Open Forum

Hi all. I'm with a relatively new start up, the National Blues Museum in St. Louis, MO.

We opened last April, approaching our One Year Anniversary!

MEMBERSHIPS

In my role as External Affairs Coordinator, I've been tasked with managing membership....something that is brand new to me. We're rolling out a renewal campaign, and I've found some great advice here regarding that. Currently all our data is stored in an Excel spreadsheet, and I've seen there's better solutions like eTapestry and Wild Apricot, we just have zero budget for those. Are there any free resources you know of, as working in Excel seems so clunky and prone to error, doesn't let me manage data very easily.

SUSTAINABILITY

I'm a co-founder, so I'm very passionate about this projects ongoing sustainability. We simply need to boost the bottom line, probably a very common feeling. What are the best practices for this, in priority? Is it found in grants, fundraising drives, events, corporate/private philanthropy, state & federal funding, all of the above? We don't have a full time/dedicated grant writer.

All advice is welcome!!

Thanks, Dave

Hi all. I'm with a relatively new start up, the National Blues Museum in St. Louis, MO.

We opened last April, approaching our One Year Anniversary!

MEMBERSHIPS

In my role as External Affairs Coordinator, I've been tasked with managing membership....something that is brand new to me. We're rolling out a renewal campaign, and I've found some great advice here regarding that. Currently all our data is stored in an Excel spreadsheet, and I've seen there's better solutions like eTapestry and Wild Apricot, we just have zero budget for those. Are there any free resources you know of, as working in Excel seems so clunky and prone to error, doesn't let me manage data very easily.

SUSTAINABILITY

I'm a co-founder, so I'm very passionate about this projects ongoing sustainability. We simply need to boost the bottom line, probably a very common feeling. What are the best practices for this, in priority? Is it found in grants, fundraising drives, events, corporate/private philanthropy, state & federal funding, all of the above? We don't have a full time/dedicated grant writer.

All advice is welcome!!

Thanks, Dave

Hi all. I'm with a relatively new start up, the National Blues Museum in St. Louis, MO.

We opened last April, approaching our One Year Anniversary!

MEMBERSHIPS

In my role as External Affairs Coordinator, I've been tasked with managing membership....something that is brand new to me. We're rolling out a renewal campaign, and I've found some great advice here regarding that. Currently all our data is stored in an Excel spreadsheet, and I've seen there's better solutions like eTapestry and Wild Apricot, we just have zero budget for those. Are there any free resources you know of, as working in Excel seems so clunky and prone to error, doesn't let me manage data very easily.

SUSTAINABILITY

I'm a co-founder, so I'm very passionate about this projects ongoing sustainability. We simply need to boost the bottom line, probably a very common feeling. What are the best practices for this, in priority? Is it found in grants, fundraising drives, events, corporate/private philanthropy, state & federal funding, all of the above? We don't have a full time/dedicated grant writer.

All advice is welcome!!

Thanks, Dave