Fall is almost here and for many private schools and colleges, it is a time when educators and administrators look forward to helping a new group of students continue their academic journey.  During this busy back-to-school time, many schools and colleges are offering many events for parents and students as well as launching new fundraising programs.  This often means mountains of paperwork and accounting for faculty and staff. While fundraising and event management might be considered among the unpleasant aspects of operating a private educational institution, TransactU can help simplify the process.

“If you are responsible for administrating these projects, you know all too well the headaches that can accompany the process,” says Tim Whitehorn, president and CEO of ServiceU. “From managing information sent out to students, parents, and the community, to keeping track of pledges and donations, to hosting fundraising events, there are many factors involved. TransactU can help you simplify the process. It’s the uncomplicated, straightforward, easy-to-use online solution for keeping track of donations, event registrations, and online payments.”

TransactU can help your school with event registrations and online donations

TransactU offers everything you need to accept online registrations, payment and donations with a credit card or online check in a secure, hosted environment. Patrons, whether they are parents, grandparents, or friends of your organization, can simply visit your school’s website when it’s convenient for them, 24/7, whether your office doors are open or closed.

Here’s how TransactU can help your school:

Online event registration and payment – Your school has a lot going on. From workshops to alumni reunions to athletic training camps, there are a lot of ways for people to get involved. Make it easy for students, parents, alumni, and guests to participate in your events by offering online event registration and payment. Because TransactU enables your school to accept payments, you can use it to set up tuition payments and help your staff more effectively manage their events using TransactU’s powerful reporting capabilities.

With TransactU, there are no more hand-written forms to be filled out. People can simply go to your website to register for events and pay using their debit or credit card, or an e-check.

Online giving – Alumni may not return to the campus as frequently as they would like, but they can keep up-to-date with your organization through your website. Many busy parents and distant grandparents would like to contribute to the school or college, but don’t always have the time or the ability to go to your school to drop off a gift. Give them to the opportunity to make online contributions to your school, directly from your school’s website.

In addition to ongoing giving opportunities, TransactU is also a helpful addition to your development team’s fundraising efforts. As your school launches annual fundraising campaigns, your campaign materials can direct patrons to your “online giving” section of your school’s website. From there, patrons can contribute online.  By asking your patrons to give online, you can save your school countless dollars on postage and printing costs.

With TransactU, your patrons can:

• Set up recurring gifts and select amount
• Make payment with debit or credit cards, or e-checks
• Select which fund their gift goes to from a drop-down menu of choices

Sign up for a TransactU demo today and learn how to get a handle on the fundraising process, online donations and payments, and event registrations. Call us at 1.866.709.7420  today to get up-and-running in a week or less!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEMPHIS, TN., July 21, 2009 – ServiceU Corporation, provider of the most complete on-demand event management software solutions designed specifically for organizations such as churches, nonprofits, schools, universities, festivals, and theaters, was recently recognized for its continued technology advancements by a number of the foremost technology experts in the world.

During the past six months, Microsoft, AMD, and Dell Computers each has recognized ServiceU’s technology advancements through a series of case studies written about the company.

“There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes at ServiceU to make sure that we are supporting our customers with the best technology backbone—that’s tech talk for all the technology that goes on behind the product that you use every day,” says Tim Whitehorn, CEO of ServiceU. “From hardware and software, to onsite and offsite backups, to servers and processors, we are always looking for ways to improve the day-to-day operations of all that helps make ServiceU a successful company.”

Since ServiceU is a company that is up and running 24/7/365, it is constantly looking for ways to improve its technology backend, to shore up its data security, enhance data accessibility, and to put into practice the most cutting-edge solutions to enhance the performance of the products it offers.

The bottom line—the software and hardware in place to facilitate ServiceU’s products and services is stable, secure, reliable, and dependable. “While we serve the faith-based nonprofit market, we adhere to the standards of the secular business world to make sure that we’re offering our clients the best product available to date,” notes Whitehorn.

