Texas Dental Association Selects Convio to Expand Online Advocacy, Recruitment and Event Promotion

Nation's Third Largest State Dental Association Deploys Sophisticated, Easy to Use, Internet-Based Tools in Support of Its Mission

(Austin, TX, October 29, 2001) The Texas Dental Association (TDA) - one of the nation's leading state dental associations affiliated with the American Dental Association -- has selected Convio to better utilize cyberspace for influencing public policy, recruiting member dentists, promoting continuing education, managing events and fundraising.

Convio is the leading provider of Internet software that enables member-supported organizations to build and sustain strong relationships with constituents, which is vital to the success of associations and other nonprofits. With more than 7,700 members and 20 councils and committees, TDA is the primary resource for Texas dentists to participate in organized dentistry, advocate public policy issues and fulfill continuing education requirements. Convio's integrated software suite empowers TDA to conduct these and other mission-critical activities with greater efficiency and impact through the online medium.

"To help promote organized dentistry, we must incorporate the Internet more fully into virtually all aspects of our interactions with members," said Dr. Larry W. Spradley, TDA president. "Convio makes it easy to use the Internet to provide relevant information about policy issues on an almost real-time basis and to promote continuing education opportunities to our members. Our staff can manage Web content, wage advocacy campaigns, communicate through personalized emails, accept secure online dues payments and manage large events online, all without prior extensive technical training."

Featuring eight modules, Convio is the only completely integrated software solution specifically created for nonprofits and membership organizations to support marketing, fundraising and constituent loyalty. Delivered over the Internet, organizations use Convio to: easily publish and update Web site content; provide constituents with personalized and relevant Web pages and email; accept secure online financial transactions; manage events and ticket sales; wage advocacy campaigns on close to a real-time basis; and synchronize information collected online - about donors, members and other supporters - with offline databases.

"Like most associations, the TDA faces significant, ongoing needs to communicate with and engage members on a timely basis regarding policy issues, education, professional practices and recruitment, especially recruitment now of younger dentists," said Vinay Bhagat, Convio's founder and CEO. "The association also provides important information to the consumer public. Convio's functionality definitely will help the association attract, engage and retain all segments of its constituent base."

The new TDA site includes a section for the general public as well as a password-protected member center. TDA is using the site to:

• facilitate online dues payment and donations;
• provide event registration for the annual session, "The Texas Meeting," and its continuing education opportunities;
• communicate association news and policy updates;
• support a dental political action committee with online updates and action alerts;
• disseminate information about oral health, dental insurance and Texas state bylaws and regulations; and
• offer interactive member services such as online discussion boards for dentist-to-dentist information exchange, surveys, direct email communication with the association and the ability to edit individual contact information.

About TDA

Chartered in 1871, the Texas Dental Association is comprised of 26 component dental societies grouped into four divisions across the state of Texas. The TDA is the state component of a tri-partite structure with the American Dental Association as its national representative and component dental societies at the local level. TDA's 20 councils and committees serve as policy-recommending agencies to the 22-member Board of Directors. TDA's legislative body is the House of Delegates, which meets during each annual session. Published since 1883, the Association's Texas Dental Journal is the oldest, continuously operating dental periodical in the Americas. For more information about TDA, please visit the Web site at http://www.tda.org/.

About Convio

Founded in 1999, Austin-based Convio is the leading provider of software solutions for associations and other nonprofit organizations that want to fully leverage the Internet in support of their missions. Convio's integrated relationship management system enables nonprofits to market, fundraise and manage relationships with their constituents online in a high-touch, cost- effective, highly personalized manner. In addition to the Texas Dental Association, Convio's clients include the ASPCA, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Austin Children's Museum, National Foundation for Cancer Research, HoustonPBS and The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Walk, as well as other national and regional advocacy groups, museums, public broadcast stations, independent schools, healthcare entities and performing arts organizations. For more information about Convio, please visit www.convio.com.