Museum of Contemporary Art Denver

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver Increases Donations Using Blackbaud NetCommunity Spark

The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA Denver) is an innovative forum for contemporary art that inspires and challenges audiences, creating understanding and dialog about art. MCA Denver is an activator, content provider, and immediate research vehicle of culture in the making—a museum without a front door—a place for public engagement. Founded in 1996, MCA Denver has five distinct galleries, three spaces for education, multiple sites for special projects/commissioned works, and one live art/lecture hall.

The Challenge:

• MCA Denver’s previous online ticket and membership solution allowed patrons to purchase, but did not process transactions. The Museum was forced to develop a cumbersome process that involved pulling information from the web, manually processing the credit card, and then entering data into a donor database
• As the cost of direct mail continues to increase, the Museum wanted to transfer its giving online.
• MCA Denver wanted to be able to quickly react to opportunities, engage constituents, and easily and effectively ask for donations. The lead time required for direct mail inhibited the Museum’s ability to react quickly, leading to missed fundraising opportunities.

The Solution:

• MCA Denver selected Blackbaud NetCommunity Spark to process online transactions and provide a more efficient, accurate and streamlined process.
• NetCommunity Spark enables MCA Denver to comfortably transfer and encourage constituents to give online.
• The email communication tools in NetCommunity Spark gives the Museum the ability to react quickly and create targeted and timely communications that increases constituents’ engagement.
• Now MCA Denver can more effectively utilize its website and expand its online marketing strategy.

The Results:

• Since implementing the solution, online transactions have increased 10 times.
• Blackbaud NetCommunity Spark gave MCA Denver the ability to implement a mid-year campaign, the first ever. It yielded more than $100,000 over three weeks, and 50 percent of donations coming in online.
• Average email open rate is 16-20 percent, higher than the national average.
• The Museum saves approximately 20 hours a month by streamlining the online transaction process.