New Book Chapter by Convio's Vinay Bhagat Helps Nonprofits Wage More Effective Advocacy Campaigns Using Internet

Nonprofit Industry Thought Leader Also Explains How Online Advocacy Drives Fundraising and Builds Loyal Support Base

Austin, Texas (March 21, 2005) —

Organizations that want to leverage the Internet to accelerate and/or increase the impact of their advocacy programs will want to read the just published book chapter by Convio, Inc.'s founder and chief strategy officer, Vinay Bhagat.

Bhagat's chapter, "Online Advocacy: How the Internet is Transforming the Way Nonprofits Reach, Motivate, and Retain Supporters," appears in Nonprofit Internet Strategies: Best Practices for Marketing, Communications, and Fundraising Success (John Wiley & Sons, New York), available at leading retail bookstores nationwide and also online. Nonprofit Internet Strategies, edited by nonprofit industry veterans Ted Hart, James Greenfield and Michael Johnston, presents expert commentary on strategies for charitable organizations to integrate traditional marketing, communications and fundraising practices with their online efforts.

In his latest book chapter, Bhagat outlines the benefits of using advanced Internet tools to drive more effective advocacy campaigns and cites examples from national nonprofit groups, including such Convio clients as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW). The chapter explains how an online constituent relationship management (eCRM) approach to advocacy can help organizations influence public policy, improve fundraising and build stronger, more loyal relationships with supporters. (To obtain a free, downloadable copy of Bhagat's book chapter, please visit http://www.convio.com/onlineadvocacy).

"Because of Convio's work with many of the best and brightest nonprofit organizations, we have been able to directly observe what works and what generates strong results for these groups when it comes to leveraging Internet technology to enhance their online advocacy programs," said Vinay Bhagat. "Using an eCRM approach to advocacy has always yielded significant results for Convio's clients. My book chapter summarizes key eCRM strategies and tactics and will provide other nonprofit professionals with useful information they need to achieve comparable results for their own organizations."

Convio and Online Advocacy

Convio is the leading provider of software and services to help nonprofits use the Internet for building strong constituent relationships that drive advocacy, fundraising and other forms of support. The company works with many of the country's leading nonprofits engaged in advocacy—in addition to MADD, ADA and CAGW, Convio works with American Humane Association, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United with the Million Mom March, Chesapeake Bay Foundation and The Ocean Conservancy.

Convio's advanced eCRM solution includes online tools that enable nonprofits to attract, motivate and retain constituents for waging high impact grassroots advocacy campaigns. Earlier this month, Convio announced enhancements that let organizations leverage federal legislators' voting records to wage more targeted campaigns, raising the bar for online advocacy solutions.Using an eCRM approach to advocacy allows organizations to capture data about their constituents and then utilize that knowledge to communicate with each constituent in a personalized and more relevant manner.eCRM tools increase participation and loyalty among an organization's support base, improve response rates, allow for more efficient mobilization of advocates and provide an integrated approach to managing constituent relationships.

More on Bhagat and Nonprofit Internet Strategies

In addition to Bhagat's chapter, Nonprofit Internet Strategies includes chapters by other nonprofit industry experts on:

• Multi-channel marketing
• Integrating online and offline databases to better serve constituents
• Online community building
• Developing an integrated fundraising strategy
• The future of ePhilanthropy

Nonprofit Internet Strategies: Best Practices for Marketing, Communications, and Fundraising Success (Wiley & Sons) is available for purchase at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BestPrices.com, Booksamillion, Powell's Books and Wiley's Website at http://www.wiley.com/

Bhagat is a widely published author on ePhilanthropy and other topics pertaining to nonprofits' strategic use of the Internet. He wrote "The Internet - A Powerful Relationship Management Tool for Fundraisers," which is included in The Nonprofit Handbook: Fund Raising Third Edition 2002 Supplement (John Wiley & Sons, New York). His articles appear regularly in DM News, Journal of the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation and other publications as well as on Web sites serving nonprofit professionals including OnPhilanthropy.com.

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 and membership, advocacy, special events, volunteer fundraising, Web site management 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 working with many of the nation's most influential advocacy groups, Convio's clients include AVON Foundation, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Easter Seals, Farm Aid, Georgetown University, KCET Community Television of Southern California, National Trust For Historic Preservation and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information, please visit http://www.convio.com/.

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