Software/Technology

The fundraising technology "industry" is alive and well in 2010. Many of the most successful business enterprises that profit from the fundraising sector are in essence technology companies.

On-demand nonprofit constituent engagement solutions provider Convio announced a  new version of its online marketing, fundraising and advocacy suite that makes it easier for a nonprofit's constituents to leverage social media and social-sharing technologies.

The Girl Scouts of the USA is automating and streamlining nonprofit financial management across its more than 100 councils with Sage North America's Sage MIP Fund Accounting system.

Nonprofit technology provider Blackbaud will be the exclusive nonprofit sales channel for ThePort social-networking solutions.

Blackbaud announced it has opened an office in Hong Kong to better serve its international customers. The decision to open Blackbaud Asia Ltd., a Hong Kong corporation, was customer- and market-focused, as the company has seen an increased demand for services from nonprofit organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Our everyday lives are full of numbers and metrics. The hours and minutes on the alarm clock. The temperature of the water that hits our face. The expiration date on the milk. The distance to our offices. The posted speed limit on the road. The number of e-mails waiting in the inbox. We live in a sea of things that can be counted and metrics that can be measured.

"If you want loyalty, get a dog" — so said Sam Walton, founder of Wal-mart. That’s the attitude of some businesses, and sure enough, their customers roam from vendor to vendor seeking the lowest price, without demanding high levels of customer service. These businesses are happy and indeed set up to comply — short-term relationships, no questions asked and no hard feelings when the relationship is over.

If you love thinking about how social media and technology can be used to raise money, increase visibility and create social change (and if there’s an app for that), then there’s no better place to be than the annual  NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC). After I got done oogling all the ipads people brought (I counted at least 5 just days after the product was released), tweeting, and searching for places to plug in my laptop, I actually had real conversations with a few breathing humans (no plugs required).

May 3, 2010, Bloomberg.com — Convio Inc., a maker of marketing software for nonprofit organizations, advanced as much as 22 percent in its first day of trading after cutting the price of its $46.2 initial public offering.

Convio sold 5.13 million shares at $9 each yesterday after offering the stock at $10 to $12, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bloomberg data. The Austin, Texas-based company climbed as high as $10.99 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Alpha & Omega Semiconductor Ltd., the Hamilton, Bermuda-based maker of chips that extend the battery life of laptops, fell 1.7 percent to $17.70 after raising more than $91 million.

Convio reduced its IPO price after credit-rating downgrades of Greece, Portugal and Spain roiled equity markets and last week’s offerings in the U.S. raised 21 percent less than sought. All seven companies asked buyers to pay a premium after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s rally to the highest level since 2008 had revived demand for IPOs.

April 27, 2010, Press Release — Retail thrift pioneer Savers Inc. today announced the launch of a new "Nonprofit Locator Tool" on its websites, making it easier than ever to donate gently used items that benefit the company's more than 128 nonprofit partners.

There are more than 240 Savers, Value Village, and Village des Valeurs stores across the U.S., Canada and Australia, and every location has a unique nonprofit partner in its community, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Arc, The Epilepsy Foundation, HOPE Services or the Canadian Diabetes Association.  Each store pays its nonprofit partner for every used item donated, which include clothing, housewares, furniture and more. Partners are paid for donations collected directly by the nonprofit or at the Community Donation Center, located on-site at the Savers, Inc. stores. These partnerships turn otherwise unused goods into sustainable funding that supports the nonprofits' programs and services right in the local community.

The new Nonprofit Locator Tool will help match potential donors with nearby nonprofit partners and Community Donation Centers, thus encouraging increased donations for nonprofit partners. Last year, Savers paid $127 million to its partners for donations, and it has paid more than one billion dollars since 1954.