Skilled Volunteers supported Charlotte nonprofit with an application selection to create transformative improvements in ticketing, donor management, and other important business processes
Three Bone Theatre (TBT) is Charlotte’s home for the best of adult contemporary theatre. They believe that great theatre can be a catalyst for conversation and change in our communities. Their business philosophy stems from the Reba McEntire quote, “To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone”. TBT’s mission is to create a performing arts experience that is socially engaged, professionally managed, and creatively inspired.
Previously, TBT manually managed all of their donor, ticketing, and other business data in Excel spreadsheets. The team realized they wanted these processes to be more automated and less time-consuming. TBT reached out to Apparo for support in addressing these challenges and helping them implement a new ticketing system.
Sponsored by Bank of America, Three Bone Theatre was matched to a skilled volunteer team including those from CoreBTS, Duke Energy, and Collins Aerospace. Additionally, the Change Agent in this Community Impact Project is from Barings. This team of Skilled Volunteers first assessed the theatre’s business processes surrounding ticketing and donor management. Following the assessment, they provided prioritized business requirements for the needed capabilities of the application selection. Through conducting marketplace research and providing demonstrations, volunteers helped identify two viable solutions for TBT to consider implementing. Finally, the team assisted TBT in selecting an application with CRM capabilities that streamline the ticketing and data-storing processes, creating efficiencies and leaving more time for theatre staff to focus on amplifying their mission.
Freed Time and More Anticipated Impacts of Implementation
Three Bone Theatre began implementing the recommended software application almost immediately. Artistic and Operations Director, Robin Tynes-Miller shares, “We’ve already started implementing the new software and are using it for ticketing for this season, including for our opener, The Lehman Trilogy. We feel extremely grateful to have gone through this program and have had such great support and expertise in selecting a software. We are so excited to have such a robust platform! I appreciate the hours of time and energy Apparo and volunteers put forth into finding a solution for us. We felt so supported by everyone involved. The project was a joy and we’re thrilled with the outcome.”
Once the organization fully implements the software, they anticipate major time savings in many ways. Previously, Robin was spending 6 hours per week (for 20 weeks annually) on patron communication, ticketing, and donor communications. Following the implementation, Robin anticipates saving 50% of that time through new automations and streamlined communication practices. Additionally, the team was spending 10 hours per month on donor identification, retention, and research, which will now be reallocated to donor outreach and more fruitful donor-related efforts. Because they anticipate the process of pulling data and creating reports for meetings, grant applications, and show management to be easier and require less time, the TBT team expects to save more than a full workday per quarter on reporting.
With this freed time, the organization is hopeful about having more time to focus on the artistry of their work (improve storytelling), to meet with artists, and to develop partnerships for workshops. TBT anticipates having more resources available to achieve their goals, a greater ability to engage with donors, and an overall smoother, more consistent, and satisfactory patron experience. Importantly, TBT will now have accessible, accurate, and secure data that they can leverage to propel their growth and ensure sustainability.
Insights and Reflections from the Team:
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- “We had such a phenomenal experience with Apparo and the volunteers. We already loved Apparo for their equipment support of organizations like ours, but this project was above and beyond. Our team of volunteers was a joy to work with, each of them brought great questions and insights and we really felt like they cared about our work and the impact these systems have on our day-to-day as well as our long-term growth. It‘s been an overwhelmingly positive opportunity and we‘re so appreciative to everyone involved.” – Robin Tynes-Miller, Artistic and Operations Director, Three Bone Theatre
- “We all were so happy to hear the software is up and running! It was a real joy working with Robin and Becky. All the sincere best to Three Bone for the next show and next year! I’m looking forward to hearing how things go as they adopt the new technology. I’m glad the team helped make the experience with Apparo a positive one and as my first time volunteering with Apparo, Three Bone made this a great first experience as well!” – Andrea Suhoza, Barings
- “It was a joy to partner with Apparo and Three Bone Theatre to select a CRM software for this organization! This technology certainly has the opportunity to truly help transform the customer experience and the day-to-day management for their group. Apparo and the Three Bone ladies were an absolute delight to work with and I wish them a speedy and successful implementation. I hope to come by the theatre next time I‘m in Charlotte!” – Megan Wollschlager, Collins Aerospace
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One-Year Impact Update: DonorView for Improved Ticketing and Data-Management Processes
One year following this Community Impact Project, Apparo met with Artistic and Operations Director, Robin Tynes-Miller, who shared that after quickly migrating to the new application, their ticketing and other business processes were improved. Through implementing volunteer recommendations, Robin shares, “We now have much more robust CRM capabilities and continue to learn how to best use the software to amplify our mission!“.
Since working with Apparo to implement recommendations, TBT is looking forward to hiring a second full-time staff member to help with day-to-day tasks, creating more time to leverage DonorView. In addition to increased efficiencies in the ticketing process, the organization has experienced improved donor data management processes and an enhanced ability to gather and analyze donor and event attendee information. With greater accessibility and leveraging of this data, Robin and the Three Bone team can feel more confident about the organization’s growth and sustainability.
