I wish I weren't on deadline for something else, because this is a topic near and dear to my heart and I could write endlessly about it! And the Higgins was just 50 miles away, so it is an institution I am familiar with. I think the closing (and the transfer of at least some of the collection that doesn't get auctioned off to the Worcester Art Museum) also brings up the issue of organizations not telling their publics they are in deep trouble until it is too late (I'm talking about you, Hull House, and you, Opera Boston ;-) ) "If only I/we had known..." is a refrain that echos too often in such cases. There is a delicate balance between not crying wolf or frightening off donors because the organization appears to be sinking and making a strong and urgent case for support. As a seasoned fundraiser, I don't see crowd-sourced fundraising as a replacement for old fashioned major gifts fundraising, especially in terms of sustainability. For every story of success a la Amanda Palmer or Karen the bullied bus monitor, there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of campaigns that never even approach their goal. I do wish there was more research on this too, but there isn't enough of a history with the platform to move beyond anecdote and into evidence. The healthiest organizations, whether museums or other, have a diversified revenue stream so that a shortfall in one area can be compensated for in another. Some things (perhaps the purpose of a particular object) lend themselves to the newer model, while other things (e.g., the director's salary) are decidedly less attractive for an Indiegogo or Kickstarter platform. I think we can learn a lot from "failures" and closures but the right people have to be willing to share information and then the right people elsewhere have to be willing to listen and learn. Susan Ruderman Fundraising Consultant On 3/8/2013 11:04 AM, Deb Fuller wrote (among other things): > Are museums starting to look to new economic models for fund-raising > and support? If so, how successful are you at it? Do you see it as a > sustainable way to keep your museum going? Are there any studies about > this? > -- Susan C. Ruderman, Ed.M. [log in to unmask] Boston, MA area ========================================================= 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).