Kintera Inc.

Adcieo, the digital division of LW Robbins, announced the addition of two senior staff to its management team, with the appointment of Debbie Snyder as vice president of sales and marketing, and Thalia Driessen as creative director.

The announcement that Blackbaud has agreed to acquire Convio has certainly made the day more interesting. A surprise to me and most of my colleagues, clients and partners, the press release has inspired more Twitter, e-mail and phone activity than I can remember in quite a while. Nearly everyone has asked the same questions: What will it mean? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB), the leading provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2008.

The nonprofit sector has witnessed an explosion in the number of online application vendors providing products designed to help organizations achieve their mission. From fundraising to e-communication to accounting solutions, there are many vendors vying for the opportunity to help nonprofits harness the power of the Internet. Understanding the benefits of software as a service (SaaS) vs. traditional on-premise software, organizations are faced with the task of selecting the SaaS provider with which to partner. But what should organizations be looking for during the SaaS vendor selection process beyond the usual product feature comparison? This paper identifies the foundational selection criteria for nonprofits to

Given the current state of the economy, there has been concern among nonprofits about the affect it will have on their fundraising and donations. It is during these times that charities should double their efforts to engage donors and get creative in the ways they seek new donors. Online event fundraising continues to be an effective method to accomplish both of these goals. Since 2000, event fundraising technologies have proven to be an area of growth for many organizations, and multiple surveys suggest that online tools provide more satisfying overall donor experiences. And now, with the fall events season complete, this is the best

As nonprofits escalate their focus on the Internet for fundraising and base-building, there is, increasingly, a recognition that the online channel can be a constituent-friendly, cost-effective means of building relationships and raising money from individuals. New online fundraising programs, however, bring new challenges: * How to acquire new constituents? * How to cultivate this virtual constituent community? * How to produce fundraising revenue (quickly)? * How to reduce the payback period for the program investment? For nonprofits with growing online fundraising programs, there is a similar set of challenges: * How to continue to grow the base? * How to keep program

Online engagement and fundraising tools create a multitude of options for nonprofits to collect data. This data, in its raw form, represents an opportunity to know the constituent more completely and act more effectively. The catch is that the data, although it arrives in great volumes, usually does not come ready to use. One of the most straightforward ways to make sure that you can turn your data into actionable knowledge is to emphasize system integration. As nonprofits adopt more of the available engagement options such as text messaging, social networking, chat and e-commerce, the first data challenge they face is getting all of

Excerpted from a Blackbaud press release: CHARLESTON, S.C. —  Blackbaud, a provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, announced yesterday that it is acquiring Kintera, a provider of a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution to the nonprofit and government sectors. Under the terms of the agreement, Blackbaud will pay an all-cash purchase price of approximately $46 million. Blackbaud expects to finance the deal with cash and borrowings from its credit facility. Kintera’s principal offering is its online Sphere® technology platform, which is used by such leading organizations as American Lung Association, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, International Fund for

Web site architecture and design can significantly improve your online fundraising success. In the session, “How You Can Dramatically Increase Your Fundraising Success by Improving Your Website’s Information Architecture and Design” at the Kintera 2008 User Conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, attendees were given tips to effectively evaluate and utilize Web site architecture and design to boost online fundraising. Here’s a quick summary: 1. Help people find and do what they want quickly. Effective information architecture and design is reflected by intuitive, easy-to-use navigation. A Web site with high usability navigation helps visitors, regardless of the type of information they are

Held in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, the 2008 Kintera User Conference provided organizations with a plethora of useful information, including a formula for effective grassroots engagement. In the session “Grassroots Engagement: More Donors, More Messages, More Success,” attendees were given this formula to help create high impact campaigns: Engagement = (microtargeting + mobilization) x viral. High-impact campaigns require compelling content that targets and mobilizes new and existing constituents, and gives them the means to increase the reach and depth of the campaign. Providing viral-marketing tools for the audience will increase overall engagement metrics. Successful and ongoing engagement requires pushing into the supporter’s “Priority