Nonprofits Using Convio for Hurricane Katrina Campaigns Raise $90 Million Online in Seven Days

In Addition to Disaster Relief Groups, Other Organizations — Especially Animal Welfare Groups — Raise Record Funds Online

Austin, Texas (September 7, 2005) —

A growing number of organizations from all segments of the nonprofit sector — not just disaster relief groups — are raising record funds online to help people, animals and communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina, reports Convio, Inc.

In the last seven days, nonprofits using Convio's market-leading online tools for Katrina-specific campaigns collectively have raised $90 million online. These nonprofits range from small and medium-sized nonprofits to many of the nation's largest and best-known organizations, among them, American Red Cross, American Humane Association, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Farm Aid, Feed the Children, Houston Area Women's Center, Mobile Loaves and Fishes (Austin), Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Texas SPCA and UJA Federation of New York. 

Convio is the leading provider of software and services to help nonprofits use the Internet strategically to build strong constituent relationships that drive fundraising, advocacy and other forms of support. Ten days after the storm hit, Convio currently is processing an average of $600,000 per hour, or $14.4 million a day, for nonprofits conducting Katrina-related fundraising campaigns. Convio has processed as much as $3.5 million in a single 60-minute period since Katrina hit.

While nonprofits devoted primarily to providing disaster relief have raised a majority of the $90 million processed by Convio in recent days, many non-disaster groups have generated substantially more online in one week for Katrina-specific campaigns than they raised online in all of 2004, Convio reports.

In particular, online donations to animal welfare organizations are surging. Funds raised online since August 31 by one group working with Convio have been 13-fold the total online funds raised by the organization in 2004. Many animal welfare groups are proactively using the Internet to update constituents — via frequent emails and regularly updated Web site content — about the plight of pets and livestock in communities hit by Katrina.

"It is deeply gratifying to see Convio's application enabling nonprofits to move at breakneck speed to use the Internet for mobilizing their supporters in the aftermath of Katrina," said Gene Austin, CEO, Convio, Inc. "As a result, many organizations — large and small, national and regional, disaster- and non-disaster-focused — have generated phenomenal results and are playing a significant role in helping communities cope with one of the worst natural disasters in American history."

About Convio

Convio is the leading provider of software and services to help nonprofits use the Internet strategically to build strong relationships with constituents for driving fundraising, advocacy and other forms of support. Convio has online solutions for fundraising, advocacy, Web content management, event fundraising, ecommerce and email communications. All solutions include the Constituent360™ platform, a sophisticated, online marketing database that centralizes constituent data and integrates with offline database.

In addition to the American Red Cross, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Feed the Children and the other nonprofit organizations cited above, Convio's customers include American Diabetes Association, AVON Foundation, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Easter Seals, Georgetown University, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, National Trust For Historic Preservation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and Thirteen/WNET New York. For more information, please visit http://www.convio.com/.

Press Contact:
Karoline McLaughlin
Director, Corporate Communications
Convio, Inc.
kmclaughlin@convio.com
512-652-7865