Best Practices

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to start volunteering. I wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to work with marginalized women in my local community. I was living in a fairly big North American city and I knew there were tons of organizations I could work with but finding the right one proved kind of difficult. Through friends of friends, I eventually connected with a great organization. Still, I couldn’t help thinking that trying to find the right place to put my keen volunteer energy was trickier than it needed to be.

Many nonprofits rely at least partially on volunteers to perform even the most foundational tasks that keep their organizations and programs running. But knowing how to recruit volunteers isn’t always straightforward.

The good news? Volunteers are out there. In the first month of 2025, more than half of organizations that use volunteers reported an increase in volunteers. The bad news? Despite this, only about 12% of organizations said they had all the volunteers they needed. 

When nonprofits figure out how to recruit volunteers, they gain a host of benefits that make their organizations stronger and support their mission. Read on to learn the value of volunteers for nonprofits, and how to develop your own volunteer recruitment strategy.

The value of volunteers for nonprofits

The University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy Do Good Institute partners with Independent Sector to calculate the value of volunteer time. According to their 2024 report, each volunteer hour is worth more than $33. This number, based on the labor and benefit costs of hiring an employee to do the same work, has been increasing rapidly since 2018. 

Of course, the monetary value of volunteer labor is just part of the picture. Volunteers do more than save nonprofits money. They also strengthen the organization’s connection to the community. Volunteers are likely to be loud advocates for your organization. They attend events, invite family and friends, and encourage others to help or donate. 

Volunteers are also more likely to make donations. A report from Fidelity found that about 50% of volunteers who donate say they give more financial support because they volunteer. 

If your organization doesn’t have a plan for how to recruit volunteers (and retain them!), you’re missing out on a lot of value. A few simple steps can help you capitalize on the opportunity volunteers represent.

How to recruit volunteers in 4 steps

1. Assess the your organization’s need for volunteers

Start by having a conversation with your staff about where they need help. Anywhere you’re understaffed or employees are spread too thin is an opportunity for volunteers. Simple but time consuming tasks are also a smart way to use volunteers. (AI can help here too, but that’s a conversation for a different post!)

Volunteers can help you plan and run events, support fundraising or membership drives, staff your front desk, answer phones, serve on your board…the list is almost endless. Look for the places in your organization where a little extra help could make a big impact.

2. Create volunteer job descriptions

People are more likely to volunteer when they know what they’re getting into. That’s why an essential part of your volunteer recruitment strategy is writing volunteer job descriptions. For example, you might have an admin volunteer who helps in the office, an outreach volunteer who helps represent the organization at community events, or project volunteers who work on specific projects. 

Write out the duties and responsibilities just like you would write an employee job description. Having all of this in writing helps both the volunteer and the organization know what to expect.

3. Assign responsibility for volunteer recruitment and management

To maximize recruitment and retain volunteers, at least one person in your organization should be responsible for volunteer management. Research shows that the more time the person responsible for volunteer management spends on the role, the more likely they are to meet recruitment goals. 

Too often, volunteer management becomes one of a dozen duties added on to the work of a busy Executive Director or Director of Development. These leaders are often pulled in multiple directions and volunteer management falls by the wayside. 

If the structure of your organization doesn’t allow for a dedicated Volunteer Management staff person, look for a reliable volunteer who can handle that responsibility. 

4. Get the word out about your volunteer opportunities

Don’t assume that potential volunteers will approach you or that they’ll even know how to find you. Your organization will probably need to seek them out and let them know what you need. The next section includes a few volunteer recruitment ideas that reach throughout your community and beyond.

Where to find volunteers and how to reach them

You can find volunteers almost anywhere. They could be among your donors and participants, in your broader community, or online. The following strategies will help you reach potential volunteers in all of these places.

1. Reach out to donors and patrons

The first place to start looking for volunteers is among the people who already use or donate to your programs. Here are a few methods to try:

• Include a call for volunteers in your newsletter or email marketing
• Post a callout for volunteers on your social media accounts
• Print it on your programs, handouts, or donation receipts
• Put up posters in your lobby
• Make announcements before classes, performances or events

Leverage you and your staff’s networks

Ask board members, staff, and current volunteers to spread the word about your volunteer opportunities. Make it easy for them by providing a handout, text for an email or social media post, or link to your website.

Post on volunteer placement sites

You can also use volunteer placement sites and job posting sites to help spread your call for volunteers far and wide. Consider posting on:

• VolunteerMatch
• Create The Good
• Idealist

The community connection app Nextdoor offers free volunteer job postings. Other social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn might also help you reach a wide audience.

Add a “Volunteer With Us” page to your website

Don’t forget to post your call for volunteers and volunteer job descriptions on your organization’s website. That way, anyone who visits your site can quickly learn about your organization’s needs. 

Partner with businesses, schools, and service organizations

Businesses are often looking for group volunteer opportunities, so reach out to businesses in your community when you have events or big projects. Smaller businesses may also be strong partners in other ways, so building a link here can be doubly valuable! 

Universities often help connect students with both group and individual opportunities that can be resume builders. Don’t forget about fraternities and sororities!

Service organizations may be willing to host presentations to their membership by a representative from your nonprofit. These presentations may help you recruit their members as volunteers or bring in donations. Examples of service organizations are: Kiwanis, Elks, Eagles, Masons, Rotary, 4H, Knights of Columbus, or the American Legion.

Remember: Volunteer retention is as important as recruitment

Getting people to volunteer is just the first step. Just as you put in effort to retain staff, you also need strategies to keep volunteers happy and engaged. Proactive volunteer management is a good first step.

Simple and clear procedures can also improve the volunteer experience. That’s one of the many reasons nonprofits that offer classes, camps, and workshops rely on CourseStorm. Our impossibly simple class registration software streamlines administrative tasks to lighten the burden on staff and volunteers. Get in touch with our team to learn more.

Summer camp registration season hits like a thunderstorm. One minute, you’re commenting on how much we need the rain. The next, you’re inundated with a flood of forms, payments, and questions that can leave your team floundering. That’s why you need the best summer camp registration system you can find.

Executive directors start looking for better camp registration software when they want:

• Simplified registration systems that empower parents and support staff members. 
• Tools to save time chasing down payments or missing forms.
• Automatic management of registrations, cancellations, and payment plans.
• Freedom from monthly subscription fees to fit their budget cycle.

The best summer camp registration software helps you ride the registration wave. Parents can register online with a self-service tool that liberates staff from the administrative burden. And your team can say goodbye to frustrated parents, frantic last-minute calls, and lines wrapping around the block.

Finding the Best Summer Camp Registration Software

Here’s a look at 5 summer camp online registration software options so you can find the best summer camp registration software for your campers, parents, and staff.

