Convio Study Finds Key Practices That Turn Nonprofit Event Participants Into More Successful Fundraisers

New Guide and Tip Sheet Highlights Best Practices to Help Run, Walk, Ride Participants Raise More Money for Charities they Support

Austin, Texas (July 14, 2009) —

Convio, today released a guide for nonprofit professionals and event organizers that can help them turn event participants into more successful fundraisers. The guide, created based on a study and interviews with some of the most successful participant fundraisers in the country is available to nonprofit professionals at www.convio.com/eventchampionsguide

Individual event participants can download a tip sheet and share their fundraising ideas at www.convio.com/eventchampions

Highlights/Key Facts:

Study looked at individual fundraising practices of people who have raised the most money at nonprofit runs, walks and rides using Convio software - participants in the study raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for events such as those held by American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, American Diabetes Association and dozens of other events of all sizes such as the Dog Walk for SPCA of Wake County (NC).

Participant-led, peer-to-peer fundraising has increased with the adoption on online fundraising tools, such as Convio TeamRaiser™ which gives participants the ability to use the web, email and their online social networks such as Facebook to connect with friends, family and associates to support their event participation.

The top 6 tips from these most successful fundraisers are:

1. Start early,
2. Contact everyone you know,
3. Customize/personalize your emails,
4. Create a schedule for sending asks and reminders,
5. Ask, ask, and ask again, and
6. Customize your personal fundraising web page.

Nearly three quarters of the most successful fundraisers had previously participated in a similar fundraising event for the charity, suggesting that organizations should emphasize communication that keeps past participants engaged and coming back.

Supporting Quotes:

“Participants that become successful individual fundraisers have more than a passion for the cause; they have a systematic and personal approach, as well as the willingness to ask, ask and ask again,” said Lara Fermanis, principle consultant with Convio. “By encouraging these participants to apply proven practices, charities can expand their brand awareness, increase donations while increasing the likelihood the participants will have a positive experience and be back next year.”

“Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and other social media sites such as YouTube and Flickr are a great way for participants to build a community of supporters,” said James Young, open strategy manager with Convio. “Social media helps participants to convert supporters to donors through links to their personal fundraising web pages without having to make a hard ask.”

“The Internet and access to software such as Convio is helping nonprofit organizations turn individual supporters and event participants into engaged fundraisers and brand advocates like never before,” said Gene Austin, chief executive officer, Convio. “Nonprofits are able to expand and strengthen the relationship with their supporters, while these supporters help them reach, inspire and move many more people to join their cause.”
 

Links/URLs:

Embedded Videos, Images and Additional Information Available at: www.convio.com/eventchampions

Join the discussion at www.connectioncafe.com/teamraiser

About Convio
Convio is the leading provider of online marketing, fundraising, advocacy and constituent relationship management software and services to nonprofit organizations. The company’s online marketing suite offers integrated software for fundraising, advocacy, events, email marketing and web content management, and its database system, Convio Common Ground™ CRM, helps organizations efficiently track and manage all interactions with supporters. All 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. For more information, please visit www.convio.com

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