Fundraising for your museum can be a breeze with the right strategy, donation methods, and ideas in place. Read this blog post to learn them all and get tips for raising more money for your museum!
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!When it comes to museum fundraising, it’s best to start with the basics. Get clear on your goals, make a convincing case that addresses a real need, showcase your impact, and share powerful stories. To be successful, you can also harness the power of your people while managing data and finances appropriately.
This fundraising guide will provide practical advice and useful fundraising insights to museums large and small on how to kickstart or improve their fundraising efforts.
Successful fundraising is essentially about selling. Whether you’re asking for donations to support a new gallery, start new education projects or exhibitions, fund a new acquisition, or fund a new building, you have to pitch it to your donors. They need to be persuaded to give. For that, you need a clear proposition.
Before launching a museum fundraising campaign, take the time to craft your message. What is the fundraising campaign about? Who is it for? Why do you need the funds now?
Naturally, you can only answer those questions if you’re clear on your goals and priorities. Reflect on what your museum aims to achieve and the expected positive impact of the project/initiative you wish to fund. Then, communicate that to a relevant audience that shares your values and passion for your mission.
Simple, clear, and consistent messaging is vital for successful fundraising. It’s often helpful to write a “case for support” that clarifies the messaging and brings other practical information to one place.
Pro tip: Storytelling is a great way to convey your message in a way that engages the reader or viewer. While you may be used to telling stories about the items in your galleries, consider instead sharing a story of how your museum changed the life of someone who visited. What does your museum offer to the world, and why should your donors support it?
Engage your audience with a customized fundraising appeal.
For example, if you’re reaching out to public bodies and charitable organizations, they’re more likely to be interested in the public value of your initiative and how it will contribute to the wider community.
On the other hand, if you’re trying to get corporate sponsors on board, it’s important to communicate to them how the sponsorship will increase their reputation and brand.
Private donors can be motivated by many different things, and the motivations will differ among different donor segments.
A donation kiosk is a simple way to encourage your visitors to make quick and cashless in-person donations.
Use an innovative app like Donorbox Live™ Kiosk to easily turn your iPad or Android tablet into a giving kiosk that connects with a card reader device to capture swift cashless donations. Alternatively, use your Android smartphone if using our Tap to Pay feature – no card reader required!
Visitors can tap, drip, or swipe their credit/debit cards or use digital wallets to give in seconds. You can also give them the option to make their gift recurring – a great way to turn one-time donations into ongoing support for your museum.
And by adding custom questions at checkout, you can learn what inspired their gift or which exhibit they loved most!
The ease of using a donation kiosk – both on your part and your donors’ – ensures that you don’t rely solely on your online donations and have multiple ways to fundraise for your museum.
Ready to see Live Kiosk in action? Watch this webinar recording where our product experts show you how to use this tool to increase revenue and drive meaningful relationships with donors.
Sign Up for Donorbox Live™ Kiosk
Did you know? If your museum uses Blackbaud Altru to manage visitor engagement and donor records, Donorbox now offers a native integration that keeps your in-person fundraising data connected. Whether you’re connecting donations through Live™ Kiosk or selling tickets using Events, this integration automatically syncs key supporter and transaction data to save you time. Learn more here!
Museums have relied on the support of private donors and patrons for centuries. If you have a larger museum, you could tap into your prestige and reputation to attract wealthy private donors. If your museum is on the smaller side, you could enable your donors to get more closely involved with your work.
For example, the British Museum offers a patron membership program starting at £1,500 per year or £125 per month, and there are four Patron Circles to choose from. Each provides a different way to support the British Museum.
If you decide to run a patron program, offer your patrons perks. For example, you could organize networking events or exclusive exhibition previews. You could also offer bespoke tours for your patrons with your museum’s expert curators.
However, Christopher Woodward, director of the Museum of Garden History in London, warns against excessive spending on benefits for patrons and says: “They (patrons) don’t want to have lots of dinners paid for. They want to see you spending the money not on entertaining but on exhibitions and on buying works of art.”
When you’re cultivating private donors, networking is essential. Network like mad – reach out to wealthy people you know and get them to introduce you to other wealthy people. Be persistent and don’t get discouraged by rejection. Sometimes, all you need is one “yes.”
Some donors prefer to donate to big structural funds, while others might be happier donating to smaller projects. Give your donors the opportunity to donate to a project or cause they care about. Also, offer your donors the option to donate wherever the money could be best used by your museum at that time.
The British Museum’s Special Interest Groups allow donors to contribute towards expanding and sustaining a particular area of the Museum’s collection. For example, Ottley Group supporters donate to the acquisition of pre-1900 European drawings and Vollard Group supporters help to fund the acquisition of post-1945 prints and drawings.
You can also enable legacy giving. Make information about legacy giving available on your website and include how that would benefit your museum. And, consider investing in a wealth screening program that can help you prioritize your resources.