To read more about the recent improvements to ServiceU’s technology backend, feel free to visit the links below:

• Microsoft Case Study

• AMD Case Study

• Dell Case Study and Video

About ServiceU Corporation
ServiceU Corporation provides online event management software designed for churches, ministries, nonprofits, schools, universities, festivals, and theaters. ServiceU’s core product line includes: EventU™ for event, resource, and facility management through web-based calendar scheduling software; EventU Green™ is an add-on to EventU that automates facility heating and cooling (HVAC) online based on a facility’s events schedule; TransactU™ provides secure online donation, payment, and event registration tools; TicketU™ provides online ticket sales, box office management, and theater software. Founded in 1997, ServiceU is a trusted provider of online event management software to the faith-based and nonprofit markets.

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THE HOTTEST SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY TRENDS can help your church become more efficient. Consider all the different ways tools like these can assist you in reaching more people, both in your congregation and beyond! Here are the top eight:

1. Software as a Service (SAAS)

Another name for software as a service (SAAS) is application-service provider, or ASP. Both acronyms basically mean that software is provided as a Web-based solution provided on the Internet. Churches can save both time and energy, and trust the experts to do 99 percent of the work.

What’s great about implementing software tools that are Web-based is that no programming is necessary. Whether you want to give church leaders access to membership data online, or offer members access to update their personal information — or to implement online payments or donations — using software that’s Web-based is the new “way of life.”

2. CRM Model for Churches

Another major trend is customer relationship management (CRM) software. CRM software allows you to span various departments and business functions across a church to share a single view of everything about that member.

The main difference between CRM and traditional church management software, or CMS, is that you’re no longer just collecting the data about the member, but sharing it and allowing everyone to view and edit their parts of it as needed. This allows people in different ministries or departments to track and monitor the shifting needs and interests of its members. In other words, different ministries or departments can use the data from the same single record in different ways to meet their needs.

Some CRM software has been customized to meet the needs of church leaders. Some vendors only provide a desktop software package, and others only provide a Web-based package. The best vendors, however, provide both online and offline software packages to ensure everyone will have the tools they need, whether they have updated hardware or not.

3. E-mail Newsletters

E-mail newsletter software services are another hot trend. This service combines the first two trends by delivering software as a service and providing tools to use the CRM system to communicate with the individuals in the database. Whereas it was once unique for an organization to communicate via an e-mail newsletter, now this type of communication has become standard.

With increases in technology, programs can be customized and integrated with existing software; e-mail addresses can be uploaded from a variety of programs (including church management software, Outlook and other e-mail programs); and specific information can be requested by users so that they receive only the news they want. All these tools take communicating with church members to new heights, and they offer major benefits. Even better, e-mail newsletter service providers often offer tools to track how many people opened the e-mail, forwarded the e-mail, and more. Marketing data such as this can be very valuable to your church.

4. Online Ticketing and Registration

Church leaders are looking for solutions that assist them in increasing traffic to events without increasing the administrative time it takes to sell tickets and register people. As such, online ticketing and event registration software is hot.

By using a software vendor that integrates ticket-selling and event registration pages into your website without any programming, in just moments your church can be selling tickets to special events and registering people for missions trips with ease.

People expect convenience, and now they can have it. Online ticketing services allow users to print out electronic tickets, or request tickets by mail or will-call. The bottom line: no more standing in line. Everything can be done via the Web for maximum efficiency, both for the church and for the user.

5. Online Payments and Donations

Taking things a step further, churches can accept payments for special classes, seminars, youth events, mission trips, regular tithing and more through online payment and donation software services. The best software services in this area will be totally Web-based and integrate into your website with ease.

Establishing online donations also makes it convenient for members to give by providing them with alternate means of contributing. Some people have jobs or other commitments that keep them from regularly attending, so let contributors set up and manage their giving through your church website.