Registration options compared:

• CourseStorm
• Sawyer
• RegFox
• Jackrabbit
• Regpack

If you want to get right to a camp registration software that can simplify the sign-up process and make life easier for your staff, talk to the CourseStorm team today.

CourseStorm

CourseStorm is an impossibly simple class and camp registration software that’s flexible enough to meet unique program needs. Whether your camp is a supplement to the classes you run all year round, or a seasonal event that happens once a year, we have the tools you need to register campers while keeping parents and staff happy.

Key Feature 1 – Registration and Payment Software in One Simple Package

If you’ve ever had to hire temporary staff or deal with phones ringing off the hook, it’s time for a better solution. Maybe you’ve tried using Google Forms and a third-party payment service, resulting in missed payments and mismatched records. Paper forms, call-to-register, and parent walk-ins just don’t meet the needs of your growing program. Your staff and parents deserve better.

Picture this: the registration window opens for your summer arts camp. Within minutes, your program is completely sold out and you have a waiting list. That might sound like a fantasy, but it’s a real experience from a CourseStorm customer. Within days, those payments are in their account and ready to be invested back into the camp.

CourseStorm is a seamless all-in-one registration and payment solution. Parents can click a button to register and pay without ever leaving your course catalog. They can even register multiple children in a single transaction.

With built-in payment plans, parents can opt in to have funds automatically deducted from their account on pre-set dates. Suddenly, camp is more accessible and your staff is free to focus on campers rather than credit cards.

Key Feature 2 – Collect the Exact Information You Need Without Frustrating Customers With Unnecessary Requests

Parents have enough on their plate without filling out unnecessary information on a one-size-fits all form. Without custom forms, you’ll frustrate parents and overwhelm staff with duplicate information.

CourseStorm offers fully customizable registration forms that let you collect exactly the information you need and nothing more. Add links to your privacy policy and get parental consent with the click of a check-box. All of the information is securely stored in the user profile so they can easily update, change, or manage their registrations.

Here’s just one example. If you’re offering both day camp and overnight camp, you’ll need additional information from your overnight campers. You might want to share a unique supply list or get consent for special programs and events. The day campers don’t need all of those extra details. With CourseStorm you can easily build custom forms for each audience and improve the experience for everyone.

Key Feature 3 – Effortlessly Manage Changes and Additions Online

Some camp registration software makes you dig through complex menus or even call customer service to change a reservation or issue a refund. At CourseStorm we believe your program and registrants should have full control over the process. You can manage registration changes, issue refunds, or even move campers between programs with just a few clicks.

According to our 2024 State of the Arts Report about 15% of kids’ arts camps and classes have waiting lists. If you’re one of them, parents on the waitlist will be automatically notified when a spot becomes available for their child. 

Just imagine it’s two days before the start of your Shakespeare in the park summer acting camp, when the weather stations start warning of a hurricane coming your way. You’re going to have to contact the families of 40 kids to let them know that camp is canceled. It’s not ideal, but you don’t have to panic because you have CourseStorm.

With just a few clicks you can email everyone and offer a refund or transfer to another session. Everyone knows exactly what’s going on, and you can focus on preparing for the storm instead of fielding phone calls.

Sawyer

Sawyer is built for kids camps and classes, which they list directly in the “marketplace” on their website. Registrations through those listings incur a 30% marketplace fee, which gets smaller as you upgrade your plan. You’ll also pay a monthly flat fee in addition to that marketplace charge.

That price tag comes with some useful features. You can take registrations directly on your site, offer discounts, and integrate with Constant Contact or Mailchimp for marketing. Sawyer also automates customer refunds and reminders.

Features and capabilities:

• Marketplace listings
• Family profiles and group registration
• Add-ons like early drop-off and late pickup
• Weekly secure payouts

RegFox

RegFox is event registration software that also offers some functionality for camps. You can set up merchandise and product sale add-ons, which is great if you have tee shirts or other camp swag to sell. Other tools, like badge printing, are more useful for adult events.

The software does offer capability for onsite payments, design customization tools, and plenty of 3rd party integrations. Services like email marketing automation and text messaging come with an extra monthly fee attached.

Features and capabilities:

• Check-in app
• Social media plug-ins
• Collect donations from your registration page
• Lots of page design options

JackRabbit

Another kid-focused registration software, JackRabbit is designed for gymnastics, dance, swim, cheer, and music programs. This is a great solution for youth activity centers that already use it for their year-round classes.

They offer a parent portal that lets parents track their child’s skill development and access account details. Parents can even watch classes with live streaming. JackRabbit does have a no monthly fee option, as long as you’re willing to charge parents an extra 1.25% on each transaction.

Features and capabilities:

• Student skill tracking
• Staff time clock
• Uniform and performance management
• Integrated point of sale system

Regpack

Originally designed for billing automation, Regpack has some useful tools for managing payments. They’re a great fit for subscription-based programs, but lack many of the marketing and engagement integrations you may expect.

Regpack charges a monthly fee “per license” that renews yearly. That means you’ll be charged for each person who has access to your administrative tools. Charges come out year round, even if you only take registrations a couple of months each year.

Features and capabilities:

• Customizable registration forms
• Payment plans
• Campers can reserve spots without paying
• Group registration

Get the best summer camp registration software for your program today

Don’t put off making this decision. Our State of the Arts Report revealed that students register an average of 71 days before summer arts camps or classes start, so now is the time to set your summer camp up for success. Choose the best summer camp registration software for your program today. 

If you need a little more help deciding, connect with the CourseStorm team today to get a better sense of our camp registration software and how we can meet your needs fast.

Summer arts camps tend to be in high demand for kids and parents alike. If you’re part of a children’s theater, arts organization, or community college that runs one of these camps, you’re almost certainly juggling multiple projects and programs. But thinking ahead can help make summer camp registration season a breeze for you and your customers. 

How you handle summer camp registration can have a big impact on your staff and on whether you fill your camps with satisfied, returning customers year after year. Now’s the time to set your arts camp up for success next year. Registration season will be here again before you know it!

The unique challenge of summer arts camps

Many arts organizations run programs all year round. These could be weekly classes, afterschool enrichment programs, or other types of educational offerings. You most likely take registrations for these programs on a rolling basis.

Summer camps require a different registration process than other classes. Parents may be signing up multiple children months in advance and competing for limited spots. There also tends to be more paperwork involved.

Parents want to make sure they have summer childcare and activities taken care of. That’s part of why camp registration usually starts months in advance. Time is of the essence since the demand is often greater than the number of available spots. After all, an arts camp may have only so many pottery wheels or 3D printers. 

