Sally Clark requested information on how to assign value to a member over a period of, for example, ten years..... Sally: There is a formula for the present value of any future stream of earnings (you can make your own assumptions about length, magnitude, and basic interest rates that will apply over the period); check with any local investment firm or real estate agency. Before resorting to mechanical calculations of the sort just described, however, be certain you determine the costs of servicing a membership at present and into the future. Obviously, the monetary value of each membership is the difference between the membership fee received and the total costs of newsletters, special events, personnel, etc., designed exclusively for members. It is not uncommon to discover that memberships represent a monetary net loss to a given museum...That does not necessarily mean a museum should not seek memberships or invariably charge more for a membership than it costs; there may be good non-monetary reasons to build memberships such as building a volunteer corps, generating participation and enthusiasm for museum programming , or developing a political constituency in the community. Under any circumstances, it does seem important for a museum to know how much it costs to service a membership.. Hope these comments are useful ..... bob kelly Robert F. Kelly University of British Columbia [log in to unmask]