How The Grace Museum Reduced Card Processing Time and Grew Membership 40% with Digital Cards

When The Grace Museum in Abilene, Texas set out to modernize its membership operations, they needed a solution that could keep pace with rapid growth including a brand-new satellite science center. What they found with MembershipAnywhere exceeded expectations.

The Challenge

The Grace Museum operates as an art and history museum with an additional satellite science center- the Spark Science Center, all under one umbrella. Their membership base spans a wide range of visitors, from devoted Texas art enthusiasts to families eager for hands-on science experiences.

But behind the scenes, the membership process was showing its age. Every card was handwritten by staff, then mailed, a workflow that was costly, time-consuming, and slow for members eager to start using their benefits.

“The primary challenges with our previous membership card process were the time it took to handwrite each card, the cost of mailing them, and the delay members experienced before receiving their cards.”

Even when the team expedited the process, mailing cards often took 7–10 business days, a frustrating wait for new members ready to visit.

Why MembershipAnywhere

After reviewing several digital card platforms, The Grace Museum chose MembershipAnywhere for its combination of robust features, competitive pricing, and critically its reputation within the museum community.

“We selected MembershipAnywhere because it offered the best combination of features, lower overall cost, responsive support when we had questions, and strong recommendations from other museums already using the system.”

The support team’s willingness to communicate openly and address issues promptly helped seal the deal. For a team managing multiple venues, having a responsive partner wasn’t a nice-to-have, it was essential.

A Thoughtful Onboarding

The rollout process was thorough, and while a few hiccups arose along the way, the MembershipAnywhere team’s consistent communication kept everything on track. One early concern was member adoption: would long-time members embrace the shift to digital?

With guidance from MembershipAnywhere and input from the Albuquerque Museum Foundation particularly around how to frame the transition and the language to use when introducing digital membership card those hesitations were overcome.

There was also the practical challenge of uploading member data from donor software that doesn’t integrate directly with MembershipAnywhere. The team worked through it, and the process has since been streamlined effectively.

The Results

The impact was immediate and measurable:

• Eliminated the 7–10 business day card delivery window members now receive their digital cards almost instantly after purchase, accessible directly in their digital wallets.
• Reduced the cost and volume of physical letterhead and mailing supplies, creating meaningful time and cost savings for the team.
• Deployed the FastLane kiosk at the new Spark Science Center satellite location more than 600 members used it within the first two weeks, representing 600 check-ins that front desk staff did not have to manually process through the POS system.
• Saw approximately a 40% increase in memberships since opening the second location, supported by the ability to issue and manage digital cards at scale.
• Freed staff from handwriting physical cards entirely, redirecting that time toward higher-value member interactions.

“Members have really enjoyed the experience and now head to the kiosks automatically.”

The kiosk deployment was particularly telling. By stationing a single dedicated staff member near the kiosks rather than behind a full POS counter, The Grace Museum turned a potential bottleneck into a smooth, self-directed experience that members quickly adopted as habit.

Looking Ahead

The Grace Museum’s team would recommend MembershipAnywhere without hesitation to peers in the museum industry and their reasoning speaks to more than just the technology.

“The platform has significantly reduced our processing time, strengthened our customer service, and reduced staff workload. Most importantly, the support team communicates exceptionally well, addresses issues promptly, and is genuinely receptive to suggestions and improvements, which fosters a strong, positive partnership.”

In a sector where budgets are tight and staff bandwidth is precious, tools that genuinely reduce friction and a partner that listens make all the difference.

“It has significantly improved our workflow and member experience, and the support team’s communication and openness to feedback make the platform truly valuable.”