LIVE from NCDC Conference, Phoenix Arizona

I'm blogging live from the exhibit hall in Phoenix, AZ, for the 2007 National Development Catholic Conference- it's been a great week! I've always assigned myself to this conference as I like to interact directly with our customers and get their direct feedback.

It was great to see the 'regular' conference crew. This included Vinay Bhagat from Convio, Spence Hoopes from Wealth Engine (one of our partners), and Beckie Mann (former DonorPerfect employee) from Blackbaud. (Yes, even though we are competitors, we still are friendly to one another!)

I had the chance to talk to Paul Clolery, the editor of the Non-Profit Times, one of the leading industry papers for the non profit. We talked about the industry in general, the effect of the consolidation wave, and where DonorPerfect stood. I gave him some insights about our new product, code named Spider.net, and we both agreed it will be an interesting addition to the non-profit market.

Temperatures in Phoenix were HOT. Ridiculously hot- 107 degrees in the shade. Like they always do, the staff at NCDC did a fantastic job of taking care of the conference attendees, even providing personal fans for attendees to use when walking from building to building.

We had a chance to show off our new integration with Wealth Engine to a packed classroom- it was fantastic to see the interest and be able to show off just how easy and powerful our solution is for everyone. We also sponsored the Internet Cafe, increasing our exposure and making sure that people know they have a real choice in fundraising software.

Next stop is back home, where I hear it's 70 degrees...nice. I'll be taking a break from traveling for a bit- While I was away my daughter learned to ride a bike and she can't wait to show off to her daddy when I get back! :)

More industry news- Convio plans to go public

Convio, a maker of website software for non profits, announced last week that they are planning to go public, joining Blackbaud (BLKB) and Kintera (KNTA). Unfortunately, they also had to disclose their financials, and once again showed just how difficult it is to operate profitably in the non profit market space. (They lost $12.5 million last year and are on track to lose another $12 million this year)

I've had the good fortune of working with Convio as we both share numerous clients- both large and small- and I've also met several times with Vinay Bhagat, who founded Convio in 1999. I generally think that they have pretty good software and good customer support. We've had some minor integration issues over the years, but nothing that couldn't be worked out between us.

Their aquisition of Get Active earlier this year seemed to drive their need to go public or get bought out. In addition, as I mentioned in previous postings, the time frame for the VC money to cash out was approaching, and something had to be done. Based on these facts, it's not at all surprising that they took the step to go public.

But will this step be good for the nonprofit community? On one hand, having more public companies that focus on our community is probably a good thing as it will increase the attention our sector desparately needs. On the other hand, like Kintera and Blackbaud, Convio will be forced to bend to the pressures of Wall Street and increase their profits, and it may come at the expense (and not benefit) of their customers.

I do wish Convio good luck with the process and be assured that we'll be there for our joint customers as Convio rides the inevitable roller coaster ride of regulatory filings and paperwork.