Leading the Way in Revenue Generation

Strategies for Museums

Allyson LazarOrinda Group, LLC

2008 AAM ConferenceDenver, CO

By 2004, nearly 71% of nonprofit revenue came from

fees for goods or services and government grants and private

contributions had fallen to 23.5% of revenue.

Source: The Nonprofit Sector in Brief: Facts and Figures from the Nonprofit Almanac

2007, The Urban Institute

Strategies Identified by the Orinda Group Survey

• Engage in Social Media• Enable Online Retail, Admissions, Giving and Membership

Opportunities through the Museum Website• Participate on E-Philanthropy Websites• Consolidate, Professionalize and Streamline Business Units• Explore New Retail Opportunities• Pursue Creative Strategic Partnerships• Devise Targeted “Creative” Fundraisers that are Unique to the

Institution, Community, Audience and/or Program Seeking Funding• Restructure Museum Support• Consider Unrelated Businesses• Step up to the Auction Block• Host Traveling Exhibitions• Open up the Museum to Night-time Exploration• Diversify Revenue Generation and Fundraising Strategies

Trends• Metrics• Transparency• Social Entrepreneurs

–Return on Investment (ROI)–Deeper investment in fewer

organizations• E-Philanthropy / Use of technology

and social media

Social Media Statistics• Almost 300 museum profiles on Flickr• Nearly 7400 museum-related groups on

Flickr• Over 100 YouTube channels dedicated to

museums• Tens of thousands of museum-related

videos on YouTube• Hundreds of museums on MySpace• Over 500 museum-related groups on

FaceBook

Recommended Donation Sites for Museums

• Network for Good

Shop-to-Give Sites:• iGive• Good Shop• eBay’s Missionfish• Shop for Museums

Search-to-Give Sites:• Good Search

Electronic Resources and References

2007 Orinda Group Museum Revenue Generation and Fundraising Study:

http://orindagroup.com/testing/MRGFS-electronic.pdf

Leading the Way for Revenue Generation Strategies in Museums presentation:

http://orindagroup.com/testing/leadingtheway.pdf

2007 Orinda Group Museum Revenue Generation Survey Results:

http://orindagroup.com/OGBlog/Museum_Revenue_Generation_Survey.pdf