Since launching Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) in the late 1990s, Marc Benioff has built a multi-billion dollar operation, which is still growing at a break-neck pace. Interestingly enough, Benioff thinks that a big key to success has been his company's philanthropic efforts – that has helped with employee morale, community involvement and even customer loyalty.

To this end, Benioff used the 1-1-1 model. When Salesforce.com was founded, 1% of the stock went into a foundation. After that, 1% of the profits were put into the foundation and employees have spent 1% of their time on philanthropic activities.

Last year, Benioff wrote a book on the topic, called The Business of Changing the World. He interviews a variety of companies, such as Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), UPS (NYSE: UPS), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Timberland.

So what can your business do?

As of last year, there were roughly 1.5 million nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the U.S., with about $1.6 trillion in aggregate revenues. Interestingly enough, about 83,000 NPOs reported $1 million or more in revenues.

What's more, a growing share of revenues is coming from online giving. The amount was nearly $7 billion last year. One of the firms that's capitalizing on the trend is Convio. And the company has recently filed to go public.

Convio develops on-demand software that helps NPOs with fund raising, advocacy, e-mail marketing, and web content management. There are about 1,200 clients, such as the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, CARE, Public Broadcasting Service, Shriners Hospitals for Children, and the Smithsonian Institution.

What's more, early this year, Convio acquired GetActive, which has a platform for advocacy campaigns and content management. It also has been a boost for the customer base.

Last year, Convio generated $34.3 million in revenues. However, the net loss is a hefty -$12.5 million.

The lead underwriter on the IPO is Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and the proposed ticker symbol is CNVO. You can find the prospectus on the SEC website.

To check out other IPOs, click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.