It’s possible to set up one-time giving, or set up an automated payment that’s deducted from the giver’s account each week or month, depending on their preference. For payments that are set up to automatically deduct money from a bank account, an e-mail reminder can be sent before each contribution is made.

These types of online donation services are really amazing and can assist your church in meeting its financial goals.

6. Security Products

Security for all things software and Web-related is definitely on the hot list. With hackers, worm threats, Trojan horse viruses and even threats of physical violence on church premises, you simply can’t be too careful.

Many software vendors now have entire categories on their websites explaining security products to their clients. Automated data backup programs are hot, as are check- in/check-out childcare programs.

For Web-based programs, providing proper login and user password identification requirements are important, as are as firewalls and spam guards for e-mail and e-newsletter communication tools.

7. Small-Group Management

Managing small groups has come a long way from a simple roster list that gets filled out by the leader and turned into the church office. Through online access to church management software, leaders now have the ability to log in from their home computers and manage small groups.

Some programs provide ways to communicate with members via e-mail, mark attendance, set up tasks and reminders and more. Software even provides a way for the staff in a church to track people who have expressed interest in groups and see which groups they join — or haven’t joined — to determine who needs assistance.

8. Online Calendaring

Software vendors seek to meet the overall needs of churches while at the same time implementing new technologies that offer advancements. One of the simplest ways to use technology tools to encourage your church members is to keep a continuously updated calendar available on your church website. One survey found that 70 percent of church website visitors were seeking event information. Displaying the latest event information on your website and keeping it current is a must in this day and age.

Hopefully, these eight trends will help you plan your technology implementations this year. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Do your research. Talk to customer service departments at any technology company to find out what the level of service will be like. And most of all, don’t forget to ask your staff if the technology tools you choose are indeed meeting their needs.

Lauren Hunter is a trade writer and public relations consultant specializing in the faith-based and nonprofit technology markets. She currently consults to ACS Technologies and Service U, both technology providers to the church market. For more information on how Internet and software technology can improve your organization, contact Hunter at lauren@laurenhunter.net.

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For many churches, building an interactive website and maintaining it as a significant communication tool remain unconquered tasks. Churches rarely use their websites to their full potential. A new understanding of a website’s purpose must be grasped.

Too many church websites are nothing more than a static collection of documents—a listing of a few events or a page of church contact names and numbers. Many church leaders might not even be aware that websites today can have many interactive features, including sections for visitor comments, tools to access church membership data, ways for church staff to communicate goals and purposes of special projects, and more.

To get more from this valuable tool, you need to extend your vision of what a website is and what it can do. As you’ll see, a church website can be used to communicate goals, increase volunteer activity, share strategic vision, and connect and assist members in making a greater impact in their community.

Use Multiple Sites
Mountain Lake Church in Cumming, Georgia views its three websites as tools to convey goals and visions. The pastoral staff relies heavily on the different websites to keep church members informed and connected.

Their initial website, www.MountainLakeChurch.org, has undergone three different redesigns in the church’s six-year history. Shawn Lovejoy, lead pastor, and David Putman, executive pastor, later developedwww.ChurchPlanters.com to assist and empower young church planters to reach disconnected people in their communities. Then two years ago, the pastors developed a third website, www.BecauseWeCare.com, as a part of a strategic initiative designed to expand the church’s influence and its physical campus.

“BecauseWeCare.com was designed to relate closely to our strategic direction as a church,” says Putman. “We worked with all our pastors to make sure the right content was up on the pages. Instead of including details on church growth and expansion projects on our main website, we decided to launch BecauseWeCare.com as a spiritual initiative with one of our goals being expansion of space.”

Constantly Promote
The pastors launched a six-week “Because We Care” teaching series and continued this theme in its sets and lobby. “Every aspect of our communication was aimed at driving people to the website,” notes Putman. “One of the important dynamics of the site during this time was what we called ‘life-changing stories.’ Each week, people could go to the site and communicate how God was changing their lives. With hundreds of people doing this, it was an extremely dynamic site.”

