Welcome from the Tessitura Next Generation Board Steering Committee!
We will be very focused on ensuring we have significant membership input throughout the Next Generation Software development project, and our hope is to foster creative thinking, to be forward-looking and visionary.
In that vein, over the next few weeks we'll toss out some questions to spur dialogue and to engage your thoughts in creative directions. Here are a few questions that have been on our minds as we have gone through the process of envisioning this project. We would love to hear your ideas and thoughts, so please share them through this forum:
How would you define a "ticket"?
How would you define an "event"? (consider all types of events, including fundraising and education events, not just performances).
In answering these questions, consider the ways our organizations might be packaging the various 'items' we sell. Does a ticket do more than get you into a performance? Can a ticket be good for more than one person or more than one 'item'? Can a ticket by "reused", used for multiple items and or entries? Can it include merchandise, food, drinks, parking, online access/activities? In what ways could contribution and memberships affect a ticket?
Think 'out of the box'!
Thanks to everyone for the very thoughtful responses to the first set of questions. We're going to take a first stab at consolidating all the thoughts into a concise and organized "definition" of "ticket" and "event" as they might exist in the Next Generation platform. In a few days, we'll run those definitions by you to make sure we captured everything and for further refinement.
In the meantime, here is another set of questions to respond to. This may be a slightly more challenging exercise. Here goes:
What else is part of handling a contribution, solicitation, or ticket sale that is not currently part of entering the ‘discrete transaction’ in Tessitura? Are there multiple discrete transactions or tasks that link together to form more of a process, perhaps even tasks that cross different people or departments, and involve Tessitura and non-Tessitura functions? What is the difference between “processing discrete transactions (a ticket sale, a contribution)” and actually managing patrons relationships and experiences? What tools or capabilities would help you manage the entire process(es)?
Let's hear your thoughts!
Alan
Alan, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're talking about but...
I'd like to see an easier way to record and view "Contacts" and by Contacts I mean everytime a Constituent is contacted by us or contacts us. I think the way things work now is pretty damn good but its not totally comprehensive. My colleagues still rely quite heavily on paper files and I'd like to see that disappear. Sure we can attach documents but that's a separate area from the actual Contacts tab where we record things like soliciations and tasks. Of course there is the Contacts - Contact Log to see all contacts but it doesn't give a whole lot of information.
I don't think I want to get into specifics but I can envision a place to see everything at once with the option of clicking through to view documents including those that were sent to the constituent (emails, letters, postcards etc.) and those that the constituent sends to us.
Just a though.Dale
Dale,
Yes, this is a great thought. I wonder if you have any ideas as to how those contacts might be tied to actual transactions as well. For instance, what is the process you might go through related to cultivating a donor, soliciting a gift, entering that gift, acknowledging the gift, following up with the donor on benefits, further cultivation, or renewal. Right now, those are all somewhat separate, discrete actions and transactions in Tessitura, loosely linked if at all. What might that look like in the future, especially incorporating your idea of tracking “Contacts” more thoroughly?
From: Tessitura Next Generation Forum [mailto:forums-nextgeneration@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Dale Aucoin Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 1:52 PM To: Levine, Alan Subject: Re: [Tessitura Next Generation Forum] Welcome from the Board Steering Committee and Next Generation Thoughts
Just a though. Dale
From: Alan Levine <bounce-alanlevine7254@tessituranetwork.com> Sent: 6/17/2009 4:25:32 PM
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I feel like I'm going out on a huge limb here (and not being connected to reality), but I wonder if this is some kind of web-based application that gives you a top level view of the patron's history - Contact, Promotions, Ticket History, Contributions, Research, Documents, Notes, etc (or whatever these modules look like in the future), with the ability to dive deeper into the details as you see fit. So, you're on a phone call or box office transaction with Mrs. Jones. You see her "patron profile" or whatever, and when you want to know what she's bought, donated, how you've solicited her, did she register a complaint, receive a donation slip, open an email, etc...that's just a click away through this top level screen.
Taking the info with you, when you're our at a donor visit and not at your computer, presents another issue - you can't print it all out but maybe it's available to you from your mobile/cell phone?
Jodi
I love the idea of making this information available from a mobile phone - as well as the ability to update the info while you are on the road.
From a contribution-transaction standpoint, there has been much past discussion at the Conference regarding a more streamlined “Moves Management” system for fundraising – basically a marriage of the current “Contact” information being added to the Research notes/information screens, the Solicitation info/Contributions, and the Customer Service Issues tab. Right now, it is cumbersome to view all of this information in one place for the entire donor cycle. Consequently, we haven’t found a way to make the leap from the world of hard-donor file to electronic customer profile yet…
Sara