Case Study: Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium achieves unified, user-friendly ticketing and fundraising with Blackbaud's Altru

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium - Customer Case Study

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, which connects people and animals through exhibits, education and conservation, needed to replace its fundraising and ticketing system after its vendor phased out the nonprofit general admission offering. The Zoo required software that seasonal, hourly employees could pick up quickly while remaining robust enough to handle more than 850,000 annual visitors.

After evaluating four options and involving 42 end users in demos and a vote, the Zoo selected Altru (38 of 42 voted for it). Staff report Altru’s integrated approach—linking membership, fundraising and ticketing with configurable security—plus simple, color‑coded sales screens and consistent terminology has improved usability, cross‑department communication and confidence in a long‑term vendor partnership.

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium

Sam McGough

Database Administrator