The NonProfit Matrix » NEWS

Network for Good to acquire the ePhilanthropy Foundation

irishg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:29:27 +0000

Network for Good, a leading provider of online fundraising services and how-to resources for nonprofits, announced today that it has acquired the ePhilanthropy Foundation, an educational organization helping other nonprofits to use best Internet practices.

The move comes as Network for Good seeks to expand its help tools for nonprofits at a time when many small- to medium-sized organizations are struggling to raise funds and need assistance in starting online giving programs. Because of their low costs and high yield, online outreach programs are especially important during an economic downturn.

> Read the press release

Convio releases 2nd annual Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmarks Report

irishg — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:16:59 +0000

Convio has released the 2nd edition of their rolling report on online benchmarks for nonprofits. As with their first benchmark report last year, this study tracks a set of key indicators of online performance for nonprofits across such as email list growth, online donation growth, email appeal response rates, and related ROI models.

This study was designed to help nonprofit marketers answer the following questions:

What online marketing metrics should I focus on?
How is my organization doing?
What targets should I set for my organization?

In this edition Convio has expanded the cross-sector analysis to include 11 segments, (up from 6 in the 1st edition) including: Association & Membership, Disaster Relief, Disease and Health Services, Human and Social Services, Public Affairs, and Visitation, Performing Arts & Libraries.

A few of the top-level findings:

Nonprofits’ Web site traffic continues to grow – but not for all verticals.
Email files continue to grow strongly.
Email open rates are declining – with some exceptions.
A lucrative opportunity exists to expand cross-promotion between advocacy and fundraising.

To download the Executive Summary, and request the complete report
> click here

New Matrix category for Social Networking services for nonprofits

irishg — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:22:49 +0000

Social networking has been a buzzword across the internet for the past couple of years, and over the past 12 months in particular, it has moved into the mainstream, including into the nonprofit sector. Many of the largest nonprofit organizations are now investing resources into the development of their social networking strategies and tools, and the medium and smaller organizations are starting to follow suit as well.

At the same time, online and web service providers have begun offering social networking services and tools that range in scope (and investment) from providing handy widgets and plug-ins to help nonprofits gain access to social networks, to hosting complete private social networking communities dedicated to single causes, organizations or campaigns.

The new Social Networking category on the Matrix allows service providers to promote their own social networking tools and services to the nonprofit sector.

Existing profile holders can update their existing profile to include the Social Networking tag, and new profiles will be able to include this tag when they submit a new profile.

Report: The Wired Wealthy: Using the Internet to Connect with Your Middle and Major Donors

irishg — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:18:49 +0000

A new research report has been released addressing the role of that internet plays in fundraising for larger gifts. The Wired Wealthy: Using the Internet to Connect with your Middle and Major donors is a joint study by Convio, Edge Research, and SeaChange Strategies into the online behaviors and preferences of major and middle donors. It shows that there is significant room for improvement in the way nonprofits meet their online needs.

This study suggests that an “Internet communications gap” exists between higher dollar donors and charities. In short, most causes are not making the best possible use of their Web and email efforts to connect with this critically important audience.

The report is available for download here.

eTapestry adds benchmark reporting

irishg — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:01:01 +0000

One of the information challenges that nonprofits commonly face as they monitor and evaluate their online fundraising programs is how their performance compares with that of their peers — other organizations both within their particular theme or sector and across the broad field of nonprofits who compete for the attention and donations of the public.

eTapestry has added a promising feature to their constituent management database service that can help:

For the first time, eTapestry customers can get reports measuring their fundraising activity while also providing comparison to a larger universe of organizations. Based on the aggregate results of participating organizations, you can now see how your efforts and results compare to others.

