to: museum-l Jenni Rodda wrote on this list: It is now, and always has been, easier for institutions to raise money when donors can see where their money goes: onto brass plaques on the outsides of buildings or galleries, where their friends and those socially and financially envious can see them. It is very difficult to raise funds for the day-to-day operating expenses of museums, academic institutions, and libraries. It is hard to memorialize someone with slide mounts, book plates, or other materials; they simply aren't grand enough. As a consequence, libraries, archives, and other repositories of the museum's life are neglected. When a non-profit organization such as a museum presents the "cost" of a proposed operating project to a potential donor, it includes a share of costs the museum would incur whether or not the project goes forward, which are included as "indirect costs". If the donor accepts this definition of cost, then he will fund not only the specific project, but also help fund general museum operations that are not "grand enough" to attract support on their own. This raises two questions in response to Jenni Rodda's comments: 1. If a museum's management claims it does not have enough money for a function that you think is vital, then you might try to find out how the museum is spending the money that it collects for "indirect costs". Maybe there really is no money, or maybe excessive administrative costs (executive perks, etc.) are using it up. 2. Do donations to a museum for capital projects (new buildings, etc.) generally include indirect costs to the same extent as donations for operating projects? This is a point of accounting standards and fundraising practice that I'm just not familiar with, but it seems it would be effective to add large indirect costs to the price tag of glamorous capital projects, to subsidize museum operations that are less exciting to donors. David S. Reed Reed Public Policy, Inc. Number 210 3509 Connecticut Avenue NW Washington, DC 20008 fax: (202) 986-2495 internet: [log in to unmask]