Camps also tend to require more involved paperwork than an hour-long class—such as medical forms, emergency contacts, supply lists, etc. All of these factors mean that it’s critical to have a flexible registration system that meets your needs and the needs of your customers.

What streamlined registration can do for both customers and your arts program

From our years of serving organizations that offer theater camps, art classes for kids, and summer arts camps, we know that summer camp registration season can be hectic. Organizations want features that streamline the process, both for their customers and for their administrative team.

The right summer camp registration software delivers three valuable benefits to help you fill spots with less hassle. Here are three ways you can use quality software to streamline the registration process and support your whole program.

Offering early registration as a membership incentive  

Many community theaters and arts organizations offer memberships or sponsorship programs. In exchange for an annual donation, members get certain benefits, such as discounts and early access to purchase tickets or register for classes. 

Let people know that becoming a member will let them jump the line and register early for your in-demand summer arts program that fills up every year. You could even offer a discounted tuition rate for members and their families. 

CourseStorm class registration software includes custom promo codes so you can easily configure and share discounts with members. 

Perks for customers: Early access to summer camp registration; discounted tuition

Perks for programs: New memberships and full summer camp programs

User accounts simplify registration for returning campers

Online registration is more than a convenience, it keeps families coming back year-after-year as 

Laramie County Community College (LCCC) in Wyoming learned first-hand. They run several week-long summer youth programs on campus, everything from arts camps to sports and fitness programs. These summer camps are so popular that most completely fill within the first 6 hours on the day registration opens. “Some classes fill within the first 5 minutes,” said program manager Christie Goertel. 

Make it easy for parents to cross register the kids for summer camp off their to-do list. 

Because LCCC uses CourseStorm to take online registrations, returning customers have a major advantage. They have already created an account with all of their child’s info included from last time, and they may have even saved their credit card in the system. That cuts down on paperwork and helps parents finish registration faster.

“Theoretically, if there’s a returning parent and they know what camps they want and they’ve done it before, they may be done in less than 4 minutes,” said Goertel. Don’t underestimate the motivation of a parent crossing “summer camp registration” off their to-do list in March!  

Perks for customers: Ease and speed of summer camp registration

Perks for programs: Eases administrative burden; supports long-term relationships with campers’ families

Making waitlists work the way they should  

Again, you may be thinking of camp waiting lists as a necessary administrative detail or even a deterrent to customers. After all, why would a parent add their name to a waiting list when these lists are often black holes? We can all think of a time we gave our name to someone over the phone while waiting for a coveted appointment slot or other opening, only to never hear from them again. 

This is where an automated waiting list can make all the difference. With CourseStorm, for example, customers trying to register for a class or camp session that’s already full will be prompted to add their name to the waitlist. 

Then, if a spot opens up, CourseStorm users can choose to send people on the waitlist an automatic email that expires after a certain amount of time. The person on the waiting list can either click to register immediately, or decline the invite, which passes to the next person on the list. 

Either way, it’s a great way to show customers that you haven’t forgotten about them. And it gives them hope that maybe they will get a desired spot in a popular camp or class. 

Perks for customers: Better experience that can encourage more registrations

Perks for programs: Eases administrative burden by automating the entire waitlist process

Make summer arts camp registration simple

Setting up membership discounts, user accounts, and waitlist systems now can turn summer camp registration season from a nightmare to a dream. Start now to make sure everything is in place when sign-ups open. 

For more tips on optimizing the sign-up process for your summer arts camp, see our post on The Best Summer Camp Registration Software for Nonprofits.

The rush begins in just a few short months, so now is the time to prepare for summer camp registration season. That time of year can be a high volume, high reward season for many community and arts education programs if they’re well prepared. Create better offers and marketing plans by learning about summer camp trends for 2025.

Based on consumer research and our years of experience in course and camp registration, we’ve identified four key trends that matter for anyone planning, marketing, or registering kids and teens for camp.

Trend #1: Cost conscious parents weigh return on investment

Parents will likely continue to be cost conscious as we head into the 2025 camp registration season. The consumer price index keeps going up, and that means parents may need to stay cautious with their spending.

At the same time, costs are rising for programs too, leaving little room to reduce registration fees. That means marketers will need to make an extra effort to share compelling impact stories that convince parents their programs are worth investing in.

Action plan:

• Collect feedback from former campers and their families.
• Craft social media posts, blogs, and other marketing around these stories.
• Set up payment plans that make programs more affordable.

CourseStorm makes it easy to set up automated payment plans with just a few clicks. There’s no need to chase parents for payment and no extra work for busy camp staff. Learn about everything summer camp registration software has to offer.

Trend #2: Mental health matters for kids and teens

Both parents and teens are focused on mental health right now. The CDC and other experts have sounded the alarm on youth mental health. Although the last available data shows a slight increase in youth mental health, the overall trend has been downward for a decade.

Parents, teens and lawmakers are taking note. There’s more mental health information on social media, a greater push to share resources like the national 988 crisis lifeline, and even government funding for this issue.

The good news for camp administrators is that summer camp includes many elements that support mental wellness, including socialization, self expression, and getting outside. Make sure parents and campers know about them!

Action plan:

• Tell parents about the benefits of arts on mental health
• Share impact stories that show how your programs make kids happier and healthier
• Train staff in mental health first aid and tell parents you’re doing it!

Showing parents you take mental health seriously, while still offering a fun and enriching environment, gives them confidence in your program. It shows them they can trust you with what is most precious in their life, their children.

Trend #3: A growing focus on sustainability and nature

Speaking of health, consumers named “the health of the planet” as their number one issue of concern. Young people are particularly invested in combating climate change and preserving the ecosystem. Camp programs that focus on sustainability and outdoor activities may be especially attractive to today’s youth and parents. 

Teens spend an average of less than 11 days outdoors per year. Many teens cite the lack of outdoor spaces, suburban living, and highly structured lives as reasons why they don’t spend more time outside. Simply giving kids the opportunity to get away from their phones, socialize in the real world, and connect with the natural world can make a world of difference.

Action plan: 

• Share how your programs get kids outside and away from screens
• Showcase art projects that use recycled materials and elements from nature
• Highlight your efforts to go green, like moving to a paper-free registration system

Sustainability is more than a summer camp trend, it’s a movement with teens leading the charge. Your program is probably already making green choices. Make sure your campers and parents know about your efforts. Talk about it in marketing emails, social media posts, and donor letters.

Trend #4: Transformational experiences wanted

Consumers of all types are seeking transformational moments and memorable experiences. Parents want this for themselves and their children. Keep in mind that the customer experience doesn’t start when the child arrives at the first day of camp. It starts when the parent or caretaker first begins searching for a camp or class for their child. 

Programs succeed when they offer a positive user experience from their course catalog through registration to the last day of camp. 

