Nicole, The Cade Museum in Gainesville, Florida is doing something similar. You might want to contact them. Tom Thomas A. Woods, Ph.D. President, Making Sense of Place, Inc. 1521 Grandview Ave. Oconomowoc, WI 53066-3422 [log in to unmask] 262-569-1698 Fax: same as phone From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of TOdd Bothel Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2009 12:02 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Question about developing interim museums Nicole, I would go forward with the interim museum idea. I would suggest the following: 1. Make the interim museum part of the overall project. Write your fundraising literature with that as Phase I of the project. That way you and the board can pitch the funders with a total project. This way you won't have funders who donate to the interim museum and then hit up again for the permanent one. 2. Don't spend too much on the interim museum building and its improvements. Just enough to get it operational. I think that opening a small display whets the appetite of the public for a museum. If you don't show the public something and they see that you are making progress, then they will lose interest and if you try to revive it 1-3 years later, it may be difficult to get them back on board. 3. Any possibility of keeping the majority of the tenants in the buildings? The museum can use one building and keep the other building occupied until you are ready to construct the permanent building. That would help to keep people in the area. The rent would also supply funding towards the project. Knowing that the businesses will be there for a (hopefully) short time, offer them reduced rent. Also, is there way to incorporate the existing businesses into the museum (food, gift shop)? -----Original Message----- From: nicole gillespie <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Tue, Aug 25, 2009 2:56 pm Subject: Question about developing interim museums For the past few years, my organization has been planning to develop an ambitious ($200M+) museum in our city. We have acquired the land, but as you all know, the economy has been difficult, and the decision was made to slow the project down. The land we acquired has buildings with tenants, and most of these tenants are leaving soon, which will leave the properties vacant. Because we are located in an blighted urban area, vacant buildings can lead to a lot of problems. Our board is now considering a proposal to turn some of the buildings into an interim museum. The proposal argues that such a space will help develop the tourist market and donor base for the future, permanent museum (as well as develop organizational expertise). The Board's main concerns are: 1) Putting money into buildings that will eventually be torn down 2) That a smaller, interim effort will more likely disappoint visitors than whet their appetite for the larger, permanent museum. 3) That anyone who donates to the interim museum won't donate again to the permanent one. (My organization does not have much experience with fundraising.) I have been asked to research examples of museums that took similar approaches. In particular, what might I say to the board about the donor cultivation opportunities of this approach? Fundraising isn't my area, but it is my understanding that nonprofits often return to the same donors again and again over time. Is there any research data on this? Thank you all for any help you can provide. ========================================================= 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). ========================================================= 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).