The Shakespeare's Globe Trust

Shakespeare's Globe is a unique international resource dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare's work, and to the playhouse for which he wrote, through the connected means of education and performance.

Together, the Globe Theatre Company, Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition and Globe Education seek to further the experience and international understanding of Shakespeare in performance.

In 1970 Sam Wanamaker founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust, dedicated to the experience and worldwide understanding of Shakespeare's work. In 1987, building work began on site when the six-metre deep foundations were laid. In 1993, the construction of the Globe Theatre itself began and was completed in 1997.

Shakespeare's Globe consists of three enterprises which contribute to the overall aim. These are the Globe Theatre, with a professional theatre company incorporating international artists playing a summer season of plays; Globe Education, which works with students of all ages exploring Shakespeare's scripts in relation to the stage for which they were written; and Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition, the most extensive exhibition in the world devoted to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. These three activities together attract more than 750,000 people to the venue every year.

The Globe installed ProgressCRM back in 1999. Jo Matthews, Friends Manager at Shakespeare's Globe, has been using the application for over six years. "At first, we were just using ProgressCRM as a contacts database, logging our members' names and addresses and contact details to enable us to re-new their subscriptions by cash, cheque, and credit cards" she explained. "We added direct debits early on too."

ProgressCRM enabled the Friends team not only to manage all the membership payments but also automatically generate confirmation letters that incorporate the laminated membership cards, but also to maintain regular contact with the members through promotional mailings.

Originally operating as a separate charity to build a 'friends' network of supporters, in 2004 the Friends of Shakespeare's Globe team was incorporated into The Shakespeare's Globe Trust, within which a separate Development Department managed fundraising from major donors and corporate sponsors. But that department was already using Raiser's Edge software. "So we undertook a project to review whether to put all records onto Progress, or Raisers Edge," explained Jo Matthews.

The decision was for everyone to use ProgressCRM. "The other five new users have a need for more sophistication, so ProgressCRM was ideal" The Globe will be making more use of the data imported from their 'Enter' software used by the theatre Box Office and Exhibition Department. "In ProgressCRM we can get more sophisticated profiles of all our visitors, givers, and supporters; and do more segmented mailings and other promotional activity" said Jo.

Staff turnover at the Globe is not a problem. "We train new staff on ProgressCRM ourselves," she explained. "It's simple to learn. Then after a year or so we might send them on more advanced ProgressCRM user courses".

What of the future?

"Because of ProgressCRM being solid and reliable, and because we use it all day every day, we've been able to raise the Friends department profile in the organisation, and even offer to manage other people's data requirements too," said Jo.

"This was part of the Globe's decision to choose ProgressCRM rather than Raiser's Edge. We knew it so well, we knew we could take on others' work effectively".

"What's also good about choosing ProgressCRM is the Fisk Brett team," concludes Jo Matthews. "They're friendly, not far away and they're a dedicated lot!"