Thesis
Engaging donors during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case study of two Philadelphia museums
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Mar 2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000558
Abstract
Closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic halted in person programming for cultural institutions starting in March of 2020. Even when social distancing guidelines were lightened, cultural institutions were only able to function at a limited capacity. As with every aspect of cultural institutions, fundraising strategies shifted, and fundraisers had to approach donor engagement and stewardship differently than they had prior to the pandemic. This thesis examines the stewardship practices of two cultural institutions in Philadelphia-referred to as Institution A and Institution B-during the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately between March 2020 until summer of 2020 when interviews were conducted. These case studies found common themes and techniques across institutions resulting from the common environment they were operating in while the unique themes found with in institutions were attributed to their internal structure and culture. Both institutions increased their virtual presence through more robust education email campaigns as well as digital events. Institution A is a larger institution with more staff members, which resulted in a slower transition to digital events while Institution B was able to be more flexible due to its smaller size, resulting in a quicker transition to digital events. These digital events were received positively from both institution's donors and were an expected offering due to the prevalence of other organizations across the globe offering such programs. Institution A's larger size, though, allowed for more support in terms of resources for its staff members.
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Details
- Title
- Engaging donors during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Creators
- Rebecca Jean Murphy
- Contributors
- Pamela Yau (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- 59 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Arts Administration; Arts and Entertainment Enterprise; Drexel University; Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
- Other Identifier
- 991014941648604721