Action plan: 

• Build an informative and easy to navigate camp and course catalog
• Streamline class registration and payment processes
• Offer shopping carts, group registration, and user accounts
• Deliver a fun and informative camp experience

You already have an amazing summer camp program. Get a registration system to match. CourseStorm can help you communicate with and register customers on a streamlined platform that’s easy to navigate. Parents can easily find classes and register one or all of their children in a single transaction.

Summer camp trends come and go, but parents’ desire to easily register their child for camp never changes. Give them a positive experience year after year with the right summer camp registration software.

Your arts education program thrives most when it’s profitable and fully integrated into your nonprofit’s offerings. Of course, achieving profitability and integration isn’t easy, especially when your organization is under pressure from funders, partners, and community members to prove your impact. Yet, the consensus from the panel of experts at our recent webinar is that education programs can be more than profitable: They can be the key to growth and stability for your arts nonprofit in 2025. 

Our own Brian Rahill, CEO of CourseStorm, joined with Laura Wong, partnerships manager for technology ecosystems at Fundraise Up and Samantha Bagwell, client relations lead for the US and Canada at Spektrix, to dig into the challenges and opportunities that arts nonprofits are facing in 2025. They shared their expert insights on why education programs are critical, and how they can thrive in the coming year.

Read on for highlights from the webinar, or access the recording to hear directly from our education and fundraising experts.

Arts organizations face challenges and opportunities in 2025

Arts organizations face challenges and opportunities heading into 2025. The speakers on our panel talk to these types of organizations daily, and are noticing some trends: shifting audiences, fewer funding sources, and smaller donations.

For example, one CourseStorm customer, American Stage in St. Petersburg, FL, saw an influx of young families during the pandemic. While previously their offerings were focused on retirees, there was suddenly a real community need to serve young people. This created a challenge, but also an opportunity.

“Organizations are feeling pressure from all sides – financially (certainly), but also from their local community, patrons, and board,” shared Brian Rahill, CEO at CourseStorm.

Under these conditions, growing and maintaining interest in the arts to increase donations and impact becomes a top priority. That’s where education programs really shine. 

Why education programs are critical for arts organizations

According to Samantha and the Spektrix team, 54% of all audiences were first-time ticket buyers in 2023. They anticipate the numbers will be similar as they come in for 2024. This has prompted many arts and theatre organizations to find ever more innovative ways to connect with new audiences and turn them into repeat patrons. 

“Education programs are critical for their own sake … But in terms of revenue, they’re also a critical way to connect with new audiences and build their loyalty to your programming,” Samantha explained.

Samantha pointed out that this opportunity makes it even more important to integrate data from your education programs with your central CRM, marketing, and ticketing platform. Teams working with CourseStorm and Spektrix can instantly invite participants along to their mainstage shows, building a multilayered relationship across their organization.

Brian seconded Samatha’s point, saying, “A thriving education program is a unique opportunity to connect in a new way with the community.”

This is particularly evident in the story of one Fundraise Up client, Bric Brooklyn. This cultural organization has built education programs to address the limited representation of marginalized voices in mainstream media and remove barriers to entry for aspiring artists and creators. Toward this end, they have developed workshops, courses and mentorship opportunities for different skill levels, all in collaboration with local schools, organizations and artists.

Programs like these represent a major opportunity to increase organizational impact. It takes both vision and dedication to build them.

How arts education programs thrive

Most arts organizations are focused on making art and theatre more available to more people. Arts organizations can fill the gap left by a lack of arts resources in school systems and poor accessibility within communities. But they only thrive when they have the right technology to streamline administration and operations.

Garrison Art Center in NY is a great example of an education program thriving with support from CourseStorm. With 85 classes on offer, they were using a shopping cart that was designed for physical products. Students had to fill in shipping info to register for a class, which just didn’t make sense. Staff were wrangling multiple spreadsheets for class rosters which led to mistakes and canceled classes. There were so many manual processes, it limited their growth. With CourseStorm, they saved time and effort. 

Other examples of thriving programs include Sacramento Philharmonic in California which uses pipeline tools in Spektrix to map engagement with school districts. Wolverhampton Grand in England is building long-term relationships through community ambassador programs and creative projects. Their work pays off with larger, more diverse audiences at their events. 

Increasing registrations and ticket sales is just one piece of the puzzle. To thrive in 2025 and beyond, your arts education program also needs to support fundraising efforts.

Fundraising is storytelling: Craft a narrative that moves donors to action

Fundraising is always top of mind for nonprofit organizations in the arts. Our experts offered key insights to put forward your most compelling fundraising story in 2025 and beyond.

Laura from Fundraise Up put it succinctly: “Ultimately, people give to people.Fundraising is an emotional process.” 

Organizations need to capture a donor in that emotional moment. Fundraise Up makes this easy, by automating the daily tasks that don’t require a human touch so you can focus on nurturing relationships with storytelling. But what does it take to emotionally compel people to make the donation? 

“Be transparent – tell your audiences exactly what their donations fund.” – Samantha Bagwell

Bridport Arts Centre does a fantastic job of this on their support page. At each membership level, instead of listing benefits, they list what that gift amount funds – like providing a free ticket for a carer to accompany an audience member with a disability to an event or subsidizing a full term in their Youth Theatre for a local young person. 

One CourseStorm customer, Karamu House in Cleveland, OH offers all their classes on a sliding scale based on income so they can be sure to keep education accessible for a broad audience. This decision is an impact story generator.

Importantly, these organizations also collect demographic information in their checkout process so they can report back to funders the impact of their donations. Highlighting those impacts and telling stories will create a powerful message that inspires donors.

Ways to integrate your education program within your organization

“To make education programs work for growth, nonprofits really need to tie them closely to their mission so it feels like a natural part of what they do, making the impact clearer for supporters.” – Laura Wong

Education programs enable organizations to round out their offerings and provide a rich and complete experience for their community. None of this happens in a vacuum. 

Our experts offered some ways to integrate your education program as a core part of your organization:

• Collaborate with fundraising and marketing to tell stories
• Partner with schools, business and groups to expand your reach
• Engage the community with events and workshops 
• Use customer engagement data to make relevant, tailored donation asks

For an example of this integration in action, we look to Spectrix client Z-arts. This arts centre in the UK, runs a membership model that gives access to classes, school holiday activities and discounted tickets. This creates a holistic experience for the whole family, which drives revenue and attendance. 

It’s critical to see the complete picture of any engaged community member. Spektrix, FundraiseUp, and CourseStorm are working together to integrate and share data so that organizations can use the best technology for their needs and have a single system to see a complete view of a patron’s participation.

