New to the sector, our intrepid reporter gets the goods on ‘open’ and ‘open source’ technologies for nonprofit fundraising. Did you even know there was a difference?

By Melissa Busch

Convio, the Austin, Texas-based Internet software and services company that provides CRM solutions for nonprofits, is a good example of being “open” without being “open source.”

Users can’t get into the source code of a Convio product and change whatever they want, but the company considers its products “open” due to their interoperability with other Web sites and products, Convio Chief Technology Officer Dave Hart says.