Sage North America Executives Will Discuss Annual Gifts, Board Interaction, and Grant Research at OEG's 2009 Austin Fundraising Conference

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - October 20, 2009) - Sage North America today announced that Heather Burton, senior marketing manager for the Sage Nonprofit Solutions business, and Lori Freeman, product manager for the Sage Nonprofit Solutions business, will present three education sessions at Odyssey Events Group, Inc.'s (OEG) 2009 Austin (Texas) Fundraising Conference, being held at the Holiday Inn Austin NW on October 21. Sage develops software products, including Sage Fundraising 50, Sage MIP Fund Accounting, and Sage Millennium, used by thousands of nonprofit and government organizations across North America.

Freeman will co-present "Grant Research" with fundraising consultant Elischa Campbell in the morning; Burton will present "Working From Within: Your Board of Directors" in the afternoon; and both Burton and Freeman will co-present "Campaigning for Annual Gifts" with fundraising consultant Nancy Traccarella at the end of the day.

Heather Burton has been involved in the nonprofit sector for more than a decade. Prior to joining Sage in 2005, she worked in several development roles, including as a development manager for a 40-year-old social service agency, and as a loaned executive for United Way. She also led volunteer fundraising teams for a hospice, and sat on corporate giving and workplace campaign committees.

Burton is a member of the greater Austin Chapter of AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals), and the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), and currently serves as board president for the BookSpring organization in Austin, Texas. She frequently presents at industry conferences, including AHP Regional Conferences and AFP International Conferences. She also regularly contributes articles on fundraising topics to such nonprofit magazines as Advancing Philanthropy, Canadian Fundraising & Philanthropy, FundRaising Success, and The NonProfit Times.

Lori Freeman has worked and volunteered in the nonprofit industry for more than 15 years. Her focus for the last five years has been helping nonprofits leverage technology to accomplish their mission. Prior to joining Sage, Freeman worked at the American Cancer Society, where she helped develop and implement the learning and development program for the National Cancer Information Center.

She is a member of the greater Austin Chapter of AFP, Greenlights, and NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network), and is a Pragmatic Marketing Certified Product Manager. Freeman is also an active volunteer in her community. She has volunteered with Fertile Hope, Make-A-Wish, the American Cancer Society, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, where she served on the grant review board. Freeman earned a bachelor's degree in family studies and human services from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan.

Odyssey Events Group, Inc. (OEG) is a U.S. based company with more than 15 years of experience organizing highly focused conferences that deliver accurate, timely, informative, business solutions. Each OEG conference provides niche-focused industry insights that are immediately applicable to those issues of concern to the attendees.

Sage North America helps more than 2.9 million small and mid-sized businesses and nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Canada -- like the American Lung Association and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas -- increase efficiency and more easily manage their operations. For more than 30 years, Sage has been helping nonprofits further their missions and better serve constituents through the use of technology. Thousands of organizations manage their operations -- from fund accounting, fundraising, and donor management, to payment processing, human resources, health care, and payroll -- using Sage's easy-to-use, flexible, and customizable software and services.

For more information about OEG's Austin Fundraising Conference, as well as other 2009 and 2010 OEG Fundraising Conferences, please visit http://www.oegconferences.com/calender.html. For more information about Sage's Nonprofit Solutions, please visit http://www.sagenonprofit.com and http://www.sagenorthamerica.com, or call 800-647-3863.

About Sage North America

Sage North America is part of The Sage Group plc, a leading global supplier of business management software and services. Sage North America employs more than 4,100 people and supports nearly 2.9 million small and medium-size business customers. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs 14,500 people and supports 5.8 million customers worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagenorthamerica.com.

© 2009 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, Sage Software, Sage logos and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc. or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information: Press Contact: Cynthia Sutton Sage North America (703) 793-2700 x 3032 cynthia.sutton@sage.com