United Methodist Site Honored for Creativity, Innovation

New UMC.org, Home to Faith-Based Social Networking Site, Wins Two Awards

Washington, D.C. — United Methodist Communications was recently honored by Kintera, Inc., for its newly redesigned Web site, UMC.org. More than two years in development, the site includes a number of innovations, including the first large-scale social networking site developed by a mainline denomination. UMC.org was launched last month via an online event which is available for viewing at http://umc.acrobat.com/p90424296/ .

“We are delighted that our site has been recognized by a company that has more than 15,000 nonprofit, government and corporate sites among its accounts,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications in Nashville. “That they appreciated our innovations when they have seen so many other amazing Web sites is truly an honor.”

The awards were presented by Kintera, Inc., at its 2007 Annual User Conference in San Diego. Kintera provides an online solution to help nonprofit organizations provide to their donors giving convenience, financial transparency, feedback about the social impact of their gifts, and a sense of belonging and appreciation.

UMC.org was awarded a trophy for "Most Creative Web Site Rebranding” for demonstrating innovation in rebranding its Web site look, feel and navigation, and a certificate of achievement in the "Most Innovative User of Kintera Sphere” category for showing technological innovation using Kintera Sphere products and solutions.

The social network at UMC.org provides a venue for people with wide-ranging beliefs to engage in online faith discussions at their convenience. Visitors can set up personal profiles, upload photos and establish networks of friends – just like at other social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook. The difference at UMC.org community is the commitment to online safety and mutual respect.

Among the site’s other features are:
Leader Resources , which give church leaders the tools to lead more effectively.
Our People section, where visitors can identify their own personal spiritual gifts, see how they can use their individual talents to make a difference, and read inspirational stories of faith about members of The United Methodist Church.
Find-A-Church , which helps visitors identify a United Methodist Church in any community in the United States.
Pray tab, where visitors can submit a prayer request asking others to remember their needs in their prayers.
Serve section, which helps people connect with volunteer opportunities in their communities.
MethoPedia , or the United Methodist encyclopedia, which offers a subject-specific view of all resources and stories from the denomination.
For more information, visit www.umc.org .


About The United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 when The Methodist Church and The Evangelical United Brethren Church united. Today, The United Methodist Church has more than 8 million members in the U.S. and nearly 11 million globally. It is the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States. The General Commission on Communication is charged with planning and implementing the official United Methodist presence on and use of the Internet.

About Kintera, Inc.
Kintera®, Inc. (NASDAQ: KNTA) provides an online solution to help nonprofit organizations deliver The Giving Experience™ to donors - providing giving convenience, financial transparency, feedback about the social impact of their gifts, and a sense of belonging and appreciation.

More than 15,000 accounts in the nonprofit, government and corporate sectors use Kintera's "software as a service" innovations, including Kintera Sphere™, an enterprise-grade software platform that provides a secure, scalable and reliable system for contact relationship management (CRM), a Web content management system (CMS), eMarketing and directed giving applications. Additionally, Kintera FundWare® provides award-winning financial management software developed for nonprofit organizations and governments.