> Read the announcement (pdf)

Convio Offers Nonprofits Real-Time Data Integration with Salesforce®

irishg — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:25:51 +0000

Last year Convio’s open platform launch promised expanded integration possibilities with 3rd party service providers in managing constituent data, potentially allowing nonprofits to keep their existing constituent management databases, while using the expanded toolsets available on Convio. It seems now that integration of Convio with the popular Salesforce data management system is now available, according to a release from Convio:

The Database Connector for Salesforce allows nonprofits to:

schedule daily automatic contact record synchronizations
capture all pledge, Convio TeamRaiser™ and online gift transactions with the appropriate Salesforce contact record,
seamlessly merges important campaign designations and segmented lists,
group recurring online gifts together in Salesforce for better donor management,
link online and offline campaigns automatically to build a 360° view of a multi-channel marketing initiative,
map an online group to an offline segment for targeted online communications through email and Web content, and
minimize duplicates and data integrity challenges by incorporating data management best practices within the product functionality.

> Read the announcement

Can We Talk? Data Exchange Report for the Nonprofit Sector

irishg — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:44:31 +0000

Organizations often face data integration challenges as they manage multiple online and offline services, lists and databases in different areas of their activities. Achieving data integration can mean either adopting a single all-in-one platforms with a common database that serves all needs, or creating a complex structure of data updates and lookups that attempt to synchronize disparate data sources. This second option allows for more flexibility but requires more investment and expertise in data management. With newer software systems adopting more open architectures that facilitate data exchange with other systems, this is becoming an easier path to follow.

NTEN, Idealware and Beaconfire Consulting have collaborated on a new report titled “Getting your Systems Talking: A Framework to Evaluate APIs and Data Exchange Features” that looks at data portability issues and provides “an evaluation framework that will help weigh the advantages and trade-offs of the data integration features across different applications.”

The report is available for download from the NTEN website.

> Download Getting your Systems Talking: A Framework to Evaluate APIs and Data Exchange Features

Idealware: Comparing Lower-Cost Online Integrated Applications

irishg — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:30:11 +0000

Idealware has published an overview report that will help smaller organizations looking for online service providers who can offer a full range of integrated services such as online donations, email management, membership database, and manage event registrations.

The report reviews service packages provided by 8 leading companies: Wild Apricot,eTapestry, GivenGain, MemberClicks, Z2 Systems Neon, Democracy in Action, Network for Good, and CitySoft, and considers some of the benefits that integrated systems can provide.

“Because all of these functionalities are wrapped up together into one package, there’s no need to synch up the data between different components. For instance, all of an organization’s online donors are stored automatically in the donor-database side, and are easily available for emailing. These online integrated packages can provide a compelling alternative to locally installed applications and custom software — especially for organizations that haven’t already made a sizable investment in constituent software and have a fairly common set of needs.”

> Read Comparing Lower-Cost Online Integrated Applications here

Convio launches open API platform: Convio Open

irishg — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:21:41 +0000

Following close on Kintera’s open platform release a few days ago, Convio has launched its own ‘open’ service: Convio Open, which will allow a wide range of partners to connect their own specialized services into Convio’s web-based membership and advocacy system. Using Convio’s open API, software developers will be able to build bridges that connect their programs directly into Convio’s system, allowing their custom extensions to be integrated into the Convio system, and for data to be exchanged directly (i.e. record updates, etc.).

From Convio’s announcement:

Through our Convio Open initiative, we are helping nonprofits tap into the power of the new Web with tools to leverage social networking sites, online calendars, photo sharing, viral video, and mapping mashups. To provide a more compelling constituent experience, we offer tools for rich Web applications and integration options to more effectively manage constituent data.

As part of the launch, Convio is also announcing a list of several dozen strategic and associate partners who are already developing Convio Open custom extensions.

> Learn more about Convio Open

> Visit the Convio Open developers resource center

Kintera launches open platform, applications now available

irishg — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:08:37 +0000

Kintera took the wrappings off it’s anticipated Kintera Connect open application platform today, announcing a range of industry partners who have participated in the development of the first wave of 3rd party integrated tools for the Kintera Sphere platform. The roster includes application partners offering plug-in tools such as CRM, call center, data/analytics, fundraising and mobile/social networking tools.

From Kintera’s email announcement:

Nonprofit technology will never be the same. For the first time, nonprofits have the freedom to choose and the power to innovate in a way that only an open platform can provide. … Clients can choose from a variety of best-of-breed solutions from the extensive Kintera Connect Partner Network, enabling them to leverage new technologies that easily extend and integrate with Kintera Sphere.

> Read press release

> Visit Kintera Connect