Digital accelerator programme for cultural organisations opens to UK nonprofits
Melanie May | 17 January 2024 | News
Nonprofit cultural organisations in UK, as well as the US, can apply to join the Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator Program, with a March deadline.
The initiative, which has recently been expanded, helps cultural organisations strengthen their technology and management practices to help them improve operations, generate revenue, fundraise, engage broader audiences, and expand programming.
Nonprofit cultural organisations with annual budgets of £500,000 or more that have been in operation for at least three years can apply here with a deadline of 13 March, and up to 50 organisations will be accepted.
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Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies said:
“We launched the Digital Accelerator Program to help cultural groups use technology better, and over the past two years, the positive, sustainable impact we’ve made has been really encouraging. Participants in the programme are successfully increasing their audiences and revenues, so now we’re expanding it – and meeting the growing demand from arts organisations seeking to strengthen their operations, reach new customers, and keep them coming back.”
Launched in July 2021 as an invitation-only pilot programme, the Digital Accelerator Program has helped nearly 150 arts organisations in the US and UK to date.
It provides support for projects in four categories:
- Content Creation and Distribution
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)/Ticketing
- Digital Archives/Data Management
- Websites
According to Bloomberg Philanthropies, the 40 institutions that were part of the first cohort, and completed the programme last summer, have collectively raised an additional $20 million in new revenue, reached over 1 million new audience members, and engaged more than 4,000 new artists and partners.
In the UK this includes:
- Serpentine implemented a new ticketing system to deepen visitor relationships and optimise audience journeys. The system has reduced no-shows to ticketed events by 35% due to a reminder email strategy and saw nearly 6,000 new online donations made through ticket add-ons.
- Unicorn Theatre has achieved over 100,000 views for its Unicorn Online children’s programming, with 37% of the views coming from outside of London through new relationships with partner theatres across the country. It has also generated £50,000 in digital licensing income for artists and the theatre through deals with UK, US, and Canadian organisations.
Digital Accelerator Program participants work with technology experts who provide individual strategic assessment and implementation support. In the UK, these services are provided by Arts Council England and its Digital Culture Network, and in the US, by the Lapine Group.
Selected organisations for the latest round of the Digital Accelerator Programme will be announced in the spring of 2024.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.