Nonprofits Using Social Media to Engage and Share, Says Sage North America Survey

AUSTIN, TX, Oct 28 (MARKET WIRE) --
Sage North America today announced the results of its recently conducted
social media survey for nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Canada.
One of the most interesting findings: 91% of respondents raise funds
online, but only 58 percent of those nonprofits using social media cite
fundraising as a goal for using it. "Sharing our story," building a
community, public relations, and donor engagement/retention -- not
raising funds -- were listed as the nonprofits' top reasons for engaging
in social media.

"Nonprofit organizations are already using social media channels to
participate in conversations with their constituents, but we're finding
that the majority of them are still trying to balance using social media
as a vehicle for fundraising with their internal time and resource
capacity to take advantage of it," said Krista Endsley, senior vice
president and general manager for Nonprofit Solutions at Sage. "It seems
that social media still hasn't become part of nonprofit organizations'
everyday activities, perhaps simply because the organizations don't think
they have enough expertise or time to do so."

While online donations are growing, organizations are still trying to
unite their social media strategies effectively with their fundraising
campaigns.

"The most successful nonprofits are capitalizing on social media, not by
simply tweeting a link to their donation form, but by using it as part of
an integrated campaign," said Endsley. "Multiple touches with constituents
are what result in donations. Social media is helping nonprofits engage in
more 'touches' with more donors and, ultimately, raise more funds."

Other findings from Sage's social media survey for nonprofit
organizations
include:

-- 88% of survey respondents are using some form of social media; more
than half of them have been using social media for less than a year
-- 45% of survey respondents that haven't adopted social media are unsure
of the relevance and advantages to their organization; other respondents
cited lack of time and resources and lack of understanding and expertise as
reasons for not participating in social media
-- The most popular type of social media used is general social
networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, followed by blogging and
microblogging; and YouTube is also widely used
-- 70% recognize social media as either very or somewhat important to
their organization, while only 9% are very satisfied
-- 20% of respondents spend more than five hours per week using social
media

Sage's social media survey, sent via e-mail to The Chronicle of
Philanthropy newspaper subscribers with development titles from
organizations with annual operating budgets (AOBs) of more than $500K,
received a 17 percent response rate. Topics addressed in the survey
included types of social media; specific social media tools; types of
social media activities; social media goals and success; reasons for not
participating in social media; and acceptance of online donations.

Sage helps more than 2.9 million small and mid-sized businesses and
nonprofits in the U.S. and Canada, like the American Lung Association and
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, increase efficiency and more
easily manage their operations -- from fund accounting, fundraising, and
donor management, to online donation processing, human resources, health
care, and payroll -- through the use of technology. For more than 30
years, the company has been helping nonprofit organizations further their
missions and better serve constituents through the use of technology.

For more information about Sage North America's Nonprofit Solutions,
please visit http://www.sagenonprofit.com or
http://www.sagenorthamerica.com, or call 800-647-3863.

About Sage North America

Sage North America is part of The Sage Group plc, a leading global
supplier of business management software and services. Sage North America
employs more than 4,100 people and supports nearly 2.9 million small and
medium-size business customers. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was
floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs 14,500 people
and supports 5.8 million customers worldwide. For more information, please
visit the Web site at www.sagenorthamerica.com.

Copyright 2009 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, Sage
Software, Sage logos and the Sage product and service names mentioned
herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc. or
its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.

Press Contact:
Cynthia Sutton
Sage North America
(703) 793-2700 x 3032
cynthia.sutton@sage.com

Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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