Your
local United Way may serve as a useful model that your county government would
respect. Our local United Way benchmarks it its funding review cash reserves at
3 months worth of operating costs for not-for-profits in general. This makes
sense to me - it's a reasonable safety net, museums included.
Hi listers!
We are a small history museum in Florida. Annually, we apply for
grant funds
from our County Government. This year, they have
questioned the amount of
cash shown on our Balance Sheet. Our board
and staff feel strongly that
having a certain amount of cash reserves is
not only wise, but necessary, in
the event of major (or minor) emergencies
(i.e. our annual major fundraiser,
and outdoor historical festival, is
rained out; natural disaster strikes;
etc.).
Is there a standard
in the museum industry for how much cash should ideally
be held in
reserve? Perhaps a certain percentage of the institution's
annual operating budget? I am curious as to how much other museums
hold in
reserve (where possible). Please reply to the e-mail address
given below.
Thanks in advance!
Lori Tomlinson
Executive
Director
Florida Adventure Museum
Punta Gorda, Florida
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