Proctors Theatre

Benefits achieved:

• All campaigns are run through same system
• Interface with ticketing system for data mining
• Run auction event through Theatre Manager

Proctors Theatre (www.proctors.org) in Schenectady, New York have been using Theatre Manager for close to 10 years and have been successfully running development campaigns through the software since the beginning.

Through their capital development campaigns, they have successful raised enough funds to build a new building, pay for a theatre stage expansion and renovate an adjacent vacant department store which is now part of their theatre complex. The development staff use Theatre Manager to do everything, including:

• Mining data in the database to help rate donor prospects and to determine the right ask of a donor
• Tracking financial data
• Send reminder letters to donors for 3 to 5 year pledges
• Send thank you letters and receipts

One thing that was done in their last campaign was to tag all their prospects with notes which are visible to everyone that has access to Theatre Manager. This way, when someone in the box office has a potential donor on the phone or at the box office window, they can see by the note that this individual is important to Proctors and can then give them special service.

All of Proctors Theatre's fundraising is done through Theatre Manager, and includes:

• Individual annual giving
• Annual corportate giving, sponsorships
• Capital campaign
• Special events (both the donor side and ticketing side) - an example of this is an annual wine festival which they host. Approximately 1,000 people attend and tickets are sold in advance via the Proctors online sales site. They track the sales through Theatre Manager and can set a cap on the number of attendees.
• Auction event - all transactions are processed through Theatre Manager, and check out is done at the box office. Their auction is no longer a 2-step process.

Proctors Theatre is a progressive and successful venue with with annual ticket sales of between 10 to 15 million dollars. They produce a number of different events each year, including many large Broadway shows, such as Lion King.