On Wed, 15 Feb 1995, Robert O. Dahl wrote:
 
> Friends,
>
> I am trying to locate self-supporting museums in the U.S. and Canada. I
> define these as institutions that produce their own capital by admissions,
> memberships, programs, fund raising, gift shop, etc., but without any
> govt. funding. The only one I know of is The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
> in Tucson, AZ. Can anyone help me out in finding some others?
>
> --
> Robert O. Dahl <[log in to unmask]>
> URL: http://www.indirect.com/user/ottar/
>
I think you will find very few (even the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
receives IMS GOS funds, I believe).  I've heard that the Space &
Rocket Museum in Huntsville, Alabama, is essentially self-supporting.
 
There are others which are organized as private foundations, living on their
endowment income -- they are often coded (by the IRS) as section 504, I think.
Even some of these museums, however, occasionally go for IMS and NEA
monies to extend their reach, but they generally survive even in lean years.
One of these kinds of museums is the Timken Art Gallery, in San Diego's
Balboa Park; perhaps also the Lauren Rogers Art Museum in Laurel, Mississippi.
 
Richard Perry
University of California, San Diego
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