Easter Seals Retools for Internet Era by Selecting Convio for Online Constituent Relationship Management

Top Disabilities Organization Works with Leading Internet Software Provider for Nonprofits to Enhance Fundraising, Advocacy, Web Content Management and Affiliate Support

(Austin, TX, April, 10, 2002) Easter Seals -- among the top 20 U.S. charities based on annual revenue, according to Nonprofit Times -- has selected Convio to retool the national organization's Internet infrastructure with an enterprise-class constituent relationship management (CRM) solution that will optimize online fundraising, marketing, advocacy, services and more, Convio today announced.  As a result of the partnership, Easter Seals will gain significantly expanded Internet functionality, re-launch its national Web site and help its affiliates create and maintain their own dynamic sites, which will tightly integrate with Easter Seals' Internet infrastructure. 

Easter Seals helps create solutions that change the lives of more than one million children and adults with disabilities and their families through a nationwide network of more than 90 affiliates.  Additionally, Easter Seals advocates for legislation and public policy that encourages people with disabilities to achieve greater independence. 

Convio is the leading provider of integrated software enabling nonprofit organizations to leverage the Internet for building strong constituent relationships.  ConvioTM will enable Easter Seals to conduct more efficient online fund raising, marketing and advocacy while simultaneously collecting and integrating data about constituents' interests in a single database. This will give Easter Seals a consolidated, holistic view of thousands of supporters, helping the organization pursue a more effective constituent relationship management strategy.  Easter Seals also will be able to provide affiliates with the Internet tools and services necessary to be successful with local constituents.  Convio's robust platform for constituent relationship management and specialized affiliate solutions, unique in the marketplace, make this possible. 

"Easter Seals is adapting to the new reality that Internet technologies have empowered consumers, giving them access to information and transactions at lightning speed and raising expectations for higher quality, personalized service, whether shopping for goods or establishing a relationship with a nonprofit," said Shirley Sexton, director of Internet marketing at Easter Seals.  "We considered custom building the type of Internet infrastructure we need and, although some nonprofits have gone that route, it's very expensive and protracted.  Alternatively, we looked at application service providers that deliver software and services over the Internet so that we wouldn't have to build a system from scratch and have programmers on staff to maintain it.   We chose Convio because no other company comes close to having such a comprehensive and tightly integrated offering."   

In addition to other Convio products, Easter Seals will use one of Convio's newest offerings -- Convio for Affiliates™ -- to create Web portals for selected affiliates to support their online fund raising,  advocacy and ongoing constituent communications. Easter Seals national headquarters will provide affiliates with Web tools for affiliates to create and manage their own content.  Affiliates will work with the national office's Internet staff to develop online fundraising or advocacy campaigns relevant to their unique needs.  Easter Seals can review "roll up" reports that consolidate campaign data from affiliate campaigns for more centralized analysis, planning and marketing. The Convio solution makes it easy for affiliates to have their own robust Web sites while allowing the national organization to control key elements to ensure brand consistency.

"Easter Seals' move to adopt a comprehensive solution for online CRM solutions signals the rising tide of a 'sea change' within the non-profit sector," said Vinay Bhagat, founder and CEO of Convio.  "As direct mail becomes more expensive and constituent relationships harder to manage, leading nonprofit organizations are realizing that the Internet constitutes a powerful new channel. They're realizing they need more than just tools for walk-a-thons, processing gifts or sending emails - that they need to take an all-encompassing and strategic approach.  Online constituent relationship management is about the cycle of attracting supporters, engaging them to contribute or take action and fostering an enduring relationship.  Convio's vision from Day One has been to make this integrated approach available to nonprofits and we're seeing more embrace it because they see it works."

About Easter Seals

For more than 80 years, Easter Seals has been providing services that help children and adults with disabilities gain greater independence. Its primary services - medical rehabilitation, job training and employment, inclusive child care, adult day services, and camping and recreation - benefit more than one million individuals with disabilities and their families each year through one of 450 centers nationwide.

About Convio

Founded in 1999, Austin-based Convio is the leading online constituent relationship management company serving the nonprofit sector.  Convio's mission is to increase the effectiveness of how nonprofit organizations attract, engage and retain constituents to provide funding and other forms of support. The Convio software solution consists of five product suites: eFundraising, eMarketing, Advocacy, Web Content and the Constituent Center database. Using Convio, nonprofits can: send targeted, personalized email communications; conduct fund raising, 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; and connect online systems to off-line donor databases.  The Convio platform automatically shares data among all five product suites, giving nonprofits a unified view of each constituent so staff can engage in more personalized and targeted marketing.  Convio also provides consulting services to help nonprofits adopt online marketing best practices.

Convio's clients include The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Devereux Foundation, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, American Lung Association of Texas, National Foundation for Cancer Research and KCET (PBS, Los Angeles).  For more information, please visit www.convio.com.