Good Afternoon Ross,
The Pink Palace Family of Museums is an "administrative umbrella" for 7 facilities. Retail operations (museum stores open to visitors and non-visitors) are at 3 facilities and are a integral part (staff, budget, line management) of the "Family." Food Services is at 1 of the facilities, the "flagship" Pink Palace Museum, and is contracted to a private vendor. This is though a lease. It is the private vendor's responsibility to take the risk, develop menu, cook food, hire the staff, make payroll, make a profit, etc. etc......and pay taxes. I might add that non-visitors may also use the restaurant. We view the restaurant as a convenience and service to our visitors. On the other hand, we see the museum store operations as part of our educational mission....and therefore, operate them as an integral part of the organization. The Retail Manager serves on exhibition development teams and other project/program teams and is a member of the "Family's" management team.
I hope this helps.
Wesley Creel
Administrator of Programs and Interim Director
Pink Palace Family of Museums
Memphis, Tennessee
www.memphismuseums.org
>>> [log in to unmask] 01/14/02 01:19PM >>>
I have a question and ask for feedback. Thanks in advance for your
professional advice.
We have an opportunity to establish a related business off-site, a "country
store," in a building we will not own, but lease. Whether the business will
be profitable remains to be seen, but our board is committed to making an
effort to attract enough patronage to make it viable. To do so, the store
will need to experiment with types of merchandise ,etc.
We are located in a rural area that currently has no interesting gift shops,
except for the museum's in-house one.
Our museum is non-profit and has a minimal staff. We are independently
audited and accountable to a variety of local and state agencies. Our
in-house shop reflects in part our educational mission and exhibition
content.
Most professionals we have contacted believe we should contract with a
for-profit business to operate this store in return for a share of profits,
if any. In that way, we will not need to add bookkeeping and sales staff,
and the proposed shop could carry merchandise based entirely on market
considerations, not the museum's mission.
Question: What experience has anyone had with trying to operate a startup
business enterprise under the umbrella of a non-profit organization? Is it
true that most of the profitable museum shops, restaurants, etc. are leased
to semi-independent corporations that pay taxes just like Wal-Mart, with
profits going to benefit the museum?
Reply offlist if you'd like to [log in to unmask]
Thanks
Ross Weeks Jr.
Historic Crab Orchard Museum & Pioneer Park
Tazewell, VA - in Virginia's Blue Ridge Highlands
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