Museums, Theatres and Galleries Go Contactless to Maximise Donations

As outlined in the government roadmap next week on May 17^th museums, theatres and galleries will reopen to the general public following months of closure due to lockdown restrictions. After a challenging and difficult year GoodBox, the world’s first ‘one-stop shop’ for charitable giving, is working with many museums and galleries to help them maximise donations and combat the effects of COVID restrictions by utilising the fintech’s award-winning contactless technology.

The Royal Air Force Museum has already seen the benefits of using this cutting-edge technology during the pandemic as it proved invaluable when lockdown restrictions eased last summer. The museum used multiple contactless devices to boost fundraising efforts and this resulted in individual giving increasing by over 150% during this period.

GoodBox recently published a whitepaper to help non-profits weather the storm of the pandemic and this highlighted that despite the economic uncertainty, a third of donors have been giving more during lockdown than usual and this is expected to continue as lockdown measures ease. As museums and galleries reopen the public’s generosity and support is expected to increase as they finally get to revisit these much-loved institutions.

For many museums and galleries running costs will increase to facilitate COVID restrictions such as social distancing and one-way systems, as they will need additional staff to make the experience safe but fun for visitors. This will make fundraising efforts even more critical as they aim to not only recoup lost income from the last year but cover these additional costs as well.

With the public increasingly favouring contactless payments rather than cash, a trend that has been amplified by the pandemic, it is essential that museums and galleries offer a simple but effective contactless solution as part of their fundraising efforts.

GoodBox Co-Founder & Managing Director Francesca Hodgson says, “We are delighted to be able to support these important institutions across the UK and help them strengthen their fundraising efforts after a very challenging year. As an increasing number of donors don’t carry cash, a contactless donation point is fast becoming an essential part of any modern fundraising campaign.”

Individual Giving Manager at Royal Air Force Museum, Abi Betteridge says, “We have worked with GoodBox for a number of years and have a range of their products across our two museums.  Their continued support during these challenging times has been invaluable to us.  As a registered charity, we rely heavily on visitor donations, fundraising, and our commercial activities to generate income. Our visitor numbers have been severely impacted due to the pandemic, resulting in a 50% decrease compared to our pre-COVID-19 targets but when we have been able to open the UK public has shown amazing generosity during this difficult period. We are looking forward to reopening on 17 May and welcoming back visitors to both our sites.”