Key takeaways to start planning for 2025 today

Each expert panelist had key takeaways to offer for arts organizations that want to build their most effective education programs in 2025:

“Focus on the whole person. People want to be entertained, they want to support and they really want to connect and participate,” Brian offered. “A thriving education program helps round out the ways people can engage with your organization as a ticket holder, supporter, and participant in an arts community.” 

Laura added, “Right now is prime time for planning holiday appeals or end-of-year fundraising campaigns. Use the success of your education programs to tell compelling stories and show donors how their contributions can make a lasting impact next year.”

Finally, Sam summed it up with “Stay connected.” Connect your education teams with fundraisers, marketing and box office. Connect your education program participants with your mainstage productions. And, connect your registration software with your central customer relationship management tools, to keep that conversation going in real time, capture powerful stories and statistics, and build lasting links with some of your most enthusiastic patrons.

Want more? Watch the full on-demand webinar to get all of the juicy insights and takeaways from our panel of experts.

Creating standard operating procedures may not sound like the most fun ever, but good SOPs can revolutionize your administrative process. While there’s plenty of room for creativity in education, creativity can only happen if you have a strong operational foundation. It’s easy to put off establishing and documenting processes when there’s so much to do, but you can save staff so much time and frustration with this simple step.

Whether you’re depending on paid staff or volunteers, SOPs make every member of your team a little bit more independent and potentially a lot less frustrated. This simple guide to creating SOPs gives you everything you need to standardize procedures across your education program.

What is a Standard Operating Procedure for an ed program?

A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a document that describes a process step-by-step so everyone on your team knows how to do it. They may include screenshots, photos, or links to help any staff member follow a process. Education programs use SOPs to make sure the people on their administrative and instructor teams can figure out how to complete everyday processes like registering students, or occasional tasks like issuing a refund. 

SOPs are often stored online or in a shared folder where all members of the team can access them. Some programs also choose to create a printed copy, but keep in mind that SOPs are living documents. They can change with technology, as needs change, and when someone discovers a more efficient way to do things.

Why education programs need SOPs

Every organization can benefit from SOPs, but they’re especially important if you have a small staff, or work with volunteers who may come and go. Nonprofit burnout is a real threat, and you want people to be able to take vacation without fielding dozens of phone calls or leaving the office unable to function. 

Imagine a big storm is expected in your area and you need to reschedule all of Thursday’s classes. You shouldn’t have to call Betsy, who happens to be at her daughter’s wedding in California, to figure out the process for doing that. Instead, you can just open up your SOP document and be guided step-by-step through the process.

Then, of course, there’s staff turnover to consider. You shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel every time someone leaves your team. And productivity is lost if new employees need to be taught step-by-step how to handle each task, or worse, are left to muddle through and hope they did it right.

Education program procedures that need SOPs

You can create SOPs for almost any process that happens in your office. The need for specific ones varies depending on your program and its procedures. However, there are several processes that every program should standardize.

1. Posting classes to your course catalog
2. Registering students over the phone
3. Canceling a class
4. Rescheduling a class
5. Issuing a refund
6. Waiting list administration
7. Creating a new student profile
8. Emergency response plans

The good news is that if you already use a quality class registration software like CourseStorm, some of these procedures may already exist. Just visit our knowledge library to get step-by-step instructions for many of these processes.

How to write a Standard Operating Procedure

The process of creating SOPs will require some upfront effort, but you’ll save tons of time and headaches in the long run. Having a standard procedure means there’s no guesswork and tasks get done right the first time. Here’s our SOP for how to create an SOP. 

1. Title your SOP with the name of the task
   ex. Add A Class to The Course Catalog

2. Include the scope and purpose. In other words, what is the goal of this SOP? Are there other SOPs that might be similar? Make sure your team understands when they should use this one.
   Ex. Add a single course to the course catalog. Procedure for adding multiple courses at once can be found here.

3. Work step-by-step through the process, noting each step as you go. Make sure you list all parts of every step and include enough detail for someone who has never done it before. Don’t assume the reader knows what library you use for stock photos or how to set kids class age restrictions. Include any images, screenshots, or links that help clarify each step.

4. Share it with the team to make sure you’ve covered all of the essential steps. Ideally, you should get feedback from someone who does the process regularly, and from someone new to it.

5. Include a revision date. Everytime you update the procedure, change this date. That way people know they have the most recent version.

6. Share the SOP with your team. An SOP only works if everyone knows where to find it, so make sure each member of your team has access to the place where SOPs are stored.

Following these steps will help you make useful SOPs that save time and improve the quality of customer service that students can expect from you.

What to do if your procedures are too complicated

Sometimes writing out a procedure can help you realize that the processes you have in place are just too complicated. When that happens, look for opportunities to simplify. You may be able to automate some steps: like waiting list management or introduce the right technology to simplify your process. 

Learn how the right enrollment tool can save you time and effort.

Do your kids’ classes always have waiting lists, but you struggle to fill the adult rosters? Or maybe you’re offering classes to adults of all ages, but only seniors are signing up. What’s going on? 

If your kids’ classes fill up but your senior and teen classes don’t, you may want to consider your marketing approach. Generational differences could be a factor.

It may be that your marketing only resonates with audiences of a certain age. If you want to reach more age-diverse markets and grow your enrollments, you may want to consider generational marketing.

Generational marketing is a marketing strategy that considers the preferences and needs of audiences based on their age. While it is possible to over focus on generational differences, this approach can help ensure that your marketing appeals across age groups. 

Some Context for Generational Marketing

Generational marketing relies on a handful of categories broken up by birth years: 

• Baby Boomers: 1946-1964
• Generation X: 1965-1980
• Millennials: 1981-1996
• Generation Z: 1997-2012
• Generation Alpha: 2012-Present

Generational marketing focuses on the age of the intended audience to make generalizations about what that audience might want. For example, a Boomer might prefer to call your administrative staff to get information, while a Millennial might prefer to go online. But keep in mind that these generalizations do not perfectly describe every member of that age group. 

Age is a continuum but the categories have start and end dates. So a person born in 1997 may not technically be a millennial, but might have more in common with that group than with someone in their own generation who was born in 2012.  

The dates above come from the Pew Research Center, but other groups and organizations may use different cut-offs. Generational categories are not standardized. They are loose characterizations generally agreed upon. 

The two most important generational differences to keep in mind are consumer behavior and technology use by age group.

With that being said, there are some generational differences that are useful to keep in mind. The two most important are consumer behavior and technology use by age group.

Technology Use by Age Group

People of all ages are using mobile devices more often. Nearly half of all web traffic in North America comes from mobile devices. As of 2019, about 17% of Gen Xers primarily use their smartphone to access the internet. However, the number of Boomers who have smartphones has been rising steadily since 2011. About 11% of Boomers say a smartphone is their primary internet device. These percentages have almost certainly increased in the last five years. 

