• by Masha Geller , January 20, 2003

First off, what in the world was Lara Flynn Boyle thinking last night? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the only positive effect of her outrageous outfit is that the next press release most likely to cross my path will be from E! Online, thanking the actress for boosting its site traffic with that terrible tutu thing. I suppose that’s good news for chat room sponsors everywhere.

That off my chest, there are some truly interesting findings coming out of the non-profit world today. It looks like the non-profits are set to boost their online efforts in 2003, increasing staff, spending more on technology and increasing their focus on online fundraising in 2003. That’s according to Kintera Inc., a provider of online software and services to non-profits.

Kintera says that of those surveyed, 43% planned to spend more on technology this year, 27% expected to keep technology spending at 2002 levels, while 30% anticipated spending less in 2003.

More importantly, online fundraising efforts were expected to increase, with the survey noting that 55% would increase their online fundraising activities in 2003. Of the total respondents, 23% expected to maintain 2002 online fundraising levels, while 22% planned to use the Internet less as a fundraising tool in 2003.

Dr. Harry Gruber, founder and CEO of Kintera commented, “Nonprofits must seek efficiencies and advantages to remain competitive. As can be seen by the survey results, we can expect a shift in technology investment to the Internet as organizations leverage the increasing popularity of online communities for marketing, programming and fundraising.”

Better late than never, wouldn’t you say?