AUSTIN, Texas, March 4, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Texas Exes -- the alumni association for the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), the nation's largest university as measured by enrolled students -- will bolster its Internet infrastructure with Convio(R) to become more effective at communicating with and supporting alumni, Convio announced today.
Convio -- the leading online Constituent Relationship Management (eCRM) company for the nonprofit sector -- provides software and services that enable organizations to use the Internet for more effectively attracting, motivating and retaining constituents to donate and provide other types of support. Fast becoming the provider of choice for colleges and universities that want to leverage the Internet for fundraising, marketing and alumni relations, Convio also works with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
UT-Austin is one of the world's major research universities with nearly 350,000 living alumni, 53,000 enrolled students and more than 3,300 faculty members (Fall 2002) spread across eight colleges and seven schools. The Texas Exes is one of the strongest alumni associations in the country, supporting education through scholarships, public policy initiatives, teaching awards and student programs. It connects its more than 75,000 dues-paying members with each other and to the University through involvement at the local level, career counseling, travel, reunions, continuing education, fellowship, The Alcalde magazine and the Web site www.TexasExes.org.
"All schools struggle with reaching out to recent alumni, locating lost alumni and staying connected with established alumni in a cost-effective manner, but Convio provides a way to easily and efficiently build strong relationships with these constituents using the Internet," said Jim Boon, Executive Director, Texas Exes. "The reality is that different alumni care about different issues so sending the same information to everyone means many constituents get hit with irrelevant and often non-productive communications. With Convio, we'll be able to track each constituent's interests, segment our alumni database according to interests and then personalize communications to ensure relevance. That is what breeds loyalty and loyalty produces support."
Convio will help the Texas Exes make its Web site more of an interactive, online community and destination for alumni, with class directories, class notes, career networking, email forwarding and other features. Convio also will enable Texas Exes to use its Web site and email system to stimulate fundraising and other forms of support. To enjoy special, member-only, password-protected services on the Web site, alumni will have to register. Convio automatically builds an individual profile for each registrant with email address, donation history, interests and other information he or she provides, e.g., through the online directory. These profiles then are stored in a single constituent database which staff can segment for more targeted online communications and appeals -- for newsletters, university updates, membership and renewal drives, fundraising campaigns, school spirit merchandising and more.
"The University of Texas at Austin believes in the power of the Internet to develop stronger alumni and donor relations," said Vinay Bhagat, Convio's founder and CEO. "There is tremendous opportunity to use the online medium for building strong relationships with alumni to keep them involved with the school, drive participation through membership in the alumni association and prime them for development."
About The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is the academic flagship and the largest of the University of Texas System's 15 academic and health institutions. UT-Austin is a major research university, home to approximately 53,000 enrolled students and more than 3,300 faculty members. From teaching and research to public service, the university's activities support its core purpose: to transform lives for the benefit of society through the core values of learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity and responsibility.
About Convio
Austin-based Convio is the leading online Constituent Relationship Management (eCRM) company serving the nonprofit sector. The Convio software solution consists of six product suites: Special Events, eFundraising, eMarketing, Advocacy, Content Management, and Convio Constituent Center(tm). Using Convio, nonprofits can send targeted, personalized e-mail communications; conduct fundraising, membership, and advocacy campaigns; publish personalized and fresh Web content; manage registrations, RSVPs, ticket sales, and other event logistics; tap volunteers and their personal networks for campaigns; track constituent interactions; connect online systems to offline systems (e.g., donor databases); and more. The Convio platform automatically shares data among all six product suites, giving nonprofits a unified view of each constituent so staff can conduct more personalized and targeted marketing. Convio also provides services to help nonprofits adopt online marketing best practices.
Convio serves national and regional organizations in all segments of the nonprofit sector, including disease and disorder, education, healthcare, human services, advocacy, associations, public broadcasting, museums and other visitation facilities, and political campaigns. In addition to UT-Austin and Georgetown University, Convio's clients include Easter Seals, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, American Diabetes Association, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, National Trust For Historic Preservation and KCET - Los Angeles Public Television. For more information, please visit www.convio.com.
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