Individual contributors are a vital source of funding for the arts. The personal benefits of giving to the arts vary widely, and can be different for one person between organizations and disciplines. For example, a person might give to the ballet because she danced as a girl, and it gives her pleasure to support the continuation of that tradition. That same person might give to the museum because it’s a way for her to express who she is now… what she enjoys and how she spends her time.

Successful fundraisers have always known that before you can make effective "asks," it's important to spend the time listening to people and discovering the things that make them tick. MMA’s research-driven donor acquisition consulting services rely on responding to the desires and interests of individuals, not “selling” something they may or may not be interested in.

Our primary donor acquisition tool is Culture-Base, a three-month acquisition process based on our state-of-the-art “Web 2.0” interaction strategy and technology to acquire first time gifts. Culture-Base as a knowledge resource also provides us with frameworks for helping each individual organization understand the various segments of constituents who may be interested in contributing, so that ongoing development and marketing activities can be more targeted and effective.