Why are we getting so far away from the word charity?
Why is non-profit the more commonly used description?
Non-profit? How boring is that? Charity is a word derived from a word used for love. Non-profit? That’s a government tax category! “I work for a 501(c)3. The most important thing is we’re taxed differently.”
I like big words. From reading this blog you’ll see that I have very limited ability to use big words, but I like them. I love when someone throws in a Latin term like ad infinitum or in perpetuity. But like I said I’m no connoisseur of words. I did tell a girlfriend in high school that she couldn’t use big words if she couldn’t pronounce them. She said I was the anti-thesis of something. And she pronounced the anti with a long i. I told her she read too much. Then later in life I upgraded my rule to include, if you can’t spell it, don’t use it.
If someone works at a school or a church, they aren’t going to answer the question of where do you work with “At a non-profit”. Educators are much more proud of the tangible work they provide than to say, “Yep, it’s a tax-exempt organization!” Not-for-profit. Woo hoo!!
It’s neat that the word non-profit, despite its negative prefix, is a word that comes with great character. Now that I think about this I am reminded that a good friend of eTapestry, Tom Suddes, changed what he calls non-profit. He doesn’t like the word starting negative either and calls you all “For Impact” organizations. Now that’s it.
Philanthropy. So, that’s a cool word. And charity is an awesome word. I’ve been in the ‘philanthropic’ industry since 1996. I think a dozen plus years gives me enough experience to be able to recognize that there are so many super hearts at all the charities that are our clients. And in hearts of those that aren’t.
I think we moved away from it because of it’s Christian origins. It’s sad that in most things people like to explain the origin of something and how far back it goes. But if it’s politically incorrect like only this can be, then we need to change the name to something dumb sounding.
Who can put charity back on the street and let people know the word is about compassion? Tax time is about as dull part of the year as it gets for me. Don’t tell me your tax status.
It is extremely cool that the work that charities do is so important and admirable, that it does warrant not being taxed by our government. But let’s focus on the hearts.
Let’s focus on the charity.
Rick Radcliff
VP of Conversion, Consulting & Data Services
eTapestry
So how many of you have been watching the Olympics?
The opening Ceremonies' got me hooked and
every night my wife, the kids and me sit down to watch them, even when we know
the outcome. In that spirit, the
support(eTapestry and Indy BlackBaud) and Web Services teams decided to have
their own office Olympics. It has been a
lot of fun with a different event each day that awards an individual winner
which adds to the overall team competition for most medals. Each area, eTap support, Indy RE support and
eTap Web Services are in the running for the title of most medals and the
competition is fierce. eTapestry even
has their own Michael Phelps, in Paul Barryhill(Web Services), who has competed
in the finals of, or won most competitions.
Today, the famed office chair obstacle race
is taking place, in which a new world record was set (24.63sec by Aaron Bacon of Web Services). Other events have included extreme office golf(19
putts for one hole), a Connect Four tournament, paper airplane flying, target
shooting (with Nerf guns), cornhole and a few other fun games.
Each day, when I come home and report to my family about
my day, my wife ask if we ever do any work here. I just smile and say yes. I know the level of support and services that
we provide are some of, if not the best in the industry. I think part of it stems from the fact that
we take time to have a little fun. It
makes our jobs more than just someplace to earn a paycheck and I believe our
customers can truly here that when they talk to us.
Are you taking some time to have a little fun
in your day?
Maybe the people you
serve/support would benefit more if you were having fun raising money and not
just looking at it as doing a job. Take
some time each week to have a little fun while you are working and I bet you will
notice a difference, More importantly,
those around you will notice a difference too!
By 1996 the Internet was common knowledge. I remember the first time I “connected”. It was my brother’s custom PC that surpassed it’s time (one could tell by the monochrome monitor). I sat down at his desk, a table that he “borrowed” from some business establishment that he worked for and a patio chair. After waiting a few minutes for Windows 3.1 to boot I created my first America Online account using my brother’s checkbook. I was well on my way to discovering the joys or easy access of the World Wide Web. After several minutes, I was defeated; unsuccessfully connecting to anything beyond reading my welcome email from AOL. I disconnected. That was the first of many heartaches that would come from dial-up.
