Ideas

As we approach the end of the year, your thoughts have likely turned to your Nutcrackers and Christmas Carols (and if they haven’t yet… what are you waiting for?!). But there’s likely one other end-of-year effort on your mind: fundraising. 

By the end of the calendar and fiscal years, fundraisers are crunching numbers to determine when they’ll close the gap between dollars raised and what’s left to reach their goals. These are critical moments in any season—but that doesn’t mean they need to be a scramble.

I’ve been in your shoes, fellow fundraisers. I spent three years working in annual giving at Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and now help CI’s clients market smarter. Here are a few strategies that can make those big donation pushes easier.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the arts and culture industry has been spilling out of online spaces. We’ve embarked on virtual tours, taken online classes, and watched countless live-streamed performances. We’ve seen foster dogs meeting fish, Instagram dance classes, and science snacks. Here at Tessitura, organizations using our e-commerce platform have sold more than 10 times as many digital experiences on their sites this year than at this time last year.

So how do you get started with monetizing virtual experiences? We’ve taken a look at the arts and cultural industry, including the leaders who shared their insights in “CI to Eye Live: How Arts Organizations Are Monetizing Livestreams and Digital Content” (available on YouTube), and have put together some tips to help you plan.

Gibney is a dance organization based in New York City. We asked their team to write about the evolution of their fundraising efforts in light of COVID-19.

On March 19, Gibney’s spring Gala—The Wonderful World of Gibney—publicly shifted to the “Keep the Wonderful World of Gibney Turning” campaign. In lieu of celebrating Gibney’s "world” of artists with a fundraising event, we would instead find ways to support them during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the next 6.5 weeks, this campaign went through more iterations than any we’ve ever worked on. It became a testament to the moment: so much is unknown and changing by the minute, there is a relentless cascade of information, opinions and emotions are right at the surface, and there is no precedent to fall back on. 

This is your Boot Camp Livestream roundup. If you tuned in and you’re looking for a recap for yourself or to share with others, this is it. Maybe you missed the livestream and you’re eager to read the headlines about what you missed. Got you covered. And, if you missed the livestream and you're trying to figure out what to go back and watch, let this serve as a guide to help you choose what to dig into first!

Perhaps you were among the many thousands gathered around a YouTube livestream on March 22 for a one-night-only return of The Rosie O’Donnell Show. It was a live benefit for The Actors Fund and was billed as “Broadway’s Biggest Stars...At Home!” You’re reading this on our website so you’re likely an industry insider and familiar with the wonderful work of The Actors Fund. If not, go here – maybe make a donation – and then come back and read on.

Ask the Industry features advice from arts marketers in their own words. We hope it will spark new ideas for your organization.

This month, we’re asking, “How can marketing and development departments successfully collaborate?” Gabriella Napoli and Rio Vander Stahl (Carnegie Hall), Christopher Hoodlet and Colette Randall (ICA/Boston) Belinda Bale and John Hart (The National Ballet of Canada) answer everything from what elements make their interdepartmental relationships successful to how they segment messaging and create compelling content for both ticket buyers and donors/members.

CI to Eye is a podcast for arts leaders who want to reach their full potential. Each episode is created to help you become better at your job so you can help the arts move forward.

Let’s hop into our digital marketing time machines. The year is 2012, and the 92nd Street Y, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, established #GivingTuesday. The power of social media was used to launch a movement of philanthropy in communities worldwide.

Hi, CI! is our monthly series featuring the best team we know - the Capacity Interactive team! You will learn more about the people who help arts organizations market smarter. This month, we're featuring our Director of Business Development who is passionate about visual arts, a dedicated yogi, a self-proclaimed coffee snob, and a strategic fundraiser.