Of course larger museums have fulltime fund raising staffs, even the ones that are government-funded. But the smaller ones (and there are far more of the smaller than the larger) simply do the best they can without a staff specialist. There is an ethical question to pose to the governments that fund museums: With nicely paid public employees on museum staffs to raise private money, what are you doing to the private museums that actually RELY on private giving? And why is it necessary for the museum on a state university campus to have its own fund raisers? As usual I agree with Indigo Nights, whoever you are -- the small museums without fund raising specialists don't need to go it alone. The biggest handicap may be the well-intentioned board members who suggest that if the museum simply applied to the Ford Foundation, it would be in hog heaven. They are the ones who drive their one-person director/fundraiser/grantswriter up the wall. The one-person ladies & gents need to spend their available time working "smarter," i.e., getting multiple little grants from little foundations. Boards can be impatient with that approach, however. Ross Weeks Jr. Tazewell VA. ----- Original Message ----- From: Indigo Nights <[log in to unmask]> > Ladies and gents, may I cast a gentle vote for working > smarter and not harder? > > I realize many of you wear multiple hats, and funding > may fall into your bailiwick. However, you don't have > to do it without support. > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. 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).