I’m associated with a start-up museum with a limited budget. We’re losing our free location and our efforts to find a new free space have been difficult. We have an opportunity to rent space in the unused education wing of a prominent church. The wing previously housed a preschool that rented space from the church; it was not a church preschool. There is a separate entrance into the education wing and that entrance is on the far side, away from the entrance church-goers would use. We would use the space primarily for collections storage and as a base of operations while we continue to build our capacity, raise funds, exhibit throughout the community, run ed programs, etc. The church campus includes a separate auditorium (not a worship space), a kitchen, and larger gathering spaces that we might be able to use for events and fundraising. The church is interested in being more engaged in the community and views renting to organizations like ours as an opportunity to support community engagement, the arts, health, and wellness, ideals consistent in part with the church’s mission. We would be the first  outside group to rent from the church under their new model of community engagement. The rental fee is below market rate, an obvious advantage in our situation. A question has arisen about whether or not renting from a church will compromise the museum’s ability to fundraise and whether or not it would put off potential visitors and supporters. I’d appreciate hearing feedback addressing that concern and if anyone knows of similar models for a start-up institution.

Thanks!