Robert Weiner

JANUARY 27, 2012

Lots of people have already weighed in on Blackbaud’s purchase of Convio (two of my favorites: [link] and [link] ). Idealware’s Consumer’s Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Systems reviewed 30 systems, the majority of which don’t come from Convio or Blackbaud. Here my perspective.

Blackbaud 222

Blackbaud Convio Open Source Product 222

Robert Weiner

MAY 7, 2012

Blackbaud completed its purchase of Convio. The next adventure starts today, as we wait to see what the future holds for their various systems.

Convio 138

Convio Blackbaud System Database 138

Robert Weiner

MAY 15, 2017

I also pointed my client to an old article from Convio called Switching Payment Processors: Assessing the Impact on Your Sustainer Program and suggested the following steps: 1. Ask your recurring donors to move to the new processor. When recurring donors come up for renewal, move them to the new processor.

System 113

System Donor Advice Convio 113

Robert Weiner

MAY 4, 2012

The Department of Justice signed off on Blackbaud's acquisition of Convio last week, and it looks like the deal will close this week. This is just the beginning of the story. I expect that it will take at least several months, and probably several years, before the dust settles and we know what's left behind.

Blackbaud 122

Blackbaud Convio Story Support 122

Robert Weiner

AUGUST 30, 2012

Yesterday the news was that Blackbaud had laid off 50 employees it acquired when it bought Convio in May. In what was said to be an unrelated development, they also announced the departure of Gene Austin, the former CEO of Convio. The Blackbaud/Convio staff I spoke with seemed taken aback by this decision.

Blackbaud 264

Blackbaud Convio Database Austin 264

Robert Weiner

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Nonprofits that are currently using Common Ground Enterprise, Luminate, and Convio Online Marketing are also nervous. Luminate was the top contender for one of my clients, but they’re strongly considering eliminating Blackbaud from further consideration. I doubt they’re the only ones. That discussion continued on my blog.

Blackbaud 171

Blackbaud Convio Database Statistics 171

Robert Weiner

JANUARY 11, 2009

I thought it might be useful to compile a list of all of the commercial donor databases I’m aware of. This list came from my head, my bookmarks, and lists compiled by NTEN and Idealware for their donor management software surveys (and I’m not certain all of these are actually donor databases). Donor Quest.

Database 100

Database Donor Kintera Oracle 100