Discussions - Recent Threads

Tessitura webinar 'First look and Q&A: Direct debit extension' on 24th April

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 11:03:32 GMT

Hello everyone,

I wanted to let you know that we have an upcoming Tessitura webinar on the new direct debit extension for UK members on Wednesday 24th April at 3pm. Details here:

Are you interested in adding direct debit sign-up functionality to your TNEW site as part of your Version 16 upgrade? In this session for organisations in the UK, we will take an in-depth look at the direct debit extension's functionality. This will include the online sales path and how it integrates data into Tessitura. Bring your questions! We'll have ample time for Q&A. A panel of Tessitura leadership representatives are ready to discuss this extension and answer questions about direct debits and Tessitura functionality.

Please note: this is the same session that some of you may have seen at TLCC Gateshead in March - you'd be very welcome to attend again!

Register for the Zoom webinar here.

We look forward to seeing you and/or your team attend.

TLCCC Gateshead Community Group Meet Up

Anna Maria Foster — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 20:10:33 GMT

Dear all,

We’re excited to be meeting as a group soon at TLCC Gateshead! Here’s some key information ahead of the conference:

When: 2:30-3.15pm on Wednesday 6^th March

What: A quick round of conversation-starters to connect attendees, followed by a full group discussion Restructure of campaigns and funds for Reporting and Analytics.

Check out the conference app here to see full details of the session.

We’re looking forward to seeing many of you next week! If you’re unable to attend, feel free to forward onto colleagues who may be interested.

Best wishes

Anna Maria

TLCC 24 Gateshead - Community Group Meet Up - Call for topics for discussion!

Anna Maria Foster — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 20:43:16 GMT

Dear all

I hope you're all getting excited about the forthcoming TLCC 24 in Gateshead.

We are going to host a Group Meet up at the Conference on 6 March, which will be a great opportunity to meet other fellow fundraisers from other organisations, and finding out more about topics that you have an interest on.

Apart from the usual suspects such as Gift Aid and Direct Debits, with the latter having a special focus at the Conference, are there any other topics you would like to discuss?

I would be grateful if you could let me know by Thursday 8 February by leaving your answer in the comments below.

Best Wishes,

Anna Maria

Gift Aid - purchase dates and performance dates

Dawn Yates — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:55:56 GMT

Hi
I've cross-posted this in Finance

How do others use the Performance Date on the Gift Aid report? Eg if you are running the report for transactions during July 2023, what would you put as the performance date, given people may be buying tickets some time in advance of their visit/performance? Tessitura have advised us to consider the potential refund situation, which would obviously make the gift aid claim on that ticket ineligible. As a daily admission venue, the majority of our tickets are on the day or close to the day of visit, but some people do buy 3 months or more in advance. Thoughts welcome!

Many thanks
Best wishes
Dawn

Monthly Direct Debit

Joanna Borton — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:51:51 GMT

Hello,

We have recently decided to offer our members a monthly direct debit option. We have had this in place for about a year now and are reaching renewal periods for some of our monthly DD payers. Has anyone set up monthly DD's for memberships and would anyone be willing to give insight into any hurdles or snags they encountered if any? And how they have set up their monthly DD's?

Happy to chat about this topic here or on a separate channel.

Thank you!!

Joanna

Deadline this Thursday: Apply for Diversity or Emerging Leader Scholarships for TLCC Gateshead

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 15:18:07 GMT

Hello all! Our scholarship application period for TLCC Gateshead (5-6 March 2024) closes this Thursday 16th! Please help us spread word and pass this on to any members of your team who may be interested.

We have five scholarships available:

x3 Diversity
x2 Emerging Leader

Scholarships will cover the full conference registration fee, but awardees will be responsible for their own travel expenses and lodging.

Applications coupled with letters of recommendation are due by COB Thursday 16th November - more details regarding eligibility and online application links can be found on our website here.

If you have any questions please email scholarships@tessituranetwork.com or direct them to me personally.

Many thanks - we look forward to receiving your applications!

TLCC Gateshead Call for Presenters: Open Now

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 15:16:56 GMT

We want to hear from you! Share your fundraising and development expertise, successes and case studies at TLCC Gateshead on 5-6 March 2024 at The Glasshouse (previously named Sage Gateshead)

Whether you’re new to Tessitura or a seasoned expert, a first-time presenter or an experienced speaker, we invite you to submit a proposal for a presentation.

Your voice matters! Share your ideas and experiences, and spark conversations with your peers.

