio Tributes lets supporters raise money, generate awareness and recruit others on an ongoing basis, independent of a special event.

How Convio Tributes Works

A constituent can use Convio Tributes tools to post his or her story, including photographs, about a loved one and then send emails asking relatives and friends to visit the site, make a donation, tell others about the cause and get involved themselves.  A supporter could create a tribute site honoring, for example:

• A loved one who is battling or has died from breast cancer, with funds going to a breast cancer research organization;
• An outstanding community teacher, with donations earmarked for a local literacy program; and
• A grandmother whose lifelong passion has been or was promoting animal welfare, with contributions designated for a humane group.

Or a person who does volunteer work, e.g., at a homeless shelter, could create a Web site describing how his experiences have touched him and encouraging friends and relatives to donate to the organization.

"At Children's Neurobiological Solutions, we've always been in search of a more effective way to put a face to the estimated 14 million children in our country affected by neurobiological disorders," said Fia Richmond, President, Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation. "Convio Tributes enables us to do this. Now we'll have an easy way to increase awareness and funding for research on this epidemic by putting the power of online fundraising and communications directly into the hands of our constituents and allowing them to tell their personal stories to a broader audience."

Significant Benefits for Nonprofits

Convio Tributes provides significant benefits to nonprofits.  An organization using this product can: 

• Establish and drive new sources of ongoing funding by encouraging constituents to use their Web sites in a variety of ways. For example, an organization can offer constituents the option to set up a tribute site for donations in lieu of flowers when a relative dies.  That same site can be set up to solicit and accept subsequent donations on the anniversary of the relative’s death or birthday, etc. 
• Convey its mission more effectively.  Stories and photos from constituents affected by an issue are a very powerful way to explain what a group does and why it matters.  Someone who visits a Web site of, for example, an anti-drug group is likely to be more motivated by seeing 100 memorial sites created by victims of drug abuse than by reading the group’s mission statement alone.
• Get constituents more involved.  By providing an outlet to constituents so they can tell others about their personal experiences and why the organization’s mission matters to them, a nonprofit further involves those constituents, fostering greater participation and support.
• Attract new constituents. Giving existing constituents email tools to promote their tribute sites to friends and relatives helps attract new constituents.  Constituent prospects are more likely to respond positively to an appeal for a donation or participation in other ways if the request comes from people they know and trust versus from an executive at an organization with whom they have never had contact.  

“Constituents affected by a particular issue typically are passionate about supporting a nonprofit’s mission and want to do more than write a check.” said Gene Austin, Convio CEO. “They want to drive more support for the organization, and get more people involved. Convio Tributes takes advantage of the Internet to make this possible for the first time.”

About Convio

Convio is the leading provider of software and services to help nonprofits use the Internet strategically to build strong relationships with constituents for driving fundraising, advocacy and other forms of support. Convio has online solutions for fundraising, advocacy, Web content management, event fundraising, ecommerce and email communications. All solutions include the Constituent360™ platform, a sophisticated, online marketing database that centralizes constituent data and integrates with offline databases.

In addition to Children's Neurobiological Solutions, Convio's customers include American Red Cross, American Diabetes Association, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Easter Seals, Feed the Children, Georgetown University, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, National Trust For Historic Preservation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and Thirteen/WNET New York. For more information, please visit www.convio.com.

Press contact:
Thomas Aitchison
Corporate Communications Manager
Convio, Inc.
taitchison@convio.com
512.652.2632