Mandatory contributions

Hello Kind People:

Please accept this request for feedback in the area of package sales with a mandatory contribution.

We need to sell Ring Cycle tickets that will comprise a ticket price and a mandatory donation portion and we need help from the Network on how best to use Tessitura to meet our business need. 

Here's the context:

Our Ring Cycle packages will have a mandatory contribution attached to them.

We are looking to somehow ‘embed’ the mandatory contribution amount somewhere on the ticketing side of Tessitura.  We would like this to be used both by our ticket sellers, so they can get a visual cue of the amount they are to charge as a mandatory contribution, and possibly a cue for the web contribution.  (Note: We may use the web config file for this.  Again, we are asking if there is a best practice out there)

We considered using a layered price map with a ‘contribution’ category.  However, because that method does not allow us to acknowledge individual contributions, it does not seem suitable.  We understand that using a layered price map with a contribution category puts money into a G/L bucket, but that the money cannot be individually acknowledged,  and that won't work for us. 

Because of that, we are looking to put information somewhere related to tickets in Tessitura.

Now, here’s the rub:  The ring is in a future season, so we are not able to enter these contributions directly into a fund on the box office side; they all need to be designated.  The Box Office can’t do that, so this money is going on account.  Still with me here?

Some ideas we are considering are:

--(for the web portion) Using TR_SECTION  ‘Additional Text2’, which allows for additional information we do not currently pull.  If the mandatory contribution amount were entered here, it could be accessed from the data base and show up in an online sale.

--(also for the web portion) Perhaps within a price map that is editable, using the minimum amount as the holding place for the mandatory contribution amount.  Same method as above is

--For the box office sales reps:  The other is in the Facility setup, within the Zone Map where there is a short description which actually shows up on the order screen.  It is only a ‘description’ and doesn’t affect the price of the order, but might well give ticket sellers a visual cue.

If anyone has successful experience with this, please give a holler.  Likewise, if anyone has a good ‘Don’t do what we did’ warning, please let me know. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  Any feedback would be appreciated.

Kindly,

Mark Sackett

Box Office Manager / Treasurer

San Francisco Opera