Jan/Feb 2008

Convio Offers Nonprofits Real-Time Data Integration with Salesforce®

by Tompkins Spann, Senior Product Strategist, Convio

Constituent data is one of a nonprofit's most valuable assets. It's the fuel that powers direct response programs — both online and offline. With the growing popularity of the salesforce.com® donor database and the availability and robust features within the Salesforce API, Convio has just developed and released our Database Connector for Salesforce to provide real-time data integration with Convio's online constituent relationship management (eCRM) solution.

With our launch last year of Convio Open, the Database Connector for Salesforce joins Convio's robust product line of Connectors that provide the critical bridge between a nonprofit's offline and online applications.

The Database Connector for Salesforce allows nonprofits to:

• schedule daily automatic contact record synchronizations
• capture all pledge, Convio TeamRaiser™ and online gift transactions with the appropriate Salesforce contact record,
• seamlessly merges important campaign designations and segmented lists,
• group recurring online gifts together in Salesforce for better donor management,
• link online and offline campaigns automatically to build a 360° view of a multi-channel marketing initiative,
• map an online group to an offline segment for targeted online communications through email and Web content, and
• minimize duplicates and data integrity challenges by incorporating data management best practices within the product functionality.

Through best practices that are built into the technology, Convio's Database Connector for Salesforce saves administrative time, ensures data integrity and strengthens constituent relationships by helping nonprofits drive higher levels of engagement through more targeted and personalized campaigns that leverage constituent data stored in an organization's Salesforce database.

Organizations frequently use different systems to manage their online and offline fundraising activities. Maintaining constituent information in multiple silos prevents your organization from getting a complete view of your constituents and their relationships with your organization, putting your fundraising activities at a serious disadvantage. By synchronizing data between your offline database and your online marketing activities, your organization will be on its way to creating fundraising campaigns that drive results.