What I think might be going on here is the difference in mind-set from large
museums to small. In a large museum with larger budgets, it is indeed not
cost effective to spend staff time looking for small donations when they can
be looking for large donations. A larger museum is also more likely to have
more stuff going on, more need for "stuff and money" and there is more of a
potential for going to the well more often than may be considered seemly by
the local businesses. In a small museum with a smaller budget, smaller
salaries, and less programs (I realize these are gross generalizations, but
I think they are true for the most part) asking for smaller donations of
stuff and money is a more effective use of staff time and you have the
potential of saving more money in terms of percentage of budget. Smaller
museums tend also to have more immediate cash flow problems and therefore
may not have the cash on hand or have corporate credit cards to cover
smaller expenses. Also, a smaller museum tends to have a more intimate
relationship with community businesses and the act of soliciting a small
donation would probably be seen in a more positive light by the business.
i.e. the local hardware store may see giving the small house museum as a
more  immediate way to give to the community and helping a needy charity,
whereas the same solicitation may be seen as penny pinching by a large
museum especially if that museum has been in the news for receiving a large
grant or touting its next million dollar expansion. A large museum may also
be seen as a less personal donation if the development department is large
and has high turnover than a small museum with the same director and staff
for five years.

I guess  it all depends on context. Issues are seldom as simple as they
appear in a brief email post.


--
Matthew White
Director of Museums
Mount Washington Observatory

Want to know more? Visit our web site at
www.mountwashington.org


Aaron Marcavitch Wrote:

> Seriously?  WOW!  I have always been taught that any time I am doing anything
> for a non-profit, I
> should do it as cheaply as possibly.  I dont find anything wrong with seeking
> donations.  If I can
> save that 50 bucks for something else or to make my bottom line work, I am
> going to do it.  For my
> Eagle Scout project, instead of spending 15 bucks on two pizzas, I had them
> donated.  I just saved
> 15 dollars that later went into something else (in this case a patch kit for
> our tents).
>
> Aaron

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