The nonprofit Battleship Texas Foundation took over operations of the historic Battleship Texas from the state of Texas in 2020. While the ship is still owned by the state, the foundation has initiated a significant $75 million restoration that is largely state funded yet requires fundraising to fulfill the shared vision for the project.

The foundation previously used a basic donor database system, and the team realized the need for a more complete system when the foundation began managing ticketing independently from the state. They turned to Blackbaud Altru®, a comprehensive ticket and membership software system, combined with Blackbaud Merchant Services™, which enables organizations to easily process transactions in multiple currencies from supporters around the globe.

Drawing Supporters from Across the World

“We wanted a comprehensive tool that could handle both donor management and ticketing functions,” said Kandace Trujillo, vice president of Visitation and Special Events. “With Blackbaud Altru and Blackbaud Merchant Services, we can schedule events, and manage payments and international transactions easily, which was particularly beneficial as the Battleship Texas attracts visitors and donors worldwide.”

The foundation has realized significant fundraising gains since implementing Altru. Using the software, they were able to effectively target and engage the right people for an initiative that allowed visitors to view the ship while in dry dock for restoration.

“We successfully raised over $630,000 from 4,300 constituents in just over 15 months during the dry dock tour initiative,” said Trujillo. “These tours attracted passionate individuals from as far as Japan and Australia, so it was incredibly beneficial having the tools like Blackbaud Merchant Services to ensure they had a smooth, secure donation experience no matter where they resided.”

Tapping Predictive Modeling and Wealth
Screening to Expand Support

The foundation’s capital campaign seeks to raise $15 million for the renovation of the ship, which includes the addition of holograms and artificial intelligence to make it more interactive, and its move to a different location in Galveston. The development staff utilizes ResearchPoint™—a prospect research tool accessible directly through Altru—to identify and qualify potential major donors. Predictive modeling scores also help them understand which prospects are likely to give, leading to substantial pledges for specific restoration projects.

“Altru has been instrumental in creating different fundraising programs, generating prospective tour attendee lists, selling tickets, and managing direct mail campaigns,” said Trujillo. “Despite being closed to the public, our capital campaign generated over $6 million in the last 12 months—we couldn’t have achieved this without Blackbaud software.”

In addition, by leveraging Altru’s reporting capabilities, the foundation has streamlined the process of communicating financial revenue information to its board, improving transparency. “We aim to further leverage Altru’s features, such as membership management and ask ladders, to expand our donor base and enhance visitor experiences,” said Trujillo. “I’m excited to see what we else we can accomplish with Blackbaud software.”