Non-Profits Increase Communications Effectiveness with New Brainshark Program

Program Includes License Discount and Quarterly Grant; 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games Will Train More Than 5,000 Volunteers Via Brainshark as First Grant Recipient

Waltham, MA - October 29, 2008

  • Brainshark, Inc. (www.brainshark.com) today announced the launch of the Brainshark Non-Profit Program, providing license discounts and quarterly grants to non-profit organizations and educational institutions.
  • The program enables non-profits to achieve their organizational goals and save time and money using Brainshark on-demand presentations to reach important constituencies such as members, volunteers, and supporters.
  • The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games is the first grant recipient under this new program. In preparation for the World Winter Games in February, the Games Organizing Committee (GOC) is using Brainshark to train thousands of volunteers online, on demand; and saving weeks of training time, cost, and travel for event organizers and more than 5,000 volunteers.
  • Brainshark also announced that it is a Salesforce.com Power of Us Partner, joining a network of technology providers committed to helping organizations contribute to the communities in which they live.

About the Non-Profit Program

  • Non-profits can benefit from using Brainshark to raise awareness, deliver fundraising campaigns, recruit and train volunteers, and inform constituencies with timely updates. The need for many non-profits to reach people outside of typical working hours - such as during evenings and weekends - makes Brainshark's on-demand presentation format a compelling and convenient way to communicate.
  • The program has 2 components: a discount program and a grant program. Brainshark will offer the Standard Edition of its Software-as-a-Service platform at a 40% discount for eligible non-profit organizations. The grant program awards a 1-year license to one non-profit each quarter.
  • Eligible non-profits include registered 501(c)(3) organizations (or equivalent outside the U.S.). It does not include organizations providing patient care, health related services, or financial services. Other restrictions apply, and details can be found on the Brainshark web site.

2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games Saves Time and Money with Brainshark

  • Brainshark is enabling the World Winter Games to transform its traditional classroom-based volunteer training to online delivery, saving time and money for all participants.
  • Using Brainshark, World Winter Games organizers saved over 1 month of logistical planning, and training time for 20 trainers who would have delivered training over 12 weeks, 6 days a week, with 4 sessions per day. It also will save over 5,000 volunteers the need to travel to regional offices for training.
  • Already more than 3,000 volunteers have completed online training, including many international volunteers.
  • The World Winter Games also plans to use Brainshark to train local lodging facilities that will host the World Winter Games athletes and attendees; and for outreach to supporters.

Multimedia Resources:

Quotes:

"Recruiting and training volunteers can be one of the most time-intensive aspects of our preparation for the World Winter Games, but for this years' event we've streamlined the process with help of Brainshark. We've already saved hundreds of hours of training and as well as travel time and cost for thousands of volunteers and our own staff by delivering training entirely online, on demand."

Attributed to Heather Hill, Vice President of Marketing, 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games

"In challenging economic times, it's even more critical for non-profits get their message out effectively. Individual donations may be down, volunteerism may suffer, corporations have less to give, and recent mergers mean there are fewer corporate sponsors. Non-profits need to work smarter to get better results, and make it easy and compelling for constituents to experience and respond to their message. I'm pleased to announce this new program to make our solutions even more accessible for the non-profit community, and thrilled to announce the Special Olympics as our first non-profit grant recipient."

Attributed to Joe Gustafson, CEO and Founder, Brainshark, Inc.

About Brainshark Inc.

Brainshark is the leader in on-demand presentations, transforming static business content into high-impact communications. Delivered via Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Brainshark enables audiences to access and engage with business content when and how they want. Users also can access the Brainshark Content Network, the premier online marketplace for on-demand, user-generated business content. More than 1,000 companies - including a third of the Fortune 100 - rely on Brainshark software and services to help sales, marketing, training and HR experts cost-effectively deliver measurable results to their organizations. For more information, visit www.brainshark.com.