Audubon Nature Institute and Human Rights Campaign Receive 2007 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence

Convio eCRM Solutions Power Organizations' Outreach and Engagement Campaigns

Austin, Texas (September 20, 2007) —

Audubon Nature Institute and Human Rights Campaign have received FundRaising Success Magazine's 2007 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence for online and multichannel fundraising campaigns. The awardees, featured in the magazine's September issue, were selected by a panel of judges from the publishing staff and nonprofit sector on the basis of the campaign's results, revenue, copywriting and creative. Both of the winning nonprofit organizations use Convio to power their Web sites and Convio's online constituent relationship management (eCRM) tools as a critical connection to drive outreach and engagement and achieve extraordinary results.

Audubon Nature Institute, a nonprofit organization that operates a family of museums and parks dedicated to nature on behalf of the City of New Orleans, won first place in the ePhilanthropy category for its "Bring Back Our Fish" campaign. The campaign helped rebuild the aquatic animal collection at Audubon Aquarium of the Americas after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in late August 2005. Working with Convio's Client Success Services consulting team, Audubon Nature Institute deployed a comprehensive online campaign that included a Fish Tales contest for individuals to submit their Audubon Aquarium of the Americas stories and pictures online; Aquarium eCards; an eStore featuring Aquarium gifts; and a series of 12 email communications and donation appeals.

"When Audubon’s administrative offices were forced to temporarily relocate to Baton Rouge, our Web site became the primary vehicle for donations and served as the lifeline for Audubon to get out information to visitors, supporters and others from around the world," said Laurie Conkerton, Vice President for Development with Audubon. "Using Convio Fundraising, we were able to create an online campaign that raised more than $15,000 in revenue for Audubon’s Aquarium and built excitement for its reopening. Also, in conjunction with our Adopt An Animal multichannel campaign, we grew our email house file by 85% from 14,090 email addresses pre-Katrina to 27,634 by the end of 2006."

The Human Rights Campaign, a nonprofit organization that works to advance equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Americans, won first runner-up in the Multichannel category for its "Defeat the Federal Marriage Amendment" campaign, which raised nearly $230,000 from 4,119 gifts through a coordinated series of offline and online advocacy, communications, and fundraising appeals.

"The Defeat the FMA campaign demonstrated the role of online advocacy and engagement in fundraising," said Dane Grams, Online Strategy Director for Human Rights Campaign. "Using Convio's integrated suite of tools for advocacy and fundraising, we converted 2,383 activists to donors — who contributed nearly half of the campaign's total revenue."

"It is gratifying to see our clients receive recognition for their creativity and results," said Gene Austin, CEO of Convio. "These two organizations reflect the diversity of our client community both in size and mission, and the tremendous results that can be achieved. We are proud to be their partner of choice for using the Internet to strengthen relationships."

About Convio

Convio is the leading provider of on-demand software and services that enable nonprofit organizations to more effectively raise funds, influence public policy and support their missions by leveraging the Internet to build strong relationships with constituents. The company's online constituent relationship management, or eCRM, solution includes a suite of on-demand software modules for fundraising, advocacy, email marketing and Web content management complemented by a portfolio of best-in-class consulting services.

Convio's clients include American Red Cross, American Diabetes Association, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Sierra Club, Susan G. Komen Foundation, and National Public Radio. For more information, please visit www.convio.com.

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