[February 15, 2005] New Tax Law Generates Contributions for Tsunami Disaster Relief Tweet SAN DIEGO --(Business Wire)-- Feb. 15, 2005 -- Study by technology provider Kintera finds online donations to tsunami relief efforts dramatically increased at end of January 2005 In an effort to encourage contributions to tsunami relief efforts, an IRS law enacted on January 7, 2005 allows donations made during January 2005 to be deducted in 2004. In a preliminary study of hundreds of thousands of transactions made to more than a dozen organizations involved in tsunami relief efforts, technology provider Kintera(R) Inc. (NASDAQ:KNTA) reports that the new tax law generated a flurry of last-minute donations to its clients at the end of January 2005. Based on donation transactions from Kintera's nonprofit clients involved in disaster relief efforts - which to date have raised approximately $100 million online - contributions dramatically increased at the month's end. On January 31, 2005, the amount given to tsunami causes was more than four times the average daily amount contributed to tsunami causes between January 21 and January 27, 2005. Donors have responded with a tremendous outpouring of online gifts to aid the victims of the tsunami disaster. The United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) received nearly 10,000 online donations totaling over $1.8 million as of February 10, 2005. "Things have gone well in this, our first major experience with online giving," said Glenda Survance, director of information services at the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. "We know it is the wave of the future, and we are ready at UMCOR." According to The NonProfit Times, preliminary numbers provided by nonprofits indicated that online donations comprised half to two-thirds of total donations during the first week after the disaster. By the end of January 2005, Kintera estimates that over $350 million in online donations were collected by disaster relief organizations since the devastating tsunamis struck. Because the money was sent through credit cards, electronic checks and PayPal, organizations had access to the cash within 72 hours to start funding relief efforts in the hardest hit countries. Added Tim Ledwith, director of interactive donor communications at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, "The compassionate public response to the tsunami crisis was overwhelming, and the fact that we were able to handle such an outpouring so smoothly online is a small miracle in itself." To learn more about how donors responded online to the tsunami disaster, featuring complete details and results from Kintera's clients involved in the efforts, please visit www.kintera.org/TsunamiOnlineGifts. About Kintera Inc. Software provider Kintera(R) Inc. (NASDAQ:KNTA) delivers The Giving Experience(TM) by providing giving convenience to donors and feedback about the financial and social impact of their gifts, creating a sense of belonging and appreciation. Kintera services more than 15,000 accounts in the nonprofit, government and corporate sectors. The company's "software as a service" innovations include its Friends Asking Friends(R) solicitation program and Kintera Sphere(TM), an enterprise-grade software system that provides customer relationship management (CRM), a web content management system (CMS), eMarketing and directed giving applications. For more information, visit Kintera at www.kintera.com. Kintera, Kintera Sphere, Friends Asking Friends and The Giving Experience are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Kintera, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Forward-Looking Statements In addition to historical information, this press release contains forward-looking statements (including, without limitation, express or implied statements regarding the adoption of eMarketing and fundraising software by nonprofit organizations) that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date hereof. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation: our limited operating history; our history of losses; our dependence on increased acceptance by nonprofit organizations of online fundraising; lengthy sales cycles for major customers; our need to manage growth; risks associated with accounting for and processing large amounts of donations; the rapidly changing technologies and market demands; and other risks identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]