Hi Jeff,

We both charge admission and have a donation box.  Our admission price, $5.00 for adults, is relatively low but as a city owned/state mandated (but not financially supported) museum may think that is too high.  We also have a donation box by our main exit door.  I don’t know the exact amount, but the box always has money in it.  We do “seed” it but not that much. 

 

Our donation box is not only located next to our exit door but also next to the visitors comment log.  At the box we talk about how we are funded and ask for their help in maintaining and improving exhibits.  People seem to be very generous and supportive but we are definitely not operating on these donations.  It has never affected our high end donors who we target for specific projects and needs. 

 

I also like that our donation box is in a supervised area but not right where there is a person stationed, that way people don’t feel “compelled” to donate if they do not want to.  When I feel compelled to donate also is when I start to feel “nickel and dimed”.

 

Hope this helps.

Tracie Evans

Collections Manager

Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum    

 

 

Greetings fellow Listserv readers,

 

Our staff is having a lively debate regarding donation boxes.  We currently do not have one in our museum, but are considering putting one out.  What are the pros and cons of having a donation box?  Some of our concerns are:

 

• Will are visitors feel like we are “nickel and dime-ing” them?
• Will the donation box give an excuse for our higher-end donors to give an anonymous gift, and result in a lower donation?
• How many one-time visitors will actually contribute on top of the admission cost?

 

We consider our Whaling Museum a medium-sized museum with about 60,000 annual visitors, the majority of those visits occurring in the summer months.  We have a membership base of about 2,800.  Our family membership sells for $125 (with a discount for year-round island residents) and admission to the museum is $15.  As a trial, we are considering putting the donation box in our discovery room with signage telling the visitor that donations will go towards the cost of children’s costumes and hands-on exhibits.

 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

-Jeff

 

P.S.  I searched the archive and saw that a similar topic was discussed a couple of years ago, but was focused on where to put the donation box, not the pros and cons of donation boxes.

 

Jeffrey S. Bowen

Assistant Membership Coordinator

Nantucket Historical Association
P.O. Box 1016
Nantucket, MA 02554
Phone: 508-228-1894 x 116
Fax: 508-228-5618
Email: [log in to unmask]
www.nha.org