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Nonprofits Embracing Convio Common Ground for Modern Database Needs

In first 90 days of availability, more than 30 leading charities opt for Common Ground's simplicity and flexibility to meet their constituent relationship and donor management needs.


Convio, Inc. has announced the signing of more than 30 new clients for Common Ground since it became generally available in late September of 2008. Common Ground is the company's innovative, web-based constituent relationship management (CRM) system for tracking all interactions with donors and other supporters. Built and delivered natively on salesforce.com's Force.com Platform, the product leverages cloud computing to deliver database solutions designed for the needs of nonprofits. Common Ground easily integrates with other open systems including Convio's online fundraising and marketing applications. The new clients include Youth Villages, Hill Country Ride for AIDS, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Homeless Prenatal Program, RESOLVE, Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy and the Minnesota Red Ribbon Ride among others.

As soon as we experienced the ease of use and depth of functionality in Common Ground our staff became excited; and with the affordable pricing the decision to switch from our legacy donor database was simple, said Stephanie Dohar, Technology Manager at Homeless Prenatal Program (www.homelessprenatal.org), a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that seizes the motivating opportunity created by pregnancy and parenthood to join with families, helping them recognize their strengths and trust in their capacity to transform their lives and break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. Adopting Common Ground allows us to focus on effectively using our data, and stop stressing about backups, integration, and other technical challenges that take time away from our mission.

Common Ground is delivered as a service via the Internet to provide a better, more efficient way to build and manage constituent relationships. The evaluation process, the ownership experience and the application put nonprofits in charge by changing the rules for the way they try, buy and use software to derive value from their most important data. Through "clicks, not code," people across the organization can scrutinize performance metrics, view the most accurate information possible and measure results using an intuitive tool designed for real people, not developers. The innovative approach and technology behind Common Ground removes the limitations, inflexibility, hassles and headaches of legacy donor database systems.

"Nonprofit professionals are telling us over and over again that Common Ground is living up to its promise to revolutionize the way they manage constituents in today's multichannel world," said Gene Austin, CEO of Convio. "Selecting the primary database for managing relationships with donors, volunteers, participants and other supporters is an important decision for nonprofit organizations. Achieving this milestone so quickly shows that charities have been waiting for an innovative new system that breaks down the barriers of proprietary, legacy donor databases. It is clear in the feedback we are getting that Common Ground has created a new era in constituent relationship management.

Convio's newest Common Ground clients join an impressive list of charities including Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Trisomy 18 Foundation and Mobile Loaves and Fishes.

"We are pleased that organizations of all sizes and structures -- from larger, multi-affiliates to those with one staff person -- are adopting Common Ground to more easily manage their most important relationships," said Tom Krackeler, vice president, Common Ground. "With macro economic challenges facing nonprofits, building strong relationships with constituents is more important than ever. Common Ground will help nonprofits understand and manage constituents more effectively and efficiently today, but also provide the openness they need for tomorrow."

About Common Ground
Common Ground takes the data from all of an organization's departments and makes it work together so that nonprofit professionals can better utilize people, time and funds to grow the community impact of their mission. Convio's clients are utilizing the following features:

* Donation Management to track all gifts, build revenue forecasts, find prospective donors, and monitor major donor opportunities from one application,
* Constituent Relationship Management to store all contact and interaction data in one place, link contacts to households and organizations and define relationship types to create a complete profile of all of your contacts and supporters,
* Convio Online Marketing Integration to capture all online record changes, gifts, and major interactions via automated synchronization with Convio's online marketing products, and
* Custom Reporting and Dashboards to define reports and share with other team members or keep private, and to build multiple graphic dashboards for display.

About Convio
Convio is the leading provider of on-demand constituent relationship management (CRM) software and services that give nonprofit organizations a better way to inspire and mobilize people to support their organization. The company's online marketing suite offers integrated software for fundraising, advocacy, events, email marketing and web content management, and its Convio Common Ground CRM system helps organizations efficiently track and manage all interactions with supporters. All Convio products are delivered through the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model and are backed by a portfolio of best-in-class consulting and support services and a network of partners who provide value-added services and applications focused on the unique needs of nonprofit organizations.

Convio clients include nonprofit organizations, Institutions of Higher Education, Associations and Faith-based organizations around the world such as American Red Cross, American Diabetes Association, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Humane Society of the United States, Easter Seals, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
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