Hi Erica, Have you considered free or discounted admission tickets for some or all of their employees? Or, if you don't charge admission, discounted or maybe buy-one get-one free memberships? The business would be able to tie their donation to a perk for their employees, and you get access to a new audience who may turn into regular visitors/members. Special previews of the new exhibition a day or two before it opens are also beneficial. It also doubles as a way to build an audience and generate buzz about the show. Also, think of places other than the exhibition you can put signage. Perhaps a sign for the exhibition in the lobby can include logos? What about your website? Signage at special events? The more places you can plaster the business' logo, the more exposure and bang for their buck they get. You might be able to bump up your range of donations above $1,000 too. :) Those are just a few of many great ways to offer incentives. I'm sure a dedicated development person can offer more. Best, George Garner Director of Exhibitions Center for History 808 West Washington, South Bend, IN 46601 www.centerforhistory.org // (574) 235-9664 -------- Celebrate Historic Architecture Month in July at the Center for History with a tour of Copshaholm, the 38-room mansion once home to the Oliver family. ----- Original Message ----- From: Erica Maniez To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 12:06 PM Subject: corporate inducement to donate to exhibit Hello, folks, We are currently raising funds for a new exhibit. We are thinking about approaching local businesses to see if they would be willing to donate $500 - $1,000 each for the project. Other than a sign or plaque acknowledging their donation, I’m not sure what other “rewards” we could offer them for contributing. We are a small museum, and the project budget is about $17,500. Most of that is the construction of new exhibit cases. The idea of naming each case after a business is distasteful to me. How has your museum acknowledged corporate donors in the past? Thanks! Erica Erica S. Maniez Museum Director, Issaquah Historical Society 425/392-3500 [log in to unmask] www.issaquahhistory.org ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).