Showcases support for the Houston Public Library through advocacy, fundraising

HOUSTON, January 29, 2013 – The Houston Public Library Foundation (HPLF) has launched a dynamic website powered by Tendenci (www.tendenci.com), the open source Content Management System for nonprofit organizations (NPOs), which makes it easier than ever for Houstonians to support the Houston Public Library. The new website, www.houstonlibraryfoundation.org, was designed by Schipul - The Web Marketing Company (www.schipul.com), a leading Web marketing and software development company based in Houston.

HPLF is a 501(c)(3) organization focused on increasing the Houston community’s awareness of the vital role our Houston Public Library plays in its quality of life. Featuring large, colorful photographs that depict how HPLF supports the Houston Public Library through advocacy and fundraising, the new website uses Tendenci’s broad range of capabilities to promote upcoming events and sponsorship opportunities, recruit volunteers and encourage online donations. The organization also uses Tendenci’s integrated digital media management package to organize, collect and share photos of HPLF’s activities.

“Previously, our Web presence consisted of a single page on the Houston Public Library website, which didn’t provide the platform we needed to engage the community, encourage donations and showcase how we use funds to advance the Library’s mission,” said Maya Houston, executive director of HPLF. “The team at Schipul did a great job of visually capturing and presenting what the foundation is all about and Tendenci CMS makes it easy to add and edit content to keep the site fresh and lively.”

While the City of Houston supports the Library's basic expenses, such as salaries and materials, the Houston Public Library Foundation contributes significant funding for additional books and materials, programming, critical staff development and training, marketing and communications materials and minor refurbishment projects. Without the private funds raised by HPLF, many of the free programs the community relies upon, such as Summer Reading and resume writing classes, would not be possible.

Schipul has released Tendenci CMS as an open source product to give NPOs such as Houston Public Library Foundation greater control over their online presence. The Tendenci site automatically recognizes and accommodates mobile and tablet users by auto-resizing and formatting to the width and height of any device. Tendenci also allows administrators to manage online calendar events and registration for these events including reporting and e-mail notifications. It also features out-of-the-box search engine optimization and Web analytics integration to help maximize and track online visibility.

Tendenci CMS has more than 1 million users and currently powers hundreds of websites for nonprofit organizations and associations around the world, including Metropolitan New York Library Council (www.metro.org), Houston Technology Center (www.houstontech.org) and Komen Houston (www.komen-houston.org).

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About Schipul - The Web Marketing Company

Schipul – The Web Marketing Company develops and builds websites on the Open Source Tendenci CMS (www.tendenci.org) system for NPOs, a revenue generating online tool with over a half million people logging in during the past year and millions of users overall. Schipul is headquartered in Houston with an office in Silicon Valley, and provides web marketing services to an international client base that encompasses a variety of service industries in local, national and international markets. Schipul’s clients include the Houston Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles and Tony Chachere's® Creole Foods, among many others. Additional information about Schipul is available at www.schipul.com and www.tendenci.com.