Understand Patrons and Constituents

When processing ticket sales, group sales, or performing other tasks related to ticketing, you will see references to “Patrons” and “Patron records.” For example, when you begin the sales process, you can “Add a new patron” or search for an existing patron to associate with the order. If you add a patron, you are adding a new constituent record to the system. If you search for an existing patron, you are searching for an existing constituent record.

After a constituent purchases a ticket to a program or general admission event, a constituency of “Patron” is automatically added to their constituent record. Constituencies define the affiliations your constituents have with your organization. A constituent can have multiple constituencies, and these relationships can start, end and overlap. For example, a constituent may first become a donor in your database and remain a donor for an undetermined length of time. If they buy a ticket to program event or general admission event, they are a patron. The constituent may later become a volunteer for your organization, but for only six months. You can use constituencies to define these relationships and group similar constituents in queries, mailings, and reports.

Note: For more information about constituent records, see the Constituents section of the help file.