Background

The Sedona Arts Center is a gathering place where artists and those who love art can explore, teach, and exhibit their works. Founded in 1958 in the beautiful redrock city of Sedona, AZ, the Center offers instruction in painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, photography, writing and more. The school hosts over 200 diverse opportunities for approximately 700 students each year including community classes with exceptional instructors, unique workshops with nationally-known artists, and field expeditions to exotic locales. There are options available for every level of experience from beginners, who are taking their first steps in creative expression, to emerging and professional artists who want to expand their horizons.

Challenge

Over the past 50 years, the Sedona Arts Center has grown into an arts organization that is respected worldwide. Its industry reputation is well-earned and impressive, and managed by a small staff consisting of 3 full time and 8 part time employees. Programming and attendance grew rapidly at the turn of the millennium, changing technology needs drastically. Particularly, a new database was a necessity to manage class schedules, student information and registrations, track memberships, generate renewals, and sort information as needed for reports and mailings. In 2002, a Microsoft Access database was custom designed to handle and process the information, but there were limits to the database—students could not register for classes online. They also couldn’t view supply lists until after they registered and received them in the mail. With 70-85% of students coming from out-of-state, a large portion of staff time was spent fielding calls and mailing class information packets. Credit card processing and balance calculating were all done manually - receipts and correspondence were sent through the mail. The process was tedious, time-consuming and inconvenient for staff and students. “We needed online class registration”, explained Debbie Winslow, Education Operations Director. “It was an obvious gap and became our main goal for the Center.”

Solution

In late 2007, Vince Fazio, Director of the School, began to research online school management software and inquire with other arts schools about the technology they were using. “Active was recommended to us by another school and once we took a look at the product, we realized how much extra functionality it could provide for us,” Debbie noted. In addition to online registration for classes, Active’s software is equipped with modules to automate donations, special events and membership. Debbie and the team knew that with the complex programming and continual growth that personifies the Center, they would eventually need every bit of functionality they could swipe a paintbrush at. Active was the best fit, both in the short and long term.

Once the Center decided to use Active, the staff underwent intensive virtual training sessions over a 9-day period. By July of 2009, online class registration was ready to be launched to their students.

Results

The majority of students adopted online registration quickly. For workshop and out-of-town registrations, 70-80% sign up online, while 65% of local, regular students opt for the online route. From Debbie’s perspective, the administrative efficiency has dramatically improved. “The phone doesn’t ring as much and everything is automated.” Some of Debbie’s favorite functionality includes:

• Automatic confirmation emails sent to students verifying registration and payment details. Debbie no longer has to assemble a packet with the confirmation, a map, magazine and materials lists—this would accrue $2500- 3000 per year in mailing costs alone, in addition to absorbing valuable time.
• Easy segmentation of registrants to quickly email specific groups of students. Debbie emails all students deadline reminders and important dates, checking the open and click-thru rates to determine if her information was received and acknowledged.
• Automatic fee processing for class registrations. The staff no longer has to manually run credit cards.
• Reporting! Financial reports reveal who registered, who paid and real-time revenue status. Activity reports summarize student activities and class attendance rates. The reports are endless and any combination of information the Center needs is at its fingertips.
• An integration between the Sedona Arts Center’s website and Active’s online registration system. The staff worked hard to build a great website and it was crucial to have a registration system that could be accessed through their existing website. In addition, a reverse link is available from registration to the Center’s travel and lodging information, a very popular page on the website.

Debbie and the entire staff have 24/7 access to all of these features and any other part of the system. The information is easy to find and always up-to-date. Plus, if they ever have questions, Active offers ongoing support from product experts. “I LOVE the support,” Debbie commented. “You can call them up at any time and they never make you feel rushed or inconsequential. The support team is so accommodating—they are fantastic.” Unlike a canned program, Active is customizable class software with a personal touch. For an ever-evolving school like the Sedona Arts Center, that is exactly the type of technology they need.