American Red Cross

NEW ORLEANS, LA, March 30, 2009 — Sage North America today announced several fundraising technology developments designed to further help nonprofit organizations support their missions. The company will soon offer a new ePhilanthropy tool; has a renewed focus on adding next-generation technical capabilities to its Millennium fundraising platform; and has launched fully managed hosting services for its Sage Fundraising 50 software. Sage is demonstrating all of these technologies on the trade show floor at the Association of Fundraising Professionals' (AFP) 2009 International Conference on Fundraising, being held through Wednesday at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Grizzard Communications Group recently held a conference, Winning Strategies in Challenging Times, focusing on effective and efficient ways of communicating to donors during difficult economic times. The conference was held February 24th – 26th and featured a live panel discussion presented in the online virtual world of Second Life.  Major George Hood, National Community Relations Secretary of The Salvation Army, along with other IT communications associates from Alexandria, VA and Reston, PA participated in a panel discussion as animated “Avatars.”

Convio, Inc., today announced the results of its annual Convio Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark Index Study. Viewed by many as the de facto standard for measuring online results for nonprofits, this year’s study indicates that online engagement — whether it is fundraising, advocacy or building a constituent database — continues to see positive growth even in a down economy.

The American Red Cross says it's on track to erase a $210 million deficit and balance its budget by next year.

Target Analytics, a Blackbaud (Nasdaq: BLKB) company, today released the 2008 donorCentrics™ Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis. Key findings from the Analysis indicate that over the past few years, online giving has become an increasingly significant source of new donor acquisition, and integrating online and offline fundraising channels is key to long term success.

Convio, Inc., the leading provider of on-demand constituent relationship management software and services to nonprofit organizations, applauds Tweet Congress as the 2009 SXSW Web Award winner in the Activism category. All Web Award winners were announced in a ceremony last night as part of the SXSW Interactive Festival, a five day event that brings together the best minds and the brightest personalities of emerging technology. Convio was proud to be a supporting sponsor of this year's SXSW Web Awards and the sponsor of the Activism Web Award.

Convio, Inc., the leading provider of on-demand constituent relationship management software and services to nonprofit organizations, applauds Tweet Congress as the 2009 SXSW Web Award winner in the Activism category. All Web Award winners were announced in a ceremony last night as part of the SXSW Interactive Festival, a five day event that brings together the best minds and the brightest personalities of emerging technology. Convio was proud to be a supporting sponsor of this year's SXSW Web Awards and the sponsor of the Activism Web Award.

Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) today announced enhancements to Blackbaud Sphere™ that will further support the complex data needs of national nonprofits with multiple chapters. More than 85 multi-chapter organizations already use Blackbaud Sphere for their online fundraising, communication, event management, and advocacy needs.

Convio, Inc., the leading provider of on-demand constituent relationship management software and services to nonprofit organizations, today announced that ConvioTeamRaiser, a tool for organization-hosted event fundraising, powers five of the top ten fundraising events nationwide, as ranked by The Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council’s 2008 industry study. Convio clients generated 60 percent of all monies raised by the top ten events in The Run Walk Ride Thirty. Additionally, Convio clients using the TeamRaiser as part of their special fundraising events raised more than $1 billion in 2008 — an 11 percent increase from 2007 — outpacing the 7.6 percent average growth of the top 30 programs in the study.

As nonprofit organizations continue to face increased competition and economic stress, leveraging technology and special event strategies for fundraising and awareness can prove valuable in helping organizations successfully achieve their goals and more effectively move people to support their mission. Convio and Event 360, Inc., with support from the Run Walk Ride Council, compiled five best practices that nonprofits can implement to increase fundraising growth and event participation based on joint research into some of the nation’s most successful charity fundraising events.