• Make sure both your website and your registration forms are mobile-friendly.

Gen Z and Gen Alpha are shifting away from traditional search engines. Rather than directly searching for a product or service, they’re more likely to passively discover it on social media. Discovery can happen through ads, influencers, or sharing posts with friends.

• Consistent and engaging social media posts and ads are an effective way to reach younger audiences.

But keep in mind that Boomers tend to be much less social media-focused. Only a small minority of Boomers use social media to shop. These audiences are more likely to use search or even television ads to discover products and services. 

• Don’t rely solely on social media for marketing. Good search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search ads can help you reach Boomer audiences.

Younger audiences also don’t use email the same way their parents and grandparents do. They may have a school or work email, but their personal life happens through text and social media. 

• SMS-based marketing and text reminders for classes can help keep younger audiences engaged. 

Consumer Behavior by Age Group

The pandemic pushed many people to embrace online shopping. Boomers in particular appreciated the simplicity and ease of shopping from home. When pandemic restrictions were lifted, that habit held on. Millennials were the first generation to fully embrace online shopping, and younger groups have followed that trend. 

• Create a fully online class registration and payment system and streamline it so it’s easy for all ages to use.

When it comes to disposable income, Boomers have the clear advantage. Older consumers have a higher median net worth than their younger counterparts. Many are also more willing to spend on discretionary items, like travel or enrichment classes. 

• Big-ticket, high-value classes can attract older audiences. Payment plans can make these classes accessible to younger, more budget-conscious learners.

Keep in mind that while all groups may enroll themselves, Millennials may be looking for classes for their children. Boomers may be registering their grandchildren and Gen Xers could be doing either or both. 

• Group registration makes it easy for adults to enroll the whole family. And don’t forget that marketing for kids’ classes should appeal to parents as well. 

Meet Potential Students Where They Are

It’s possible to get too focused on generational differences and stray into the realm of stereotypes. Remember, there tend to be more differences within a group than there are between groups. Some Gen Xers love email. Plenty of Boomers are tech savvy. And Millennials may be child-free.

The best way to use generational marketing is as a troubleshooting checklist. Does your program marketing account for the range of preferences that may affect your audience? 

For example, at CourseStorm, we know that some audiences prefer to register for classes by phone while others prefer to complete the transaction online. Generally, this preference tends to be tied to age, but not always. To serve both groups, we encourage customers to use the full online registration system, but also provide a phone number so their in-house staff can complete a registration for someone who is uncomfortable with technology.

Your marketing can take a similar approach by offering variations and options that appeal to different groups. 

Dig Below the Surface to Get to Know Your Audience

One powerful way to make sure you’re marketing to every generation is to create student personas, representations of each type of student based on what you know about them. Using student personas can help you better understand your students so you can create classes and marketing materials that resonate with them. Learn how to create student personas that can increase class registrations. 

Want to grow your arts education program? You need quality instructors. Skilled teaching artists help create the best possible student experience. As a result, learners feel like they’ve gained something valuable, and are more likely to recommend your classes to others. They might even follow their favorite instructors to whichever class they happen to teach. 

A CourseStorm customer shared that their popular watercolor classes attract some new students, but most seats are filled by returning students “who are absolutely in love with the teacher and will take any class that she teaches.” In short, when you retain teachers, you retain students and grow your program. 

Of course, retaining teachers is easier said than done. That’s why we’re offering some powerful teacher retention strategies to help keep your teaching artists — and by extension, your students — happy. 

5 Useful Teacher Retention Strategies

1. Promote Their Artistic Work

Your artist teachers are not just instructors, they’re also artists with their own creative practice and body of work. Promoting their artistic careers is a win-win strategy. As their prestige as artists grows, so does their desirability as teachers. 

How to promote the artists who teach for you:

• Host a show or event featuring their work
• Sing their praises on your social media channels
• Send them to classes and conferences to support their development
• Bring in guest artists to run special workshops for your instructors

You probably have some valuable connections in your local arts community. Wherever possible, look for ways to help your teaching artists connect with people who can help their careers thrive. Happy instructors stay with your organization and help attract more students.

2. Listen to What Your Teachers Need

You might be great at listening for student feedback, but few programs are as tuned in to what teachers need. Too often, decisions about arts education programs are made from the top down. Just like your students, teachers appreciate being heard. They want a voice in the decisions that will affect them and their work. 

How to learn what teachers want and need:

• Offer an email address or suggestion box where they can share ideas
• Find occasions for informal conversations with teaching artists
• Send out a yearly or quarterly survey to all instructors
• Provide them with a supervisor or mentor who can answer questions

This might take some time. Some instructors may worry that you don’t really want to hear what they have to say or that their feedback will be held against them. Assure them that you are looking to improve their experience and your program. Follow up with instructors to let them know if and how their input was used. The more responsive and transparent you are, the more likely they are to trust you with their great ideas.

3. Communicate About Changes Before They Happen

As a director or executive, you make decisions for the good of the organization based on the information you have available. Often, those decisions will affect instructors, both directly and indirectly. 

Nobody likes feeling that their career is out of their control. Teaching artists are no exception. When you make changes that will affect them — especially if those changes affect workload or compensation — keep instructors informed. 

How to involve instructors in change management:

• Invite teachers to attend planning meetings
• Ask for their opinion before making big changes
• Explain the reasoning behind decisions
• Provide training or guidance to facilitate change

This kind of change management shows teachers that you respect them and their work. It helps them feel more empowered, even if the change is ultimately out of their control. Teachers who feel empowered are more able to show up for their students. 

4. Get Creative With Compensation

Compensation is a sticky problem for many nonprofits. You’re likely under pressure to keep payroll costs low. But you also want to keep teachers happy and support their wellbeing. If pay is an immovable point, you may be able some valuable non-monetary compensation in lieu of raises. Whatever you do, publish pay scales on your job postings so instructors know what they’re getting into.

How to creatively compensate teachers:

• Pay for prep and administrative time
• Offer free studio space
• Develop multi-year contracts
• Equip them with supplies (including snacks and coffee!)

Remember, teaching artists have at least two careers. They’re making art and they’re teaching students. Many also pick up other jobs to make ends meet. That can leave them fragmented and overwhelmed. When you increase a teacher’s wages, you’re not just giving them more money, you’re helping them stay focused on their art and their students.

5. Make Class Administration Simple With CourseStorm

Teaching artists have plenty to do already. They don’t want to waste time and energy using complicated class administration tools. When you choose CourseStorm for class registration and payment processing, you also get a set of valuable resources for instructors. They can view classes, print and export rosters, view individual student info, email students, and view cancellations or waiting lists. 

