Our modest loan fee schedule, instituted just in the last few years, is designed to offset staff time and in-house expenses. It also has reduced the amount of "fishing" loan requests we get from organizations who aren't really very serious about going through the proper procedures (facilities report, loan letter, etc.). We charge the same fee regardless of the institution, but come to think of it, we only loan to exhibitions taking place in museums, so automatically it's a non-profit borrower.

I cut-and-paste our fee schedule below. As you can see, it's not very expensive to borrow from us, and we did waive the fee for a Whole Schools Institute exhibition at a nearby museum that was being curated by 5th graders, with absolutely no budget. We have not waived the loan fee for anyone else as yet, seeing as how the cost is so very low and we are not making a profit once you take staff time into account. Any institution is of course permitted to request a fee waiver, which would in turn be considered by our collections committee when they vote on the loan request.

Also, our board resolved to place all loan fees into our acquisitions fund; you may want to persuade your board to do the same. In fact, one of the (multiple) reasons we wanted to institute a loan fee was in order to bring to our board's attention the staff time and work that goes into loans (paperwork, packing, insurance, tracking, shipping, etc.). Putting a dollar amount on the loan helps the board understand that it's not just a matter of picking up a painting and tossing it into the back of someone's SUV.

FEE SCHEDULE:

LOAN OF ARTWORKS FROM LRMA COLLECTIONS

Upon approval of a loan request by the Collections Committee, the following fees will be assessed to the borrower:

Loans to U.S. institutions, up to one year:

per work, up to five works: $100

Exhibitions within the U.S., up to one year:

6-25 works: $500

26-50 works: $1000

51-75 works: $1500

The borrower will pay all packing charges, and two-way shipping charges. Transportation must be arranged by the borrower subject to LRMA approval.

Any other special expenses incurred will be paid by the borrower.

The loan fee includes the six-month rental of up to three transparencies, if available. It does not cover the cost of new photography.

Commercial reproduction rights must be requested and paid for separately.

Requests for larger loans, international loans, or loans of more than one year will be considered and assessed fees on a case-by-case basis.

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