Museums Make Money

Almost all museums are nonprofit businesses.

But “nonprofit” is just a tax status — it’s not a financial goal.

Museums make money. They have to. And when our work helps them to do that, we can have a bigger impact.

So how do museums make money? And how could planners and designers of exhibitions and experiences help?

Museums can …

… charge for experiences — which we can help make — like:

- Admission tickets
- Special exhibitions
- Gift shop
- Online sales
- Café
- Educational programs
- Parking fees

… rent out their spaces — which we can help make special — like:

- Event rentals (e.g., parties)
- Facility rentals (e.g., movie shoots)

… get donations — which we can help attract — like:

- Membership Dues
- Donations and Grants
- Grants for Research and Conservation
- Government Funding
- Sponsorships

… charge to use collections — which we can help make appealing — like:

- Collection lending
- Licensing and royalties
- Traveling exhibitions
- Sales of assets

… and invest big donations — which we can help impress donors to give — like:

- Endowment Income

Here’s the thing:
Museums make money. They have to. A nonprofit business is … a business.

The more we can help them do that, the bigger the impact we will have.

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:
Deliverables. The quantifiable documents distributed to a client in the course of a project. Example: an in-house exhibition design team works for a year on an exhibition. Day to day, their work is intangible to their colleagues, but at certain times, they deliver a set of drawings (deliverables) for review.

The MtM Glossary is a growing compendium of terms, abbreviations, and jargon in museum exhibitions. Hundreds of words so far from the “MtM Word of the Day” are all here, with more on the way.