to: museum-l
 
 
Jenni Rodda wrote on this list:
 
   It is now, and always has been, easier for institutions
   to raise money when donors can see where their money
   goes:  onto brass plaques on the outsides of buildings or
   galleries, where their friends and those socially and
   financially envious can see them.  It is very difficult
   to raise funds for the day-to-day operating expenses of
   museums, academic institutions, and libraries.  It is
   hard to memorialize someone with slide mounts, book
   plates, or other materials; they simply aren't grand
   enough.  As a consequence, libraries, archives, and other
   repositories of the museum's life are neglected.
 
When a non-profit organization such as a museum presents the
"cost" of a proposed operating project to a potential donor,
it includes a share of costs the museum would incur whether
or not the project goes forward, which are included as
"indirect costs". If the donor accepts this definition of
cost, then he will fund not only the specific project, but
also help fund general museum operations that are not "grand
enough" to attract support on their own. This raises two
questions in response to Jenni Rodda's comments:
 
1. If a museum's management claims it does not have enough
money for a function that you think is vital, then you might
try to find out how the museum is spending the money that it
collects for "indirect costs". Maybe there really is no
money, or maybe excessive administrative costs (executive
perks, etc.) are using it up.
 
2. Do donations to a museum for capital projects (new
buildings, etc.) generally include indirect costs to the
same extent as donations for operating projects? This is a
point of accounting standards and fundraising practice that
I'm just not familiar with, but it seems it would be
effective to add large indirect costs to the price tag of
glamorous capital projects, to subsidize museum operations
that are less exciting to donors.
 
David S. Reed
Reed Public Policy, Inc.
Number 210
3509 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC  20008
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