Sierra Club Chooses Convio to Drive Stronger Constituent Relationships and Enhance Online Experience for More Than 750,000 Members

Nation’s Leading Environmental Group Will Use Nonprofit Sector’s Most Advanced Internet Solution to More Effectively Engage Constituents and Strengthen Grassroots Support

Austin, Texas (December 5, 2006) —

The Sierra Club, the nation's largest and most influential environmental advocacy organization, has selected Convio's online constituent relationship management (eCRM) solution to more effectively engage and support the group's network of more than 750,000 members.

Convio is the leading provider of on-demand software and services that help nonprofits use the Internet for building strong constituent relationships to drive fundraising, marketing, advocacy and other forms of enduring support. The Sierra Club is the latest addition to Convio's growing roster of large, multi-affiliate charitable organizations including the American Red Cross, Easter Seals and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The Sierra Club is switching to Convio's single Internet platform after maintaining an online presence for the past decade using its own proprietary systems. The organization will use Convio at its national headquarters and eventually across its network of more than 60 chapters to more effectively integrate online and offline constituent information, increase involvement and conduct stronger advocacy, fundraising and marketing programs.  

With Convio, the Sierra Club will use a centralized online member center to enhance their supporters' online experience. From a single location on Sierra Club's Web site, members now can manage their participation with the organization and perform different actions such as indicating their interests, making a donation, sending an advocacy alert and updating their member information. Additionally, constituents soon will be able to use Sierra Club's online member center to register for events, purchase items and easily engage with the organization in other ways. Convio's data synchronization tools will enable Sierra Club to integrate constituent information gathered online with data from its offline database, providing a more holistic view of each constituent's overall involvement with the organization. This will allow the Sierra Club to more effectively conduct personalized, frequent and targeted outreach, which is key for engaging and building stronger relationships with constituents, increasing giving and encouraging other forms of ongoing involvement and support.

"The Internet has always been important to our work and we wanted to begin leveraging the online channel in new ways to significantly strengthen our grassroots engagement, advocacy, fundraising and marketing efforts," said Deborah Sorondo, Chief Operating and Development Officer, Sierra Club. "Convio's integrated eCRM solution enables our members to have a consistent and complete online experience. It also enables us to gain a deeper understanding of Sierra Club's constituents and the many ways that they interact with our organization. This, in turn, will help us more effectively serve our members."

The Sierra Club also plans to use its new eCRM tools, including Convio TeamRaiser™, to help affiliates throughout the country increase giving by enabling them to conduct more innovative, constituent-led fundraising campaigns. Local Sierra Club chapters will be able to provide constituents with easy-to-use tools for conducting online outreach on behalf of the organization. Additionally, Sierra Club chapters will be able to use their Convio-powered Web sites to promote, recruit participants for and generate interest in the organization's numerous local and national events.  

"Convio understands the needs of large, multi-affiliate organizations like the Sierra Club and how to help nonprofits of this size leverage the Internet in new ways to engage constituents and build ongoing support," said Gene Austin, CEO, Convio, Inc. "By moving to an integrated Internet platform, the Sierra Club will have a more comprehensive view of its entire constituency, which is essential for driving more effective fundraising and marketing programs that achieve stronger results."

About Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest and most influential environmental organization in the U.S.  Founded in 1892 by John Muir, today the Sierra Club has over 750,000 members and 450 local chapters and groups across the country. Getting individuals involved in conservation efforts can make a lasting difference. For example, Sierra Club members have helped protect over 160 million acres of wild lands; 8,000 miles of wild and scenic rivers; and national treasures, such as Yosemite National Park, Giant Sequoia National Monument and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And, one of its initiatives to address global warming, the Sierra Club's Cool Cities campaign, has helped enlist pledges from more than 300 U.S. mayors in 46 states — representing more than 50 million Americans — to make serious local commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, please visit http://www.sierraclub.org/.

About Convio

Convio is the leading provider of on-demand 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 databases.

Convio has been named one of the fastest growing private companies in the nation by Inc. magazine. In addition to the Sierra Club, Convio's clients include American Red Cross, American Diabetes Association, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, AVON Foundation, Easter Seals, Farm Aid, Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 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 www.convio.com. 

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