Campaign encourages online community to respond to housing needs of ailing firefighters

HOUSTON, December 2, 2013 – Tendenci Open Source Content Management System (CMS) (www.tendenci.com) is providing a spark for the Rotary Club of University Area’s heartwarming campaign to provide low-cost housing to firefighters and other first responders who come to Houston to undergo treatment at the Texas Medical Center. The Rotary has kicked off a $15 million fundraising effort and launched a new website, http://rotaryfirefightershome.org/, powered by Tendenci to spearhead the initiative.

Tendenci is the first open source CMS built for cause-related organizations such as the Rotary Firefighters Home fundraising campaign. With Tendenci’s online donation and fundraising management capabilities, the Rotary Firefighters Home can accept donations online, organize and track donations, and automatically generate invoices and reports – all inside one easy to use software platform.

“We like the fact that Tendenci provides online donors to the Rotary Firefighters Home instant confirmation when their donation is processed and – without us having to do anything – Tendenci automatically generates an invoice and emails a copy to the donor with all the information required for submitting to the IRS for tax purposes,” said Rotary Firefighters Home Founding Director Jerry Harris. “We expect the website to be the heart and soul of this campaign, explaining to people around the world the health consequences – particularly cancer – that firefighters face and the need for low-cost housing during their extended stays here.”

Health insurance typically does not cover lodging expenses, and the cost of hotels and short-term housing can be crippling for patients and families coming to Houston for treatment. The Rotary Club of the University Area has undertaken the project of providing housing to professional and volunteer firefighters and other first responders at little or no cost for use while they undergo treatment at the TMC for any on-the-job injury or resulting work-related medical condition.

With Tendenci, the Rotary Firefighters Home campaign can easily manage and organize website content, resulting in a more current and dynamic user experience and return visits. To feature architectural renderings and a floor plan of the facility, the website also includes rich media management, making it easy to upload, view and search photos. Tendenci’s online event management enables the campaign to quickly and easily add events to the online calendar.

Tendenci was released as an open source CMS to give cause-related organizations, including nonprofits and associations, greater freedom and control over their online presence. Tendenci has more than 1 million users and powers hundreds of websites for nonprofit organizations and associations around the world, including Rice University’s Baker Institute (http://bakerinstitute.org/), Metropolitan New York Library Council (www.metro.org) and DePelchin Children's Center (www.depelchin.org).

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About Tendenci

Headquartered in Houston with an office in Silicon Valley, Tendenci (www.tendenci.org) develops the Tendenci Open Source CMS system for cause-related organizations including associations and other nonprofits. Tendenci is a revenue generating online tool with over a half million people logging in during the past year and millions of users overall. Tendenci powers the websites of DePelchin Children's Center, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles and Tony Chachere's® Creole Foods, among hundreds of others. Tendenci’s Schipul Web Marketing business unit provides web marketing services to an international client base that encompasses a variety of service industries in local, national and international markets. Additional information about Tendenci and Schipul is available at www.tendenci.com.