All was not lost, however. Through the help of a print-out that I grabbed at earlier that day from the Norwood Library success was celebrated when I completed a TELNET connection. It was bliss. The black and white screen painted beautiful Courier Font in 24 pixels. My attention faltered after only being able to read the library's contact information and hours (I hear the real money is an “Upcoming Events” section which was Under Construction at the time).
I am typing the obvious cliché that the Internet has “come a long way” since that fateful day at my brother’s studio apartment on Cincinnati’s Northeast side. Today Tom, ***, and Sherry have nearly unlimited resources to produce their own space whether riding the backs of Facebook, LinkedIn, and WordPress or taking control of their own domain. It is still easy for anyone to become lost, misguided, or ill-informed when it comes to design, posting content, or simply defining a tag line.
I came on board with eTapestry in January of 2005. I was an intern and wet behind the ears. I was also fortunate to start in a young department. Most people in my field start their career fresh out of school and as book smart as we can be (well, some of us). Then, one quickly realizes the importance of “real world” experience. From communication with customers and fellow employees to knowing what was proper and good when it came to website design and development.
As the internet changes and takes on new dimensions the continuous education and deployment to meet and succeed at all levels is a must to stay competitive in the market. We call this standardizing the web. eTapestry’s Web Services maintains this through all of our web solutions while being accessible, user-friendly, and affordable as well as secure and reliable.
All though we still maintain one of the smallest departments at eTapestry, I am confident in the knowledge base that we represent. Over the past year our department has strive to not only learn and implement today’s standards for web development but also focused on educating our fellow employees and customers of the importance of standardization.
In case you didn't see the press release, eTapestry has a Spanish language version now available to non profits. Well, we started doing this late in 2006 with several clients to assist them with their multi-lingual users. After the feedback we received, it was improved so that eTapestry could expand into larger international markets. Heck, there is no reason for me to repeat all of this, just take a look at the press release. I copied it here for your viewing pleasure.
eTapestry today announced the availability of its on-demand
fundraising software in a Spanish language version.
Indianapolis, IN July 7, 2008 -- eTapestry today announced the availability of its on-demand fundraising software in a Spanish language version. eTapestry Espanol will provide a new group of growing nonprofits around the world with web-based tools to efficiently and effectively manage their fundraising activities.
“With eTapestry users accessing their data from points all over the
globe, it was plain to see that eTapestry’s on demand software was
opening up new opportunities for organizations everywhere,” said Jay
Love, eTapestry’s chief executive officer.
According to John Moore, eTapestry’s CTO and vice president of
development, eTapestry is uniquely positioned to offer the product in a
new, international market:
“The need for automation and data segmentation is universal, but
from the very beginning, eTapestry was architected with an eye toward
offering the product on an international scale,” said Moore. “This
framework allows eTapestry to concentrate on how nonprofit
organizations run their business rather than the traditional
maintenance overhead of maintaining multiple versions of the software.”
Moore added, “Being a Software as a Service
(SaaS) offering, we are positioned to rapidly evolve the product in a
new market. We don't have the limitation of client-installed software
so our release cycle can be very aggressive. The customers will realize
the benefits much quicker because their suggestions are incorporated
into the product within a few weeks rather than months."
In 2006, eTapestry began creating the multi-lingual version to assist Spanish-speaking clients in several U.S. cities including San Diego, Miami, and Houston.
After gaining great feedback from early adopters, developers were able
to make the changes necessary to expand the eTapestry software into
larger international markets.
That effort complimented the international development plans of Blackbaud,
eTapestry’s parent company. Working together, they began to develop a
strategy to introduce eTapestry Espanol to Latin America.
“The nonprofit community in Latin America is rapidly growing and
needs software to better manage donor relations and overall
accountability,” said Andrew Mosawi, Blackbaud’s vice president of
international business development. “It is a market that has been
underserved by the nonprofit software industry thus far, and we are
pleased to provide an on-demand solution that is tailored to the unique
needs of these growing organizations.”
Company representatives presented eTapestry Espanol to a group of nonprofits at an event earlier this year organized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Mexico City. The overwhelmingly positive response resulted in the recent formation of a pilot program. Mosawi noted, “The pilot program in Mexico
is in its early stages, but is making great progress and we expect that
our current international client base of more than 2200 organizations
in 55 countries will grow significantly. Upon successful completion of
the pilot program in Mexico City, we can then look to expand to other
countries including Argentina, Chile and Spain – ¡El cielo es el límite! (the sky is the limit!)”