The church included all of its goals and plans for the new building project on the site. Church members could easily get information regarding the building plans and financial needs. But although the building expansion was important, church leaders wanted to make sure it was only part of the overall website project.

“We had a set of goals we called ‘The S’s:’ Spiritual influence, expansion of Space, additional Staff, and Strategic missions,” Putman adds. The church categorized information about each goal on the website. Regular updates gave details of how these goals were being met.

At its core, the Because We Care initiative challenged church leaders to ask, “God, what do you want to do through us (the church)?” and for each individual to ask, “God, what do you want to do through me?” In all aspects, the website communicated this core mission and encouraged members to pursue God’s plans in their own lives.

Create Interactivity
The church used the BecauseWeCare.com website to post comments about expansion project accomplishments, recommend ways for members to pray for the project, post pictures of the land acquired for new buildings, and post details of the master plan for the 30-acre site. The website even included a form for submitting questions about the building project. It also had a frequently asked questions page to address concerns from the members.

Putnam says that because their ministry is so dynamic, they placed a high value on technology that allowed them to be quick, flexible, and in control. They chose the ACS Extend Platform because it integrated well with the communication structures already in place at the church.

Several key ministry team members at Mountain Lake Church have administrative access to the three websites and can edit and upload new content including images, videos, slideshows, and audio clips. New information keeps the sites fresh in every way. Because the ACS Extend Platform is a content management platform, church staff can access and update their web pages from any location, and they don’t need to know HTML or be computer wizards to maintain the site. With an easy-to-use HTML editor that works much like a word processing program, they can create and layout new content and upload it to the website.

“Having a system that allows for multiple people to upload content and rearrange the site saves me from having to make lots of updates,” says Putnam. “It spreads the workload out and helps us focus on keeping the site fresh—with less work for one person.”

With their three-website strategy, Mountain Lake Church is able to accomplish three goals. The first goal is to communicate with those outside their church in a relevant way. The second goal is to communicate to those within the church and provide resources for personal growth and for creating community through small groups. The third goal is to provide resources for those within the church who are committed to reaching others.

Handle Donations
Functions for donating online are strategically located on the Because WeCare.com website. “We really didn’t want to hit new visitors to the Mountain Lake site with ‘Donate Here’ right in their faces,” says Putnam. “We wanted to invite visitors to the services and help them become a part of the church and not worry about donating from the get-go.”

The online donation information on the BecauseWeCare.com homepage can be reached by links from the Mountain Lake site. The church uses ServiceU for both its online donation functions and online volunteer forms.

“Providing members with easy ways to donate online is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing tools for us as a church,” says Putnam. “Currently, about 25 percent of funds donated come in through the website. Just before Christmas, I preached on giving proportionally to one’s income and utilizing the online donation tools our church provides. It was a huge success.”

Reach Everyone
In addition to using its websites, Mountain Lake Church provides information to its members through printed and mailed materials, e-mail, from the pulpit, and through printed worship guides and cards left in the sanctuary seats. During the Because We Care series, the church put computer kiosks in the lobby so that members without Internet access at home could have access to the site.

“We made our websites an important part of our culture, but we still have a long way to go,” adds Putman.

The church goals for 2006 include stepping up even further its web presence and commitment to technology. Church leaders hope to increase their use of e-mail for communication and to begin taking online registrations and payments for missions trips and other youth activities.

“In all things, we are strategic in our use of technology to encourage and support our ministries,” Putman comments. “Our focus is in changing lives through Christ—if web technology can help us accomplish this, then it is in our best interest to pursue it.”

Mountain Lake Church continues to research and implement new technologies that assist them with their ministries. They are pioneers, paving the way for more churches to make technology inroads and increase their ministry effectiveness.

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