The ALS Association Partners With Convio to Increase Awareness of Mission and Participation in Organization's Largest Annual Fundraising EventNearly Half of 2004 Walks to D’Feet ALSŪ Use Convio’s Market-Leading Online Tools to Power Online Registration and Fundraising in Cities NationwideAUSTIN, TEXAS (Sept. 16, 2004) — The ALS Association (ALSA) the only nonprofit voluntary health organization dedicated solely to the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease is partnering with Convio to more effectively leverage the Internet for the group’s largest annual fundraising event series, the Walk to D’Feet ALS (http://www.walk4als.org/). Nearly half of ALSA’s 40 chapters now are using Convio’s market-leading online tools for their 2004 walks to recruit participants and empower them to recruit friends and relatives to also walk, donate and get involved with the organization. Convio is the leading provider of software and services that help nonprofits use the Internet for developing strong constituent relationships to drive fundraising, marketing, advocacy and other forms of support. The mission of The ALS Association is to find a cure for and improve living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The organization covers all the bases research, patient and community services, public education, and advocacy in providing help and hope to those facing this progressive neurodegenerative disease. The 2004 Walks to D’Feet ALS are underway now through October in U.S. cities. In addition to this signature fundraiser, some ALSA chapters conduct up to 20 additional walks, so they will have more opportunities to use Convio tools for online registration and volunteer fundraising. “Although our chapters have been successful with offline tactics, we can significantly raise awareness and funds and also attract new supporters by adding online tools to our marketing mix,” said Pat Freiberg, director of the Walk for The ALS Association. “We’ve already seen certain teams that have done well in years past with offline fundraising ‘go gangbusters’ because of being able to fundraise online. Next year, we expect even more chapters to choose Convio. This technology translates directly to raising more money for research and patient services for the ALS community.” The ALS Association chapters are using Convio TeamRaiser™ Center, Convio’s offering for volunteer fundraising. TeamRaiser is a complete online software solution that enables an organization to tap into the personal networks of its strongest supporters and mobilize volunteers over the Internet. TeamRaiser enables supporters to easily create personal Web pages, explain why they are involved with a cause and organization, and then send emails to friends and relatives, asking them to visit these pages to register for an event and/or donate. TeamRaiser automatically acknowledges donations with real-time, on-screen confirmation messages and IRS-compliant email receipts. Additionally, when logged in to personal Web pages, a volunteer fundraiser can monitor his or her fundraising progress and then send personalized emails to thank registrants and re-solicit potential recruits who have not yet responded. (For more information on Convio TeamRaiser Center, please visit www.convio.com/teamraiser). “Since each ALSA chapter is responsible for reviewing technology platforms and determining what makes the most sense for them, it is a real testament to the usability and functionality of Convio software for half of all chapters to choose Convio,” said Gene Austin, CEO, Convio, Inc. “We hope to continue to enable additional affiliates to more fully leverage the power of the Internet through use of today's most advanced online tools.” About The ALS Association The ALS Association is the only national nonprofit voluntary health organization whose sole mission is to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) as well as improve living with ALS. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Approximately 300,000 Americans have ALS. For more information on the 2004 Walks to D’Feet ALS, call The ALS Association toll free at 888-WALK-ALS or visit http://www.walk4als.org/. About Convio, Inc. Convio is the leading provider of software and services that help nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions use the Internet to build strong constituent relationships to drive support and participation. Convio has online solutions for fundraising and membership, advocacy, special events, volunteer fundraising, Web site management and email communications. All solutions include the Constituent360™ platform, a sophisticated, online marketing database that centralizes constituent data and integrates with offline databases. This gives organizations a unified view of constituent interests and motivations -- key for personalized and targeted outreach and communications. Convio also provides services and consulting to help organizations achieve success online. Convio's clients include the American Diabetes Association, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, AVON Foundation, Brady Campaign United with the Million Mom March, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Chicago Public Radio, Easter Seals, Farm Aid, Georgetown University, KCET Community Television of Southern California, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, National Trust For Historic Preservation, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization. For more information, please visit www.convio.com. Whitney Wood Otstott |
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