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Gene is the CEO of Convio and is active in the Austin community. Following his success as the 2006 and 2007 chair of the "20,010 in 2010 Initiative" for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, he was named Chair of Education and Talent for the Chamber, where he also serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. Austin is also active on the Board of the Westlake Chap Club in the Eanes Independent School District. Gene has an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and BS in Engineering Management from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. |
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Establishing a Common Ground in CRM for Nonprofits
From the time we first decided to go forward with our Charter Program for Project Aikido, we’ve spent a great deal of time here at Convio deciding on a significant and meaningful name for our new and first-of-its kind Constituent Relationship Management offering. This new solution has the potential to change the nonprofit space as we currently know it by providing a simple way to access constituent data, a single view of all online and offline information and new levels of flexibility and immediacy never before available to the nonprofit sector. We wanted a name that reflected these novel ideas and the fact that this new product breaks through the boundaries of traditional donor management. As we researched the various options, one thing became very clear: all organizations want a common ground on which they can work to further their missions. And so I’m pleased to announce Convio Common Ground ™ as the official name of our new CRM offering. To us, this represents: • The “common ground” of an open platform versus a proprietary system. We believe an Open platform invites more innovation and more opportunities for nonprofits to make the CRM their own. Common Ground will offer nonprofits the choice to adopt an actual open, Web-based CRM solution tailored to the unique needs of nonprofits rather than an older on-premise choice best known for being a “cost of doing business” than a tool for enhancing relationships and driving results. By harnessing the Force.com platform, Common Ground will also allow nonprofits to collaborate in real time and access salesforce.com’s AppExchange. Innovation will come to you not only by Convio, but a whole community of providers focused on the same thing, giving you more choice in deploying solutions. This new approach can help you reduce costs, raise more funds and understand your supporters like never before. That’s common ground that we all share. A New Era in Constituent Relationship Management Solutions Posted by at Jun 13, 2008 04:00 PM CDT
Categories: Content Management , Data Integration , Nonprofit Trends , Technology Two years ago we embarked on a research project with hundreds of clients and non-clients alike to look at how the market has evolved and what nonprofits expected as the 21st Century was unfolding. The strategy and creativity of our clients, combined with our pioneering products that empower nonprofits to use the Internet to drive results, was clearly providing new and innovative ways for nonprofits to engage constituents. While it is clear the world is evolving, you told us time and again that you wished that your donor management systems would evolve as well. In short, nonprofits want a modern constituent management system that encompasses all the media that their constituents are involved with – the Web, direct marketing, events, social media and other channels. My visit to The National World War II Museum in New Orleans Posted by at Mar 21, 2008 09:30 PM CDT
Categories: Nonprofit Trends I too am at the NTEN conference this week and yesterday Fred Waugh and I slipped away to go visit a new client of Convio’s, The National World War II Museum. Frankly, I was blown away at both what they have amassed (a C-47 hanging from the ceiling in the main entrance as one example) and their vision for the future. Stephen Watson, COO, and Paul Parrie, Director of IT, hosted us and gave me some insight into their vision of the future. While there certainly are statistics, tanks, weapons, and jeeps galore, the main theme of the museum is to remember what arguably was the most important event in the last several hundred years. The youngest vet from WWII is now 81 and many of them are at the museum for first hand accounts of their missions and memories. The team at the museum is dedicated to making sure that we never lose sight of why WWII needed to take place and how a country that was fresh off of a recession had to amass the spirit and commitment to take on such a daunting task. This was a war that involved little debate, but nevertheless it was one that taxed our country beyond belief. What is particularly exciting about their vision is how focused they are on the generations behind us Boomers. They really want young people (all of you non-boomers!) to understand the commitment, leadership and sacrifice a country made in a truly world struggle. The Museum is in the midst of a $300M capital campaign to expand their footprint in the Museum district in New Orleans. They are building a theatre where a 25 minute movie (executive producer Tom Hanks) will depict key events of the time complete with a Stalag tower and dropping temperatures and snow for the Battle of the Bulge. Since Katrina, their visits are down 40% but beginning to re-build. Needless to say,they could use our support and it is worth every penny. Welcome to Connection Cafe, Convio's new nonprofit technology blog! Posted by at Mar 18, 2008 11:00 PM CDT
Categories: Advocacy , Constituent Empowerment , Email Marketing , Fundraising , Nonprofit Trends , Social Media , Technology Welcome to Connection Café, a blog created from the hearts and minds of the employees of Convio. Our vision for this blog is to aggregate the latest trends, ideas and best practices for nonprofits online. Through discussions about online communication tactics, the latest in Web 2.0 strategies and integration of offline and online campaigns, we hope to share insight and create an open and honest dialogue in the nonprofit technology world. Unlike other corporate blogs you may have looked at, you won’t find information or sales pitches about our latest product and service offerings here. Instead, we are venturing out and doing something different - we’ll be writing about the issues you care about and the topics that can help you succeed online. From time to time that means our products and technologies and how clients are using them to get results will be part of the discussion, but we don’t want it to be a sales pitch, so let us know if we cross that line. Connection Café will discuss how the Internet is fundamentally changing the way people connect with causes, forcing nonprofits to rethink the traditional models for communication, advocacy and fundraising. We want to share our internal resources and expertise with you, as well as information from our Fusion Partners and point you to other online sources that are having the same, or better, discussions. Bottom line, we want to keep you better connected and engaged with the people, ideas and technology that are driving the industry. Over the past eight years, we’ve kept you connected with our Convio Connection newsletter, presence at industry events and our online client community. Now I’m inviting you - the nonprofit Executive Director, the weekend volunteer, the marketing/communications expert – to connect with us once again by being a part of our online discussion. So, when we think we have something valuable to share, you’ll see it here. And while it may be natural for us to draw from past work experience, this blog is not about Convio as a company but rather the people, ideas and technology that are fueling the industry we serve. If you see us veering off that path or becoming too Convio-centric, send a note or post a comment to let us know. You have my word that we’ll listen to what you have to say. I hope that each person who reads this blog will find something beneficial in the editorials, news and multimedia content we produce. We also want to read your comments, get your suggestions and do our best to answer your questions – or find someone to answer them. I encourage you to reach out and give us feedback from time to time on what we’re doing well and what we can improve on. -Gene, CEO |
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