Nonprofits At Risk: Must Race Against Commercial Internet Companies to Maintain Member Relationships; Internet Challenges Discussed at Recent Forum.

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 1999--

At a day-long roundtable for 20 leading national associations at iBelong's Waltham headquarters, nonprofit executives discussed the need to move at Internet speed to preserve relationships established offline when members go online.

Leading associations across a wide diversity of interests including the University of Connecticut Alumni Association and B'nai B'rith joined in the roundtable this week to discuss how organizations can capitalize on the power of the Internet to enrich and extend their member relationships in the new millennium.

While the Internet offers tremendous potential to enhance affinity group relationships, there's also a big downside to being too slow. "Nothing has ever threatened the relationship between nonprofits and their members the way the Internet does," said Shikhar Ghosh, president and CEO of iBelong. "Unlike other kinds of communications channels, people will choose only one entryway as their daily destination on the Web. Whichever entity sponsors their entryway, or portal page - whether commercial or nonprofit -- will be the major recipient of their time, money, and attention. Nonprofits need to move at a faster pace to meet this challenge."

Nonprofits will be competing with tens of thousands of portals for their members' attention as the majority move increasingly online. Industry experts estimate more than 25,000 portals by 2003. And by that same year, 177 million people will be online, representing more than 70 percent of the population, Jupiter Communications predicts.

But to effectively compete against the well-funded technology startups and highly capitalized online leaders, nonprofits need access to capital, technology, and expertise. "We're living in a world of e-capitalism," continued Ghosh. "Internet companies have the capacity to raise the capital needed to develop a competitive Internet program of substantial scale. By partnering with an Internet company committed to this sector, nonprofits can now have `virtual' access to resources that have been difficult for them to attain. But they need to choose a partner who respects the member relationships they have so carefully cultivated in the offline world and who can help them maintain these relationships in the online world."

"We need to go beyond our Web site to ensure that we remain in the forefront of our members' lives," says Larry Preo, executive director of Purdue Alumni Association, whose organization just launched a customized portal through iBelong. "Where once having a unique relationship with our members sustained their loyalty, in the near future that won't be enough. We definitely needed help to afford the investment in time and money to develop, implement, and market a fully competitive Internet offering for members."

The roundtable also covered topics including strategies for building relationships through marketing, maximizing the value of a group's Web strategy, and bringing offline communities online.

About iBelong

Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, iBelong, Inc., uses its capital, technology, and expertise to build customized portals and to implement Internet strategies for membership organizations at no cost to them. iBelong portals are Internet entryways that provide a trusted and comfortable online environment to connect group members with the activities, interests, and people most important to them. To date, iBelong has agreements with groups representing more than 20 million members, including the AFL-CIO. The company has launched customized group portals for a wide variety of membership groups, including university alumni associations, professional associations, and a sporting group. For more information, visit our Web site at www.ibelong.com, or e-mail us at [e-mail].