Find out more and submit a proposal here - we look forward to your submissions!

Please note: session submissions are due by Friday 3 November 2023.

If you have questions, feel free to email presentations@tessituranetwork.com.

Elevated events and gift aid

Dawn Yates — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 10:08:52 GMT

We're using Elevated Events to manage our gala dinner for the first time. If anyone in the UK is using Elevated Events, I'd love to connect! We're particularly interested in knowing how to report on Gift Aid. You can split the Deductable and Non-Deductable amounts when you create the Levels, but I can't see how you then report on this, and identify those eligible for Gift Aid.

Many thanks

Best wishes
Dawn

Introducing your EU Development and Fundraising Tessitura Community Co-Chairs

Anna Maria Foster — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 11:05:11 GMT

Hello everyone!

My name is Anna Maria and I’m thrilled to introduce myself, Katie and Maria as the co-chairs of the EU Development and Fundraising Tessitura Community. It’s such a great time to be involved in the community and we hope to organise many opportunities for fundraisers to connect and share knowledge, best practice and the amazing things they are doing at their organisations. Below is a little bit about our background and involvement with Tessitura.

Anna Maria Foster - Membership and Gift Aid Manager – National Portrait Gallery

I have worked at the National Portrait Gallery in London (UK) in different roles since 2005. I’ve been the lead for Membership since 2015 and my role focusses on income generation, by creating many opportunities to attract and retain members, as well as encouraging secondary spend. I also look after Gift Aid on membership and exhibition tickets. As I was involved with the implementation of Tessitura back in 2015 and the TNew customisation for Direct Debits, I have had the chance to learn more about the system beyond Membership. Since then I’ve always been seeking opportunities to learn from peers but also happy to speak to organisations who are new to Tessitura.

The Gallery has recently reopened after a 3 years redevelopment and I’m really excited about the opportunities that this will bring for Membership and fundraising, so I’m hoping to make the most of the enhanced features for Membership in v16 that will help making our members experience even better.

Katie Grundy – Membership Manager – The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

I began my career in Membership back in 2017 when I joined The Fitzwilliam Museum’s Development Team as a part time Membership Administrator. Having spent my previous career in Field Sales and Sales Development I was completely new to the Arts and Cultural sector and the world of membership but I guess I had transferable skills.

In my current role, I manage the Membership and Individual Giving Team that looks after our Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum and our Patrons – The Marlay Group. The Fitzwilliam Museum is part of the University of Cambridge Museums Consortium (UCM) and is the arts and antiquities museum attached to the History of Art Department. We welcome around 400,000 visitors a year with free admission and free exhibitions. The Museum migrated over to Tessitura in the depths of the pandemic in 2020. We have just implemented Direct Debits and launched new membership cards with an integrated QR code for our Friends, and we will be launching both initiatives for our Marlay Group in the autumn.

I am very much looking forward to working with my co-chairs Anna Maria and Maria and meeting more members of the Tessitura community.

Maria Gimlick - Legacy and Campaigns Officer - Royal Academy of Arts.

Hello Fundraisers! My role sits in the Major Gifts Department, part of a wider Development group. Tessitura is our leading CRM at the Academy. I have used it for four years in various departments, including membership and ticketing.

I look forward to meeting you all and growing this group together. I believe it will be an excellent opportunity for us to explore and learn from one another, especially as many of us embark on v16!

We hope to meet many of you in person but in the meantime if you have any suggestions for topics you would like to discuss at future meetings please let us know. We are currently planning a meeting for early autumn so please keep an eye on our posts!

All our best wishes,

Anna Maria, Katie & Maria

Sharing Draft Document from EU Data Insights Tessitura Community

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 09:07:14 GMT

Hi everyone,

Some of you may be members of the EU Data Insights Community already, but for those who aren't, I thought to highlight the Development-related draft document that former co-chair Lauren Coombes recently shared there.

This might be of interest to some of you: Master Decision document beginning to be trialed within the Science Museum Group's Development department

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR CAMPAIGNS, FUNDS, AND DESIGNATIONS

Claire Zammit — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 14:05:45 GMT

Dear All,

At the recent development and fundraising community meeting at the National Theatre, Erin shared that she done a webinar on recommended practices for campaigns, funds and designations.

Sharing here for you all to access as some of mentioned this would be helpful. https://www.tessituranetwork.com/en/Items/Videos/Webinars/2019/Revisit_Camp_Fund_Design

Best wishes, Claire

Join Us: Next Week - Tessitura Fundraising Webinar on 8th March

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 20:23:20 GMT

Join us at 5pm next Wednesday 8th March for a fundraising-centered webinar, 'How Community-Centric Fundraising Made Me A Better Fundraiser', with Carlos García León.