How CourseStorm helps keep teachers happy:

• Empowers teaching artists to manage their own classes with administrative oversight
• Simplifies communication between teachers and students
• Helps instructors monitor enrollments in their classes
• Offers tools to help instructors promote classes on social media

Find out more about how CourseStorm empowers instructors.

With built-in mobile access, your teachers can manage classes anytime, anywhere. Whether they’re taking a break in the studio, or riding the bus home after a long day — mobile access connects them with their students. 

Resources to Share With Teaching Artists

Sharing resources with your teaching artists helps them grow and shows them you care about both their artistic and instructional careers. Here are a few useful resources worth sharing with your instructors: 

• 5 Ways Art Teachers Can Balance Teaching and Creating Art
• Keeping it Fresh: Career Sustainability for Veteran Teaching Artists
• 6 Places to Find Art Teacher Professional Development Opportunities

You can give instructors more time to focus on their students and their art. Start your free trial of CourseStorm to test out all of its time-saving features.

Every registration season delivers lessons for how to improve the registration process for your classes. The trick is recognizing those lessons when they come along. Education program directors may not realize that they already have a wealth of information that could help them make informed decisions about the next enrollment season. 

We’ve compiled a 6-step checklist to help you reflect on your most recent enrollment season to learn from it and apply the lessons next season. 

We’ve drawn on our years of experience supporting arts and nonprofit programs with class registration and payment processing to develop a seasonal registration audit checklist that brings these lessons to the surface. We’ll show you where to look for information about your most recent enrollment season and how to collect even more data so you can use it to increase enrollment.

6 Steps to Improve Your Registration Process

At the end of each registration season, follow these 6 steps to complete a registration process audit that will help you identify areas for improvement and get results.

1. Check Your Metrics

Start by comparing this season’s metrics to metrics from the same time last year. Don’t get too caught up in month-to-month fluctuations. Most programs see peaks and valleys in their registration numbers. Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples by checking this September against last September or this fall against the previous fall. 

Even if your enrollment numbers are trending in the right direction, it’s worth completing the full registration process audit. Seasonal check-ins can help you spot small issues before they blow up into major problems. 

Investigate: 

• Whether enrollment levels grew, shrunk, or remained the same
• Which classes got the most enrollments
• Which classes got the fewest enrollments
• How students enrolled: online, in-person, by phone
• How people reached your website: ads, web search, email, direct link

Use this information to understand how people are enrolling in your classes and where changes may be needed. You can segment data to help you spot specific trends. For example, you may want to look at whether specific populations are enrolling, or whether 6pm classes attract more students than 7pm classes. 

2. Collect Student Feedback 

Ideally, you’re asking students to complete student feedback forms at the end of each class. These can give you information about what students thought of the class experience, but probably won’t tell you much about registration. For that you may want to send out a seasonal survey that asks about the registration, customer service, website experience and payment process. 

Asking students for feedback doesn’t just help you collect useful information. Harvard Business Review reports that it also increases customer loyalty. People feel valued when you ask for their opinion.

We’ve written a whole article about how to collect and use student feedback, and here’s a broad overview of the kinds of questions that could help you improve your programs.

Ask students: 

• How easy the registration process was
• Whether they could easily find the classes they wanted
• Their overall level of satisfaction
• Whether your website was easy to use
• How you could improve the registration experience

Use these questions to understand how students actually feel about your process and identify areas for improvement. A complex process, confusing website, or hard-to-navigate course catalog may be holding you back more than you realize. The best way to find out is to ask.

3. Investigate for Tech Issues

Some technical issues may be obvious — you’re not going to miss a website crash during your busiest enrollment day of the year. Others are harder to spot and may take some digging. A link that sends visitors to the wrong enrollment form might result in staff confusion, but no complaints from students. 

Many education program directors assume that a lack of complaints means everything is fine. That may not be true. Research shows that the majority of unhappy customers don’t complain. Most just leave. And almost a third of customers will walk away from a company they love after just one bad experience.

Our own professional experience managing websites and payment systems tells us this is especially true if your website is clunky or hard to use. If your website is confusing customers, asks them to complete a complicated process, or simply does not deliver a seamless registration and payment process, they may leave without telling you. 

Check for: 

• High bounce rates on class registration pages
• Abandoned carts
• Waitlisted students who don’t convert into registrants
• Broken links
• Low traffic on course catalogs or registration pages

Proactively looking for technical issues helps you improve the user experience and enroll more of the visitors who come to your website. 

4. Ask Staff for Their Impressions

Instructors and staff who work directly with students may have special insight into the registration process. Ask them for their impressions and opinions. You’re not necessarily looking for hard data here. Instead, you want to hear how staff and instructors perceive the process. 

These anecdotes can be valuable because they reveal problems you may not have noticed otherwise. A receptionist who tells you they got three phone calls a day asking how to find your course catalog lets you know there is a pattern worth addressing. 

Sometimes staff will use their own workarounds to try to solve these problems on their own. They may have developed scripts, tracking documents or resource lists to try to help students register. These kinds of resources help staff do their jobs, but can also obscure an ongoing problem. A functional workaround may mean you never notice that there’s a major issue with your system.

Ask staff about: 

• The questions they most often heard from students
• Any shortcuts or special tools they developed 
• Student stories that stuck out to them
• How they would improve the registration process

When you ask for staff feedback, you don’t just get valuable insight into your registration process. You also improve relationships with staff and instructors. Multiply this effect by thanking staff for their insight and keeping them informed of how you use their feedback.

5. Identify Areas to Improve

With baseline metrics and insight from your students, technical team, and instructors, you should be able to build a short list of areas to improve. Prioritize the list based on which issues have the greatest impact on student experience. An issue that affects just one course is less urgent than a systemic problem with your process. 

Try to step back and get a big-picture view of what’s going on. This can help you find efficient solutions rather than creating a patchwork of fixes for various issues. For example, if you notice that some potential students are leaving the registration process without completing payment and others seem to be struggling with finding the classes they want, you may be able to solve the problem with all-in-one class registration and payment software. 

Find solutions by: 

• Prioritizing your problem list
• Looking for solutions that solve multiple issues
• Considering budget and complexity of roll-out
• Asking for recommendations from other course providers

These steps help ensure that you’re choosing efficient and effective improvements for your class registration process. 

6. Make and Test a Strategy

Make a plan for how you’ll implement the solutions you’ve identified. Some may be simple and require little up-front planning. For example, adding a link to your cancellation policy to your universal registration form may take just a few clicks. Other solutions could benefit from a longer roll-out process. For example, before you introduce a new registration software you might need to train staff on how to use it, announce the change to students, and have technical support documents ready to go. 

