August 30, 2007
Nonprofit-Software Company Plans Stock Sale
By Nicole Wallace
Convio, an Austin, Tex., company that provides Web-based software for nonprofit organizations, plans to go public.
The company filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission today announcing its intention to sell shares of common stock in an initial public offering. The number of shares to sold and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.
If the offering goes through, Convio would become the third software company serving charities to go public. Kintera, in San Diego, had its initial public offering in December 2003, and Blackbaud, in Charleston, S.C., followed several months later, in July 2004.
Convio’s announcement comes during a period of significant change and consolidation in the nonprofit-software industry.
Earlier this month, Blackbaud bought e-Tapestry, a provider of Web-based fund-raising software in Indianapolis, for about $24.8-million, a move that is expected to strengthen the company’s online offerings. That acquisition came on the heels of its purchase of Target Software and the Target Analysis Group, both in Cambridge, Mass., for roughly $60-million in January, and its purchase of Campagne Associates, in Manchester, N.H., in February 2006 for $6-million.
In March, a management shakeup at Kintera forced founder Harry E. Gruber out of his positions as president and chief executive officer at the struggling company.
Convio bought rival GetActive Software, a company in Berkeley, Calif., which also provided software to help charities raise money and conduct advocacy online, earlier this year.
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