More details and registration here - we look forward to seeing some of you there!

Last Chance to Vote for Agenda Topics - Fundraising & Development Meetup at National Theatre, Friday 24th

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 17:14:43 GMT

Hi all,

For those registered to attend the Community Group meetup next Friday 24th, if you haven't already, please take 1 minute to vote on these possible topics and/or comment below if there's something else you'd like to see discussed on the day.

Also if you're registered but now unable to attend, please let me know by leaving a comment below, so I can re-allocate your place to someone on the waiting list.

Many thanks!

Gill, Community Manager

Attending the Fundraising & Development Meetup on Friday 24th? Help Us Shape the Agenda Now

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 11:27:12 GMT

Hello,

Have you registered to attend the Community Group gathering at the National Theatre on Friday 24th February? If so, please take 1 minute and help us shape the agenda by casting a quick vote here.

Topics for consideration are:

- Planned Giving/Legacies

- Restructure of campaigns/funds for Reporting and Analytics

- Plans and how they’re being used, including pipeline management

We appreciate all your votes, and please comment below if there's something else you'd like to see discussed on the day.

Many thanks,

Gill, Community Manager (EU)

Registration Now Closed: February 24th In-Person Meetup at National Theatre

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 12:10:10 GMT

Hi everyone,

It's brilliant to see such interest with the EU Development & Fundraising Community Group meetup at the National Theatre later this month. Please note that registration has now closed due to maximum room capacity being reached:

If you have already RSVP'd please help us shape the agenda for the day by voting here on topics.
If you have registered but no longer are able to attend, please comment below so that someone else potentially can be offered your place
If you have not registered but would like to attend should a space become available, please comment below and I will add you to a waiting list. This will be on a first-come-first-serve basis, and I will contact you directly if a space becomes available.

Please also don't hesitate to comment below if you have any questions, or feel free to email community@tessituranetwork.com.

Many thanks,

Gill, Community Manager (EU)

Experience of Getting other Departments to Buy-in to use Tessitura?

Ethan Lumb — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 18:23:37 GMT

Hi all,

I have a question that I hope people can provide their experiences on.

I work in the Development Team, however, we want to try and get other departments using Tessitura. Essentially so we have one version of the truth instead of different departments storing here there and everywhere so nobody knows where to find it.

Predominately, I see a big advantage for the Programmes & Engagement Team. As they can definitely use constituent records, constituencies, plans, reminders, activities to streamline their processes (currently all on Excel spreadsheets) but also through the central records both departments could have linked relationships with benefits both sides. As I see it, it'll be the simpler side of Tessitura they would have to learn and interact with.

In preparation of bringing this up with Programmes & Engagement Team we are looking to see if anyone else has experience of getting a different department to buy-in to using Tessitura (specifically experience of a P&E department would be great to hear), and how advantageous did you find it? Any disadvantages arise out of the move?

Thank you in advance!

Ethan

Poll - What Would You Like to See Covered at the Development & Fundraising February Meetup?

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 14:55:33 GMT

[Please visit the site to access the poll]

Could you lead the EU Development & Fundraising Tessitura Community Group?

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 14:15:20 GMT

Are you looking for opportunities to grow professionally and personally? Do you want to discover and share new solutions and ideas? Do you love bringing people together to build meaningful relationships? Become a Tessitura Community Chair and co-lead the EU Development & Fundraising Community Group!

RSVP to this informal session on 8th February at 4.30pm (GMT) to learn how you can volunteer with Tessitura. You can help facilitate connections across regions, genres, interests and affinities.

Lead one of our groups and bring Tessitura members together - you’ll be surprised by the impact you can have on people’s lives, careers, and institutions!

The Role

Tessitura members come to Community Groups to expand their networks, share their expertise, and connect with peers around common interests. Community Chairs volunteer their time to build and lead these groups, and host meetups that bring members together to share best practices and build relationships. You'll:

- develop your leadership skills
- build valuable new networks
- take back tangible ideas and learnings to your work
- be recognised for your contribution internally at Tessitura and in the wider community
- and more...

Each Community Group is led by two to three co-chairs and may also have an extended planning team. Community Groups are expected to meet virtually or in-person at least once per year.

