Convio Inc.

It’s March of 2009 — certainly you haven’t forgotten about your New Year’s resolution already, right?

Whether it’s exercising, spending more time volunteering or some other personal goal, the first 100 days are critical to your success. You must engage and take action if you desire any level of accomplishment.

The same applies to your organization and the online resolutions you might have set entering the year. If you haven’t taken action to put your ideas and new online concepts into motion just yet, now would be a good time to revisit your organization’s resolutions for 2009.

Convio, Inc. today announced Level 1 compliance validation with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Trustwave, the leading provider of on-demand data security and payment card industry compliance management solutions to businesses and organizations throughout the world, performed the PCI DSS compliance validation for the company.

Convio, Inc. – the leading provider of on-demand constituent relationship management software and services to nonprofit organizations – today announced record annual revenue of $57.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, representing a 32 percent increase over 2007. Generating $2.9 million in operating cash flow for the year, and $1.2 million for the fourth quarter, Convio has now produced positive cash flow from operations in five of the last six quarters. In addition, Convio achieved profitability on a non-GAAP basis for both the fourth quarter and for fiscal year 2008.

I recently picked up an issue of a tabloid magazine and stumbled on a “What’s Hot/What’s Not” list. As I read it, I felt a little out of touch with Hollywood because I’d never heard of the people and trends. I did like the concept, though, and I started to think about what’s hot and what’s not in the world of online fundraising.

At one time, having a static Web site was all a nonprofit organization needed to communicate with its supporters and the public. Times have changed. Sure, there are still plenty of static Web sites out there, but we’re also seeing more nonprofits with dynamic, interactive sites with plenty of compelling content. In fact, organizations are generating an increasing volume of electronic content — information pertinent to donors, advocates, program recipients, volunteers, staff and other constituents. So how are these organizations managing and updating these content-rich Web sites, usually on a daily basis? If you answered, “By keeping our webmaster busy 24-7,” think

Web 2.0 is the new kid on the block, for businesses and nonprofits alike. What follows any introduction of the phrase “Web 2.0” is a host of terms like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Second Life, etc. — the list seems endless and grows by the day. It’s easy to get lost in the buzzwords, but the key to leveraging Web 2.0 capabilities is to do what your organization should have been doing all along: focusing on its mission and message. This was the advice shared by the presenters of a session on “How to Handle the Web 2.0 Curve Ball” at the DMA Nonprofit Federation

In my inbox this week was an e-mail advertisement for a new, all-natural approach to dealing with hair loss. Fortunately, that’s one thing I don’t need to worry about.

From a big- picture perspective, fundraising is fundraising, whether it’s online or offline. That said, understanding the differences between the two channels, and the advantages of integrating them, is critical to your organization’s ability to build strong constituent relationships and maximize donations. Traditional offline marketing and fundraising tactics will continue to be a part of every development director’s toolkit. Direct-mail acquisition efforts elicit higher response rates than e-mail and provide a scalable way to source new constituents. One-to-one fundraising is equally as important because donors respond well to face-to-face, personal interactions. Although traditional offline marketing has its benefits, it is not free

The Convio whitepaper “The Basics of E-mail Marketing for Nonprofits: Using E-mail Communications to Build and Strengthen Constituent Relationships Online” is a 19-page, information-rich guide that covers the gamut of e-mail marketing, touching on everything from building an e-mail address file, performing list hygiene, gaining permission, offering opt-out options and executing a successful e-mail campaign. The whitepaper also addresses tips for creating compelling e-mail messages. First off, it stresses the importance the of “message envelope,” i.e., the e-mail header. The message envelope is made up of the “To” and “From” lines, the date and the “Subject” line. * Subject line — should be

Online constituent relationship management tools enable organizations to connect with donors and prospects with increasing success. In the span of just a few years, the amount raised online by many nonprofit organizations has grown significantly. Still, donor e-cultivation is an evolving specialty that requires development professionals to be constantly on the alert to measure results and refine strategies and tactics where needed to deepen engagement with donors and prospects.