About eTapestry
Founded in 1999, Indianapolis-based eTapestry® is the first web-based
donor database and communications management system that delivers its
software over the Internet, allowing access from desktops, laptops and
mobile devices. eTapestry’s web site development,
ecommerce and advanced email tools give its more than 3,000 customers a
fully integrated and maintenance free solution. For more information,
visit www.eTapestry.com. eTapestry is a Blackbaud company.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud® is the leading global provider
of software and services designed specifically for nonprofit
organizations, enabling them to improve operational efficiency, build
strong relationships, and raise more money to support their missions.
Approximately 19,000 organizations — including the American Red Cross, Dartmouth College, the WGBH Educational Foundation, Episcopal High School, Lincoln Center, Cancer Research UK, Special Olympics,
and Arthritis Foundation — use one or more of Blackbaud’s products and
services for fundraising, constituent relationship management,
financial management, direct marketing, school administration,
ticketing, business intelligence, website management, prospect
research, consulting, and analytics. Since 1981, Blackbaud’s sole focus
and expertise has been partnering with nonprofits and providing them
the solutions they need to make a difference in their local communities
and worldwide. Headquartered in the United States, Blackbaud also has
operations in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.
Media Contacts:
Steve Rusche
eTapestry
steve.rusche@eTapestry.com
317.336.3853 x7224
Melanie Milonas
Blackbaud, Inc.
melanie.milonas@blackbaud.com
843.216.6200 x3307
Source: eTapestry
Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements
that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although Blackbaud
attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it
is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions
on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors
that could cause results to differ materially include the following
risks related to the expected timing and financial or other benefits of
the Kintera acquisition: management of integration of acquired
companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; uncertainty
regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers;
continued success in sales growth; general economic risks; risk
associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated
software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel;
risks related to our dividend policy and share repurchase program,
including potential limitations on our ability to grow and the
possibility that we might discontinue payment of dividends; risks
relating to restrictions imposed by the credit facility; risks
associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation
cycles, particularly in larger organizations; technological changes
that make our products and services less competitive; and the other
risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for
Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s
website at www.sec.gov upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department.
All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.
Let me introduce you to "The Thread". This is the official blog site for the eTapestry product. Here at eTapestry we like to be cutting edge, however it would appear that we are getting a late start into this blogging world. While this is a new blogging site for eTapestry, I can only hope it turns out better than the last one we tried.
Back in the day (some nine years ago), we thought it would be cool to let our customers interact with each other on what was then called a "list serve". After getting it all set up, what lives in the Annals of eTapestry lore happened next. I sent it out to ALL of our customers on a Friday evening, thus automatically opting them into membership to what we thought would be one of our greatest tools in communication with our customers. A can't miss foray into social networking, which happened to be called "Threads". I went home that night dreaming of the wonderful interaction and posts between eTapestry customers and their love of the eTapestry product.
Wow, somebody wake me up!
Reality hit the next day (Saturday) as our only sales person at the time called to let me know that our list serve was running out of control. There were plenty of posts, but none like I had hoped for. Some folks who did not appreciate their automatic inclusion to membership had some rather harsh things to say, which then went to EVERY customer, who then responded with their own thoughts back to EVERY customer, who then....well you get the picture. Before I could frantically get Threads turned off, I had turned off every one of our customers from using the darn thing. A few months later, it was re-launched (without the auto membership feature and a new moderator feature) but it never took off. People joined but just sat on the sidelines and never contributed to it, and it finally faded away into the sunset.
So, here we go again, which I guess you know since you are here reading this. It is now called "The Thread" and we really want you to join in the discussions we have here and not just sit on the sidelines waiting for someone else to join the conversation. We hope to post things such as product stuff, how to's, new feature information, marketplace gossip, storytelling, info on fun eTapestry events, show/conference recaps and much more. We hope you will learn from them, discuss them and let us know what you think of them. We want this to be a growing, thriving community of eTapestry users and fans, who let us know what they are thinking.
So, check back here often to see what is new and we look forward to hearing from you.