Convio
Encyclopedia
Convio is a software company based in Austin, Texas
in the USA, with offices in Washington, DC and Emeryville, CA. Convio provides internet marketing and business management applications tailored specifically for non-profit organization
s, and virtually all of its customers are charities, educational establishments, and political advocacy groups.
. The inspiration for the company was the inefficient pen and paper administration of telethons then used by PBS and NPR stations to raise funds from the public.
In January 2007, Convio acquired GetActive Software , another major eCRM and CMS provider for non-profit organizations.
Convio was one of the first companies to deliver its products via a purely hosted model, now known as "Software as a Service
" (SaaS). Customers of SaaS companies do not receive copies of the software to run on their own computers, but instead access the software over the Internet
using a web browser
.
Convio had its IPO on April 29, 2010 on the NASDAQ.
and Markos Moulitsas on their respective blogs Americablog
and Dailykos because of the company's politically neutral "first amendment" stance in serving clients with views ranging all across the political spectrum.
After learning more about the company, including the fact that it was one of the first employers in Texas to offer health-care benefits to unmarried domestic partners of homosexual and heterosexual employees alike, both bloggers softened their stance considerably, and the Dailykos blog now routinely links to political advocacy campaigns powered by Convio's software.
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
in the USA, with offices in Washington, DC and Emeryville, CA. Convio provides internet marketing and business management applications tailored specifically for non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
s, and virtually all of its customers are charities, educational establishments, and political advocacy groups.
Early history
Convio was founded in 1999 by Vinay Bhagat and David Crooke, using venture capital funding led by Austin VenturesAustin Ventures
Austin Ventures is a private equity firm focused on venture capital and growth equity investments in business services and supply chain, financial services, new media, Internet, and information services companies nationally with a focus on Texas. The firm, which is based in Austin, Texas, was...
. The inspiration for the company was the inefficient pen and paper administration of telethons then used by PBS and NPR stations to raise funds from the public.
In January 2007, Convio acquired GetActive Software , another major eCRM and CMS provider for non-profit organizations.
Convio was one of the first companies to deliver its products via a purely hosted model, now known as "Software as a Service
Software as a Service
Software as a service , sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.SaaS has become a common...
" (SaaS). Customers of SaaS companies do not receive copies of the software to run on their own computers, but instead access the software over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
using a web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
.
Convio had its IPO on April 29, 2010 on the NASDAQ.
Controversy
From 2005-2007, Convio was the target of a vitriolic (and often inaccurate) campaign led by the famous left-wing political bloggers John AravosisJohn Aravosis
John Aravosis is an American Democratic political consultant, writer, gay activist and blogger. Aravosis, an attorney who lives in Washington, D.C., is the founder of AMERICAblog and a co-founder of StopDrLaura.com....
and Markos Moulitsas on their respective blogs Americablog
Americablog
AMERICAblog is a liberal American blog founded by John Aravosis in April 2004, with several co-bloggers. The blog helped expose Jeff Gannon in 2005, and in 2006 helped make cell phone privacy an issue by obtaining Gen. Wesley Clark's call records. The blog focuses on U.S...
and Dailykos because of the company's politically neutral "first amendment" stance in serving clients with views ranging all across the political spectrum.
After learning more about the company, including the fact that it was one of the first employers in Texas to offer health-care benefits to unmarried domestic partners of homosexual and heterosexual employees alike, both bloggers softened their stance considerably, and the Dailykos blog now routinely links to political advocacy campaigns powered by Convio's software.