Is this REALLY a hypothetical situation? It sounds awfully familiar to me... In opening a new museum under the conditions you describe, my quick answer, in no particular order, is: 1.) concentrate on renovating the building to provide a safe, secure, environmentally stable, and appropriate exhibition/programming space for people and artifacts. 2.) DO NOT COLLECT anything by adding to a permanent collection unless you are able to properly care for your collections. And, as I'm sure many curators and registrars will echo, do not begin to collect until you have a clear policy that limits the scope of what you will take! If you create a museum-quality gallery space, you can always borrow exhibits and artifacts. 3.) use changing exhibitions and programs to get people into the building and interested in supporting the project. $80,000 is not a lot of money to carry out the project. I would use some of that to hire an exhibit designer and curator to develop models and drawings of what the museum could look like, and then use those models and plans to raise more money (people like to see what they're investing in). Good education programming for adults and children can get people enthused about the project. 4.) work on both short- (3 year) and long-range (5-10+ year) plans. Clearly, you have to focus on mission, money, the physical plant, staffing, interpretation, board development, and so on. I think it is crucial to have the input of curators and educators at the planning stage. I also think it's crucial to look at the board during planning--you can solve many of your dilemmas, from maintenance needs, to legal questions, to architectural renovations, to capital campaigns, by recruiting appropriate trustees. One final note: a salary of $20,000 with no benefits is unreasonable!!! > Heidi Anderson asked about a hypothetical situation of being hired to open a new museum in an old vacant bank building and needing to develop a 3-year plan. <