Background
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO), America’s only full-time professional chamber orchestra, relies heavily on individual philanthropic contributions as its primary revenue source. Like many arts organizations, SPCO faced increasing pressure to improve donor retention while reducing the operational burden on staff.
To solve this, SPCO embraced Sustained Giving—a monthly donation program modeled after popular subscription services. This approach lowers barriers for donors and creates a reliable revenue stream.
“Our Sustained Giving Program has become a crucial part of our fundraising work, with nearly 20% of our donors choosing to give this way,”
— Katie Berg, Director of Development, SPCO
The Challenge
Before adopting AudienceView Unlimited, maintaining the Sustained Giving program required significant manual effort:
- Processing monthly gifts manually
- Updating payment methods reactively
- Managing donor communications and reporting
SPCO needed an integrated solution that made the experience seamless for donors while automating as many back-end processes as possible.
The Solution: Automation with AudienceView Unlimited
AudienceView Unlimited’s automation and Business Intelligence tools now power SPCO’s Sustained Giving Program:
- Automatic monthly processing of recurring gifts with minimal staff intervention
- Proactive alerts for upcoming credit card expirations, ensuring uninterrupted contributions
- Data-driven insights for forecasting, reporting, and identifying new prospects
Once a donor enrolls, the system handles everything automatically, freeing staff time for higher-value work like donor cultivation.
The Results
Since implementing AudienceView Unlimited in 2016:
- 20% of donors are enrolled in the Sustained Giving Program
- $200,000+ in annual recurring revenue, with the average monthly gift at $21.38
- Sustainer attrition is just 10%, compared to 38% for one-time donors
- Significant staff time savings, lowering fundraising costs and allowing resources to focus on growth
Sustainers give twice as much annually as one-time donors, creating a more predictable and sustainable revenue model.
What’s Next
SPCO plans to leverage AudienceView Unlimited even further by:
- Using donor data and purchase history to target prospects for the Sustained Giving program
- Exploring new automation opportunities to reduce operational overhead
- Continuing to refine reporting for strategic decision-making
“By working closely with AudienceView, we can streamline operations and focus our talented team on growing the organization.”
— Katie Berg