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. I’m more concerned about the top end of the market.

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 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

MARCH 25, 2009

Convio has released a new online fundraising benchmark report that is based on data from 600 of Convio’s nonprofit clients from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Compared to 2007, results for online fundraising were up 14 percent, email file growth was up 28 percent, and Web site traffic was up 20 percent.

Benchmark 100

Benchmark Report Online Fundraising 100

Robert Weiner

MARCH 26, 2009

Care2’s Allyson Kapin just published an analysis of Convio’s online fundraising study (which I mentioned earlier this week ). Tags: Online Fundraising Fundraising. She interviewed me, so of course I think the article is good. The analysis is posted at [link].

Analysis 100

Analysis Studies Online Fundraising 100

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