GiftWorks 2.0 -- Blazing New Trails

We've been working for over 6 months on GiftWorks 2.0, which we plan to release later this summer. This is one of these transformational products that will likely shake up the nonprofit software sector, which is laden with companies like Blackbaud (Nasdaq:BLKB)that charge a lot of money for their software, or Kintera  (Nasdaq:KNTA), which is reasonable for larger NPOs but out of reach for small orgs. Even Microsoft is selling into this sector with a pricey CRM system. When so many companies target the large and mid-sized nonprofits, the smaller ones get left out in the cold. That's where we come in.

Wildcat (GiftWorks 2.0 code name; free GiftWorks license to anyone who guesses our code name system and posts the answer in comments) is just entering beta and is already getting attention from larger nonprofits. So what's so great about it? Well, besides and price ($299) and the beautiful design that makes it so easy to use, the new features are really, really cool. The mailing section gives a deep look into the overall direction of the software as a direct marketing tool, with mass mailing tools like one-click mailings (patent-pending), uploads to online print services, mass email (and later email marketing and response tracking--very cool). This is the beauty of the platform--we merge the power of the desktop with the utility of the internet. You get the best of both worlds, and for not a lot of money.

The big 2.0 sports lots of other helpful features like the cool new dashboard with info fed from the web as well as donor info from the software, the elegant way it handles households, memorials, and honoraria, etc...but I think the most exciting thing for geeks like me has to be the upcoming SDK--a software development kit. Any Visual Basic-level developer can build new applications with the SDK and Design Guide, both of which are due in Beta form sometime this Fall. So you'll start to see add-ons from consultants and software companies, and in a few cases you'll even see our "competitors" licensing our technology as they move away from their antiquated legacy code. Now THAT's really cool.

So we're not your typical software company. We're pretty agressive, and we're relentless in our pursuit of better software for our customers. We've been talking with existing customers this week about the new features--many of which came from their feedback--and they are really excited. Any owner of the current version gets the new version for free, which makes them even more happy--no upgrade costs. I have to say--we love our customers! Y'all have been so amazingly supportive, friendly, and helpful as we evolve good software into great software. We didn't get to everything into this version, but there's a ton of new stuff, all implemented with that same care you've come to know and love.

So are we on the radar screens of our competitors? You bet. We've gotten calls from some, some hit our website regularly, and others have downloaded the trial. A lot of software out there was developed organically out of consulting experience, with lots of features but terrible interfaces. We hear a lot of customers complain about the huge expense of other software, where they pay for features they don't--or can't--use. We feel your pain. We wouldn't want to use that software either, and we don't. In fact, we have been using a popular sales program to track our customer information, and we think it's too expensive and too hard to use, so we're giving up on it and actually using GiftWorks instead (I use it for my own nonprofit already).

Anyway, we're having fun. Tomorrow we move into a very large space in an old tobacco warehouse. It's more New York loft than Lancaster office space...very open, brick walls, etc. Chris will post pictures as we move in. Things are really enjoyable these days! Maybe you can come by for the open house?