Growing support through tap-to-donate at The Pacific Bonsai Museum

Overview

The Pacific Bonsai Museum, located in Washington State, USA, is one of only a few public museums in the world dedicated solely to bonsai. Its tranquil outdoor setting draws over 54,000 visitors each year, who come to admire the living art and learn about the rich cultural traditions behind bonsai. As a non-profit museum, it relies on visitor contributions and donations to sustain the museum’s mission and keep it thriving.

Background

While the serene gardens and engaging exhibits inspire generosity, the team sought to simplify and enhance the giving process for guests. Their previous device, a DipJar, required card insertion, which didn’t fully match the casual, quick donations many visitors preferred. Seeking an alternative solution, the museum began exploring contactless options.

Solution

The Pacific Bonsai Museum introduced the UK-designed and built CollecTin Solo. The CollecTin Solo uses the SumUp Solo payment device, which the museum sourced locally. Positioned prominently outdoors at their donation wall, it offers visitors an effortless tap-and-go experience to support the museum’s work.

The CollecTin Solo made its debut at a large event the museum was running and quickly became a favourite with guests, who not only found it easy to use but also often commented on how cute it looked in the garden setting. The museum appreciates that the device is entirely mobile, which means they can also use it at their welcome table for their events, offering more opportunities for giving.

Results

While it’s still early days, the Pacific Bonsai Museum is already seeing an increase in donations compared to their previous DipJar. They also value the clear, straightforward reporting they receive from SumUp, making it easy to track contributions. The team is so pleased with the impact of their first CollecTin Solo that they’re now considering adding a device to ensure they can collect donations as people arrive at their events, as this would be at the opposite end of the site to the giving wall.

“We’ve been loving the CollecTin Solo - it’s become such a great staple at our donation wall. It’s easy, efficient, and we’ve already seen more donations than we did with our previous device. Visitors often comment on how cute it is!”

— Sarah Quick, Museum Manager, Pacific Bonsai Museum