July/Aug 2005

Convio's Latest Software Offers an Innovative Approach to Ecommerce for Nonprofits

Ecommerce is not just for large for-profit businesses anymore. For nonprofit organizations, ecommerce is a new strategy for using all of the valuable aspects of an online store, and extending it to enhance fundraising, publicize events, sell goods and services, and build enduring relationships with a committed constituent base. It expands organizations' reach to a wider audience and generates new support so organizations can better serve their mission.

Convio eCommerce helps organizations take advantage of ecommerce strategies by combining a familiar online store with Internet tools that help drive support. For organizations that sell merchandise, it delivers all of the tools an organization needs to sell merchandise online.

It also delivers much more. Convio eCommerce includes tools for encouraging shoppers to get involved with organizations in other ways, collecting information about them, using that information to communicate relevant information to them, and encouraging ongoing support.

Creating an Online Store

Convio eCommerce includes the capabilities of a traditional online store for selling anything from physical products such as T-shirts, to virtual fundraising products such as sponsorships:

Catalog of products
Browsing, sorting and searching
Shopping cart and checkout
Shipping calculation
Member pricing and/or other special pricing

Cross-promoting to Boost Fundraising and Other Involvement

With Convio eCommerce, organizations can relate online store products to other items or campaigns to move constituents to a higher level of giving, or to get them involved in other ways. For example, a museum could configure its online store to ask a constituent who is buying a $15 individual membership if he or she would like to upgrade to a "family" membership for just $10 more.

Creating Virtual Fundraising Products

Organizations can use Convio eCommerce for compelling fundraising campaigns that give constituents a strong sense of how their donations will be used. For example, a zoo that sends quarterly email and postal appeals could turn that campaign into several compelling online store products. The store could "sell" heads of lettuce for the hippopotamus, bananas for the monkeys and seeds for the birds. A constituent could then "buy" 10 heads of lettuce for the hippopotamus — providing the zoo with much-needed funds and giving the constituent a more fun, interesting online experience.

Building Constituent Profiles

Organizations can flag interests in a constituent's online profile based on purchases he or she makes, and then use that information to promote other opportunities to support your organization. An example: A wildlife preservation organization could use profile information to send an email to constituents that have an interest in "wolves" — which may include people who have purchased "save the wolves" T-shirts — encouraging them to donate to the "save the wolves" fund.

Getting a Complete View of Constituents

Convio eCommerce includes Constituent360™, the online database included with Convio software solutions. It houses information from online interactions with constituents, and synchronizes with offline databases, giving organizations a complete view of their constituents.

Find out more about Convio eCommerce.

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