Sheffield Botanical Gardens
Preserving local heritage with contactless donations
Built in 1836, Sheffield Botanical Gardens is a historical attraction to city residents and visitors alike.
With traditional Victorian gardens and an extensive collection of plant life to maintain, the site is run by their charitable trust, relying on volunteer support as well as the public’s donations.
As the gardens are free to enter and they receive a mix of visitors, providing inclusive giving options was vital to their fundraising success.
The trust already utilised online, legacy and cheque donations. But due to the site being outdoors and having limited volunteer presence, on-site donations proved to be a challenge.
The challenge? Promote on-site supporter engagement
The decline in cash was another contributing factor, which was further accelerated by the pandemic.
Identifying a need for an alternative collection method, the Friends of Botanical Gardens reached out to us in hopes of installing a contactless device that could be left unattended, while still being recognisable and visible.
We provided them with two different solutions, ensuring that they can raise awareness of their cause and capture donations at two high footfall locations within the gardens.
A large device for a large site
We worked with a third-party supplier to develop a custom, weatherproof solution. Designed with presence in mind, the kiosk works hard to promote the garden’s various campaigns, raise awareness of volunteer opportunities and encourage individual giving.
The totem-style device uses our Donation Station software to securely collect card donations as well as Gift Aid.
Custom ‘Thank You’ animations and messages are then triggered by the donor journey, appearing on the large display screen. Maximising these interactive elements of the supporter journey helps to boost engagement, while also exciting visitors, encouraging future generosity.
All of our solutions come with access to our Donation Station Portal as standard. This ensures the Trust can regularly analyse donation reports to see:
How much people are giving
Knowing this allows the gardens to make informed decisions which can influence the donation amounts opted for on screen. If garden visitors are giving more generously, the charity can boost the amounts slightly.
If visitors cover transaction fees on the charity’s behalf
This not only saves the trust some money, but it also shows the level of support that visitors are willing to give.
Whether visitors are opting for Gift Aid
Again, this gives insight into how generous garden visitors are. Any Gift Aid claims can be done easily by downloading a report from our Portal and submitting your report to HMRC for that extra 25%.
Which device the donation was given on
Which location is more popular, do the devices have different donor journeys? If so, one might be performing better than the other, which is useful to know!
What time of day/month/year the donation was made
This allows the trust to plot any trends in donor behaviour that they see, making budgeting a little bit easier for the year ahead.
Donation Station Skinny: highly customisable and visible
To compliment the totem and maximise visibility, we advised that our floor-standing Skinny device would be the ideal solution for their needs.
The Trust installed the device inside their famous glass pavilions where they see consistent footfall and can keep the device sheltered from the elements.
This ensures that the device can function without any interruptions and can successfully collect donation transactions without the need of a volunteer.
Built to make an impact, the Skinny is highly customisable with large external branding to draw the eye and on-screen calls to action. This means the device is immediately recognisable for visitors looking to support the gardens, without requiring staff to promote the device.
With over £10,000 raised so far, Sheffield Botanical Gardens continue to see a return on their investment and both devices see regular engagement from visitors.
Interested in digital fundraising for your cultural venue?
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