02/03/2006

eTapestry Offers Faith-Based Organizations Free Online Giving Pages
Ministries and congregations may use their existing database, along with eTapestry-powered online giving

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- eTapestry will build a free, customized online giving page for faith-based organizations regardless of what database they use.

The organizations will only be responsible for a one- time $10 fee to integrate the page with eTapestry’s database and credit card processor.

"We believe so strongly that fund-raisers need to focus on online giving that we are providing these custom pages for free," said eTapestry CEO Jay Love.

eTapestry’s database can hold donor records until they are moved to the organizations’ current database, or they can continue to use the same eTapestry database software serving more than 5,000 nonprofits worldwide.

Faith-based organizations and ministries of all types use eTapestry and find the remote access and maintenance-free operation especially attractive. In addition, eTapestry offers capabilities that meet the unique needs of ministries, such as tracking household members and managing segmented gifts.

"Many online giving systems are too expensive and complicated for ministries and congregations, or they are too generic and operate outside of the organization’s Web site," Love said. "eTapestry’s online giving is easy to use and allows organizations to maintain integration between their Web sites and giving pages and continue with their existing databases."

Recent statistics show that nonprofit organizations using online giving have seen their online donations grow by more than 50 percent a year. Organizations using eTapestry’s fundraising database software and online giving tools together have seen even more dramatic increases.

In 2004, eTapestry nonprofit customers processed more than $2.4 million online, compared with $12 million online with an average gift of $160 in 2005. Anecdotally, many nonprofits have reported that the size of their online gifts is typically larger than their average gift overall.

"Online giving has come a long way in the past three or four years. Donors are getting used to its convenience and have come to trust and expect it," Love said. "Faith-based organizations have often been leaders in introducing online giving to their constituents. We hope this free offer gives eTapestry an opportunity to open a dialogue and introduce online giving to a whole new group of organizations."

Organizations may sign up for the free offer Feb. 1- April 30.

eTapestry’s standard secure online giving page includes specific fields for online giving and incorporates the nonprofit’s logo and color. The page will automatically connect to IATS Ticketmaster for transaction processing and an eTapestry database, which is free for the first 500 records. The offer includes free setup for credit card processing with the standard 3.3 percent transaction fee per donation.

As part of the offer, eTapestry will provide new customers with a free e-mail blast for up to 5,000 e- mail addresses to announce the availability of online giving. After three months, ministries will be responsible for standard hosting fees, beginning at $10 per month. For more information, call 888.739.3827.

About eTapestry -- Founded in 1999, Indianapolis-based eTapestry is the first Web-based donor database and communications management system that rents its software to customers who access it over the Internet. eTapestry serves more than 5,000 nonprofit organizations of all types and sizes that do not pay the large upfront purchasing costs or the ongoing maintenance and support contracts typically paid in the purchase of more traditional software. For more information, go to www.eTapestry.com.