First and foremost:  do not offer any "lifetime" memberships, no matter how
much they are.  Once someone or a company takes one of those, you can kiss
future donations goodbye.

We have a "Patron" membership which was adopted at my recommendation seven
years ago, to replace the "Company" membership.  That category is now about
three times as large as the old Company category because individuals are
now also encouraged to upgrade to Patron.  This category has a minimum fee
of $100.  The larger corporations come in voluntarily at $250 to $1200.

We send renewal invoices on the calendar date of joining.  The invoice is
accompanied by a one-page letter from me reviewing our accomplishments over
the past year (I update it but once a year).  The invoice includes a note
suggesting an upgrade to a higher category membership.

The only thing Patron members get that others don't, is a brass nameplate
on our Patron board that hangs in the lobby.  No one has ever complained
that they don't get something extra.  They are giving to support the museum
and want us to spend the money on exhibits and programs, not on them.

More to come if you want it.


------
Robert Handy
Brazoria County Historical Museum
100 East Cedar
Angleton, Texas  77515
(409) 864-1208
museum_bob
[log in to unmask]
http://www.bchm.org

----------
From:   Barbara Hawkins[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Wednesday, February 10, 1999 8:47 AM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: Coporate Benefits

[log in to unmask],Internet writes:
>We are researching potential benefits, such as corporate memberships,
>to offer companies in exchange for donations.  The specific benefits
>they would receive would be based on the amount of their donation.
>Have any other museums implemented programs like this?  If so, what
>types of benefits does your museum offer?  Any other information about
>how your program works would also be helpful.


Hello all.  I read this request above submitted by Karin, and it
happens that I am also interested in finding out about corporate
donations and benefits.  I am an Arts Administration student in San
Francisco and have a term paper due in the next month.  I would very
much like to use this topic for the paper, and any information you can
provide would be greatly appreciated!

You can email to the listserve or off-list at [log in to unmask]  Thanks
very much.

Barbara Hawkins