The Pittsburgh Arts Community Database, a partnership with TRG Arts, is a cooperative web-based database comprised of patron data from participating organizations in the Pittsburgh region. The Database ensures that your data is clean (via the National Change of Address updates), enables you to simply and easily trade mailing lists with other organizations, and helps you learn more about the people who are walking through your doors. Using TRG Arts' powerful web-based data management system, eMerge, participating organizations retain complete control over their data; all list trades are permission-based. The system is not a replacement for your internal ticketing/donor/transactional system(s). Simply put, the Community Database can save you time and money by streamlining your access to substantial, targeted, arts patron data.
The Database is offered as a FREE benefit to active members of GPAC. (Click here to learn more about membership or check if your membership is up to date.) In time, GPAC will use the aggregate data to conduct arts patron research that could support advocacy positions and/or provide learning that will help us all increase demand for arts in the region.
Download the 
participant package to join today!
Basics Members Resources FAQs
Basics
How does it work?
You segment and upload patron data from your organization into the Community Database, choosing which lists are visible to other participants and available for trade and which are for your organization's eyes only. TRG Arts runs all the data through the NCOA each quarter, and gets the cleaned data back to you so that you can keep your records up to date.
You can then run personalized reports, analyze community-wide data, build lists, approve trades, and communicate with your colleagues, all using TRG Arts' web-based eMerge system. You can access your data from anywhere with an internet connection.
What can the Community Database do for me and my organization?
- Patron data is cleaned each quarter for free through the National Change Of Address.
- Cross-penetration reports help you to identify the best organizations for list trades and other partnerships (e.g. where to place program ads, etc.).
- The process of building direct mail lists is easier than ever with one-click trade requests, automatic merge/purge functionality, and nearly infinite filtering possibilities - all within the permission-based system.
- Geographic, demographic, and psychographic information is appended to households to help you gain a deeper understanding of your patrons.
Members
Thirty-six organizations in the Pittsburgh region have uploaded data into the Community Database!
Alio Musica, Attack Theatre, Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, Balmoral School of Piping, Bricolage, Calliope, City Theatre Company, Frick Aart & Historical Center, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Hillman Center for the Performing Arts, Manchester Craftsmen's Guild - MCG Jazz, New Hazlett Theatre, Oakland Girls Choir/Pittsburgh School for the Choral Arts, Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, Pittsburgh Camerata, Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society, Pittsburgh Chamber Players, Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theater, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Pittsburgh Philharmonic, Prime Stage Theatre, Quantum Theatre, Rage of the Stage Players, Renaissance and Baroque Society of Pittsburgh, River City Brass Band, Silk Screen - Asian American Film Festival, Society for Contemporary Craft, Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka, The Brew House Association, Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras, Touchstone Center for Crafts, Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, and the Westmoreland Museum of Art
Participants - Get Your eMerge Login
Wednesdays at 1 pm Eastern, TRG Arts offers a basic eMerge webinar that is required before you receive your login. This is a great tutorial for current participants, new users, and prospective participants to get a better understanding of the system. Organizations may have as many users/logins as they need.
All trainings take place via phone and web-based desktop sharing. There is no need to register in advance.
At the appointed time, call into the audio portion of the session at 213.342.3000 and use access code 947464. Then click on the linked date below to access the web-based portion. The webinar password is "cooptrain".
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 1 pm
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 1 pm
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 1 pm
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 1 pm
Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at 1 pm
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 1 pm
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 1 pm
Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 1 pm
Video demo of eMerge from TRG Arts (Password: TRG.coops123)
Download GPAC's September 9 Presentation
Download our Community Database flyer
Download eMerge Top Ten: Where to Start: The first 10 things you should do when you log in to eMerge for the first time.
Download How-To Guide for pulling mailing lists
Q: Who is eligible to participate? Is there a minimum number of lists or patrons that I can upload?
A: Any organization with an active GPAC membership can participate. (Click here to learn more about membership or check if your membership is up to date.) You may upload one list or one hundred! But you must upload at least one. Your organization can choose which, if any, to make available for trade.
Q: How much is this going to cost?
A: Nothing but your time. This program will be totally free to all GPAC members. For additional fees, you can take advantage of other premium services from TRG Arts, including pulling lists based on demographic filters, campaign response reporting, or TRG Arts' assistance in pulling prospect lists.
Q: Will this program work for a visual arts or other non-performing arts organization?
A: Yes! The Pittsburgh Arts Community Database can help ANY organization manage any typy of patron data they use. Whether you track ticket buyers, members, subscribers, or visitors, this system can help you understand the way those people interact with your organization and other organizations in the community.
Q: My organization rarely does direct mail. What's in this for me?
A: The Pittsburgh Arts Community Database gives you a secure, internet-based way to store and manage all of your patron data, have it regularly cleaned and updated, and allows you to learn more about your audience so that you can more effectively communicate with them. GPAC will also analyze this aggregate data to learn more about arts patrons in the Pittsburgh area and to support our advocacy efforts.
Q: Who will have access to my data?
A: You and whomever you choose to release it to. TRG Arts builds many levels of security into each community database. Patron information is secured on servers that are inaccessible to the public. Data is also secured through TRG Arts' permission-based list trading model. Each organization has complete control over which lists they will trade and when. Authorized database member users can access only the data other organizations choose to provide. Ethical data-sharing is built into the eMerge system, including the prohibition of phone list and email trades, which are governed by national and, often, local regulation
Q: What if I don't want to share any of my lists?
A: Trading is a perk, not an obligation of TRG Arts' database programs. Data that member organizations choose not to share is completely hidden from other users. This allows all members to use all of their data for their own research and analysis purposes while blocking data they do not wish to trade.
Q: That sounds great, but what do I need to do?
A: First, you'll need to complete the forms in the participant package and attend a data submission webinar. Then you'll submit your data to TRG Arts. There are specifications for this, and you'll receive an Excel template and further instructions and ongoing support from TRG Arts to guide you through the process.
After your information is in the Database, you'll attend another training webinar that teaches you how to view and manipulate your data. Then you'll receive usernames and passwords for your staff members who should have access to the system.
Q: When can I get involved?
A: We will be accepting new organizations to the Database every other month (deadlines at the beginning of June, August, October, December).
Q: How much time and work will this be for me?
A: For the first submission, you will be asked to submit patron data for the past five years and TRG Arts recommends that you allot approximately 8-12 hours of staff time to organize and format your data. After the first submission, it should take significantly less time.
Q: What if I have questions during this start-up process or after the database is up and running?
A: Contact
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or
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at GPAC or
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at TRG Arts.
About TRG Arts
TRG Arts is a data-driven consulting firm and the nation's leading specialist in arts and entertainment consumers and their behavior. As America's largest developer of community databases, TRG Arts operates local, regional, and state-wide list cooperative programs in 14 different marketplaces across the U.S.
What about the STAR Database?
You may have heard about the STAR (Strategic Targeting for the ARts) shared marketing database. Through that project, GPAC was able to provide in-depth, personalized marketing data analysis and campaign planning support to a limited number of Pittsburgh arts organizations. GPAC also sponsored and implemented two collaborative direct marketing initiatives that, in total, generated almost $30,000 in additional ticket revenue for the participating organizations. However, due to a number of challenges, including lack of accessibility (only serving a small group of organizations) and discontinued funding, GPAC made the decision to close the project in June 2011.
We are thrilled to now join with TRG Arts in providing the new Pittsburgh Arts Community Database, which we believe addresses many of the challenges that existed with STAR. However, success of this new program depends on you, the Pittsburgh arts community, to participate well. If you have feedback to share about this project, please don't hesitate to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
