Sally Clark requested information on how to assign value to a member
over a period of, for example, ten years.....

Sally:

There is a formula for the present value of any future stream of
earnings (you can make your own assumptions about length, magnitude,
and basic interest rates that will apply over the period); check with
any local investment firm or real estate agency.

Before resorting to mechanical calculations of the sort just
described, however, be certain you determine the costs of servicing a
membership at present and into the future.  Obviously, the monetary value of
each membership is the difference between the membership fee received
and the total costs of newsletters, special events, personnel, etc., designed
exclusively for members.  It is not uncommon to discover that
memberships represent a monetary net loss to a given museum...That
does not necessarily mean a museum should not seek memberships or
invariably charge more for a membership than it costs; there may be
good non-monetary reasons to build memberships such as building a
volunteer corps, generating participation and enthusiasm for museum
programming , or developing a political constituency in the
community.  Under any circumstances, it does seem important for a
museum to know how much it costs to service a membership..

Hope these comments are useful ..... bob kelly
Robert F. Kelly


University of British Columbia
[log in to unmask]