Previous experience in group management or facilitation is not required. Tessitura provides initial onboarding, followed by on-going support and various resources. These include a dedicated UK-based Community Manager and invitations to events led by the community team, enabling you to connect with other Community Chairs globally.

Learn More

Have questions or want to learn more? Drop us an email at community@tessituranetwork.com.

You might also find this short Q&A from Shiona Walker, one of 2 new Community Chairs of the North of England & Scotland Community Group, useful for insight into the role.

Apply Here

Are you ready to volunteer as a Tessitura Community Chair? Then please submit your interest. We review each interest form as they are received, and a Community Manager be in touch with you via email to set up the next steps.

TLCC London: Early Bird Rate Extended to Tuesday 13th September

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 09:32:43 GMT

Hello,

In light of the recent news regarding Queen Elizabeth’s death, we've extended the early bird registration rate for TLCC London to the end of day tomorrow - Tuesday 13th September.

We look forward to seeing you at The Mermaid on October 11-12th.

Gill

Deadline Extended for TLCC London Scholarship Applications

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 09:01:14 GMT

Hello! As professional development opportunities are vital to sustaining the non-profit arts and cultural sector, I wanted to let you know about the scholarship opportunities for Tessitura's Learning & Community Conference in London (October 11th-12th):

Diversity Scholarship
Emerging Leaders Scholarship

Find out more information here, and please note the final extended deadline of 15th August. We look forward to receiving your applications!

Forthcoming Community Discussion Event On Fundraising & Philanthropy

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 09:30:51 GMT

Hi all - I wanted to highlight this event, on Wednesday 29th June at 4pm BST, as it would be fantastic to see you attend. Join us to share insights and learn from your peers: from top up donations to major giving, campaign ideas to institutional relationships, bring your philanthropic topics to our next community discussion on all things fundraising!

We’ll create an agenda together under the guiding theme of fundraising, then break out into smaller conversations. Attendees are more than welcome to move between groups. We will then come back together to discuss our findings.

Book via https://www.tessituranetwork.com/Items/Events/webinars/2022/Members/CD-fundraising-and-philantropy-06292022. We look forward to seeing you there!

TLCC Europe: Call for presenters now open!

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Tue, 03 May 2022 10:38:51 GMT

Hello! I'm pleased to share our open call for presenters at TLCC Europe (London, 11-12 October), to share practical knowledge and revolutionise the business of arts and culture.

Whether you’re new to Tessitura or a seasoned expert, a first-time presenter or an experienced speaker, we invite you to submit a proposal for a presentation. Your voice matters! Share your ideas and experiences, and spark conversations with your peers. We’re actively seeking speakers who identify as being from an ethnic minority; gender-nonconforming; having a disability; neurodivergent; LGBTQIA+; and other historically excluded identities.

Please find more information, including how to submit a proposal, here.

Live Event: Benchmarking project insights: audiences, visitors and donors

Gill Tasker (she/her) — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 09:45:50 GMT

Hello everyone! Having recently joined Tessitura as Community Manger, I wanted to bring this event ‘Benchmarking project insights: audiences, visitors and donors’ to your attention. On Tuesday 5th April at 10am BST it will offer insights into key themes and trends as part of our pilot European benchmarking project. We hope to see you there!

Find out more and register via https://www.tessituranetwork.com/en/Items/Videos/Webinars/2022/Benchmarking_project_insights

Tessitura Governance Community Event

Chloe Strachan — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 14:11:32 GMT

Hi everyone!

We have a great community event scheduled for tomorrow titled Learn how to achieve business momentum through Tessitura Governance.

The link to register is here

Neil Jones from Royal Opera House and Zac Haines from Museum of Fine Arts, Houston share some fantastic insights into how system governance has transformed their organisations, aligning technology with their business goals. They'll also share some quick wins on getting started with governance that you can implement straight away.

It would be lovely to see some of you there! As always, reach out if you have any questions.

Thanks

Chloe

EVENT: Life after Covid: Reimagining the visitor experience through a digital first lens

Ellie Griffiths — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 08:18:32 GMT

Hi All,

I hope you're all well. We have an event comingh up next week which we thought might interest you.

Life after Covid: Reimagining the visitor experience through a digital first lens

Thursday 26 August

4-5pm BST

The Visitor Experience department at the Royal Opera House has made significant digital changes since March 2020. Join presenters Merlin Harrison and Rebecca Mead for a deep dive into those changes, and hear what they’ve learned about balancing progress with tradition and expectations.

REGISTER IN ADVANCE

Hope to see you there, and feel free to share with colleagues!

Best wishes

Ellie