Consider: 

• When you’ll roll out the new strategy
• Who will be responsible for each step
• How you will communicate changes to staff and students
• How you will measure the strategy’s success

A well-planned change strategy will help you make positive changes to your class registration process without the unintended side effects of confusing or frustrating the people you’re trying to help.

Repeat Every Season to Keep Improving the Registration Process

Complete this registration audit at the end of each enrollment cycle to help your program grow season after season. Regular check-ins will help you catch small issues before they become enrollment-impacting problems. Along the way, you’ll strengthen your relationships with both students and staff.

If a complex registration process is keeping your enrollments low, it might be time to investigate a new enrollment tool. Learn How the Right Enrollment Tool Can Save You Time, Money, and Effort.

If you want to get more class registrations and boost your bottom line, it’s time to start thinking about older adults. Census projections show that by 2035, people over 65 will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history. That means seniors are likely to be a growing audience for your nonprofit education program. Even programs primarily aimed at children should consider the needs of parents and grandparents who are completing the registration process. 

Meeting the needs of seniors does not mean avoiding technology. Many older adults are capable of using online registration systems as long as those systems are simple and straightforward.

After 10+ years dedicated to class registration and payment systems, we’ve learned that designing for seniors improves the registration experience for everyone. 

Class Registration Myths About Seniors

Myth: Seniors aren’t a big audience for us. 

Reality: Many seniors are committed to lifelong learning for themselves. They also register children and grandchildren for classes. 

If you’re not already marketing classes to seniors, you may be missing a major opportunity. People aged 50 and older account for 51% of consumer spending although they represent just 45% of all adults. In short, this audience is spending more per capita than younger shoppers. Some portion of that spending is going to classes.

Many seniors are interested in lifelong learning. According to the Seniorlist, 19% of older adults say they have taken an academic course in the last six months. That word, “academic,” may be artificially limiting this result. According to AARP, 55% of Americans age 45 and older are actively learning new things either through classes or independent study.

Even if your education program primarily provides classes for kids, seniors are still a key audience. Consider the grandmother who enrolls her young granddaughter in a drawing class. The class may be for the little girl, but Grandma is the one navigating your registration system.

Myth: Seniors won’t use online registration options.

Reality: Seniors will use online options as long as you make them simple and straightforward.

Seniors may be more tech savvy than you realize. A Pew survey found that 61% of adults 65 and older own a smartphone and 75% use the internet. Making purchases is the second-most popular online activity among people age 50+ (email holds the top spot).

During and since the pandemic, seniors have learned to use technology to do everything from buy groceries to book doctor’s appointments. About 24% of respondents in a survey on aging in place said that they use grocery and food delivery apps. There’s clearly openness among older people to engage with more digital experiences—the key is to make sure those experiences are simple and seamless. 

Since the pandemic, seniors can and do use technology to buy groceries online, book doctor’s appointments, and more.

Myth: Seniors are uncomfortable with online payments.

Reality: If it’s easy and safe, seniors will pay online.

Many seniors have spent a lifetime paying with checks or cash. Some are more comfortable with these methods, but others welcome the convenience of online payments. In recent years, more seniors learned how to pay for products and services online as a result of the pandemic. 

But seniors are concerned about the security and privacy of online payments. A 2020 survey by Lightico found that people over 65 were more likely to say that they don’t feel online transactions are secure. Nonprofit class providers will see the best results if they show seniors that their payment systems are dependable and secure. Post links to privacy and security details on your payment pages so they’re easy to find.

How to Make Course Registration Easy for Seniors (And Everyone Else)

It’s not just seniors who benefit when you simplify your online registration process. Easy registration helps everyone. Apply these tips to improve the registration experience for people of all ages.

1. Remove extra steps and complexity

Seniors may get frustrated if asked to enter information in multiple places or complete a long series of steps. One 72-year-old told AP news that she has no problem shopping at Amazon or Target.com but that the grocery store app has too many steps and she often ends up starting over.  

Map your registration process to understand how many steps it includes. Does the user need to access more than one website or service to complete registration? If you’re asking people to fill out a form in one place, but make a payment somewhere else, they’re likely to get confused.

The best class registration systems seamlessly guide the user from the course catalog through registration, to payment. With CourseStorm, registration and payment is one seamless process that starts with a button on your course catalog. We don’t even ask registrants to create a user profile first. Instead, they have the opportunity to automatically create a profile as part of the registration process. 

2. Prioritize accessibility

Older adults are more likely to have vision or motor challenges that can impede accessibility. About a quarter of adults 71 years old and older have visual impairments. These could prevent seniors from using online systems unless accessibility tools are in place. 

Simple design changes, like creating high-contrast color schemes and including alt text for graphics can improve accessibility. Check with your website designer and class registration software provider to make sure accessibility options are in place. 

CourseStorm course registration and payment processing software complies with Level AA guidelines set by the Web Accessibility Initiative. That means we’ve put the work in to ensure that our registration software is as accessible as possible for people with disabilities. 

3. Share safety and privacy information

Some seniors are hesitant to use technology for safety or privacy reasons. They may have heard of or experienced scams where older people have been taken advantage of. In fact, seniors lose more than $3 billion each year to financial scams, both online and offline. 

Help your senior registrants feel secure by posting your privacy policies prominently on your website. Let them know how their information will be used and let them opt out of storing payment information. 

At CourseStorm, we take security seriously. Our credit card information handling process is PCI compliant and all stored cards are safely encrypted. Our servers are located at state-of-the-art data centers with multi-tiered security systems. 

4. Market beyond social media

Social media is a powerful way to reach potential students. But it may not be as effective in reaching older adults. Only 45% of adults age 65 and older use social media. Programs may have better luck reaching seniors through search ads and email marketing. Our State of the Arts Report found that email accounted for the highest percentage of visitors to our customer’s class registration websites. Traditional direct mail campaigns may also be more attractive to seniors. 

As a CourseStorm customer, you get personal automated marketing tools that will send personalized email recommendations to students based on past registration history. We keep an eye on marketing trends and best practices, sharing them with customers on our blog.

The Class Registration Solution for All Ages

By now we hope you see that what’s good for seniors is good for registrants of all ages. When you simplify processes, prioritize accessibility, ensure privacy, and market beyond social media, you make registration easier for everyone. And improving the student experience is ultimately what’ll help you fill classes and extend your program’s impact in your community.

Whether you offer classes specifically for seniors, or primarily for children, CourseStorm can help attract this growing and motivated audience of older adults to boost your bottom line.

To see the impact of this simplicity in action check out this case study featuring American Stage. Integrating CourseStorm with their ticketing software helped this nonprofit theatre education program improve the customer experience and save staff time.