As a popular way for museums to raise funds, a “naming rights” initiative lets wings, galleries, or bricks – even a brushstroke – be named after donors. Some donors will donate in memory of someone else.
For example, Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum raised £600,000 towards its refurbishment appeal by offering donors the chance to be named as a contributor, however modest, on a wall plaque in the museum’s central hall. There was no lower limit to donations, which ranged from £2 to £5,000. The wall now bears 9,500 names of individuals and families.
“Naming rights” used to be reserved only for major donors, but initiatives such as the one run by the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum made this fundraising strategy much more inclusive. This can also help foster a stronger relationship between museums and their local communities.
Trusts and foundations are important funding sources for museums worldwide. However, the landscape has become increasingly competitive, with more and more museums and organizations looking to fill their funding gaps.
Many trusts have narrowed their criteria, applying more scrutiny than ever to different bids. Moreover, every trust and foundation has specific aims and sets different criteria.
First, research the trusts you think are most likely to find your project. Make sure you meet their criteria, deadlines, funding levels, and other application requirements. Trust applications are very time/consuming, so make sure you get started ahead of time and tailor them to the trust. Where possible, ring the correspondent to discuss the application process in more detail.
Corporate sponsorships are another potential funding source for museums, although seeking corporate sponsorships is often not the best use of time for nonprofits. However, this avenue shouldn’t be completely dismissed. Especially if you are a small- or medium-sized museum, it could be worthwhile to reach out to local businesses for sponsorships (and ask for in-kind sponsorships and volunteer time too).
Today, online giving is a “no-brainer.” In fact, 63% of donors choose to and prefer to give online.
Make sure that your museum’s website is up to date, and that it reflects your mission and values, speaks to your target audience, and is modern and functional.
Have a general donation page or different donation pages for different projects. Give your donors the opportunity to give only once or at recurring intervals. Even if your donation page is general and “catch-all,” make sure to highlight the suggested donation amounts.
For example, Racine Art Museum uses the Donorbox donation form to add suggested giving amounts. They also include a monthly recurring option to the form, highlighting it as their preferred interval with a heart. We love how they’ve included donation designations to empower their donors to indicate where their gifts should go.
Ensure there’s a “Donate Now” button that leads donors to a donation form.
Even if your website is perfectly crafted and your call to action is inspiring and compelling, you’ll lose out on potential donations if your donation process is complicated or confusing. If it’s hard to read and interact with a website, let alone make a donation, potential donors will give up before they’ve even started.
By using an online donation system like Donorbox, you guarantee a hassle-free, optimized donation system to your museum donors – increasing your donations! Donorbox donation pages are simple, beautiful, and fully customizable. Over 100,000 organizations in more than 96 countries have used Donorbox for its efficiency, security, excellent customer support, and wide range of features.
Take a look at some of our powerful online-giving features:
Donorbox boasts tons of other features that can help you raise more funds with crowdfunding, peer-to-peer fundraising, in-person cashless fundraising, and more. Explore our features on our website.
In addition to bringing in sustainable revenue, a membership program can lay the groundwork for future expansion and improvement projects. The key to growing your membership is establishing a membership model that aligns with your overarching strategy and the values of existing and future members.
A critical consideration when establishing fees for your nonprofit membership levels is the return on investment – or net revenue – for a membership. Think about how much you spend to secure new members from your efforts and how much it will bring in.
The first step to building an effective membership program is accurately analyzing the visitors to your museum; your membership plan should adapt to their tastes. Membership campaigns should be shaped around their interests and mirror their need as museum users. And, personalize the benefits associated with the different membership levels to ensure they appeal to your audience.
Check out this membership program page by the Jefferson County Historical Society. They have set up an annual membership with the help of Donorbox Memberships to collect payments and manage members easily. They’ve also empowered members to indicate which benefits they’re most excited about with designations.
Museum board members have many responsibilities. These can include setting your museum’s direction, ensuring necessary resources, and providing oversight. They are guardians of your mission, ensuring compliance with legal and financial requirements, and enforcing ethical guidelines for the organization.
Your board members monitor progress, evaluate the performance of the organization and the chief executive, and demonstrate integrity in everything they do on behalf of your organization.
Fundraising is one of the key responsibilities of members sitting on your museum’s Board. When recruiting directors, make the responsibilities and financial commitments very clear. If you don’t, you’ll miss an opportunity to present a clear explanation of goals, timetables, staff resources, and expectations.
With proper orientation and training, any board member who is willing to learn can become a highly valuable and effective member of the fundraising team.
When a donor gives, it’s only the beginning. Relationships with donors, big or small, need to be nurtured.
Depending on the donor segment and your capacity, keep your donors up to date on projects with newsletters and bulletins, invite them to events, and offer them a chance to make a personal visit to your museum. Send photos and videos, share stories, and send progress reports. Do however much you can to keep your donors engaged and involved.
“People give to people” is one of the most agreed-upon tenets of fundraising. Relationships are often the most important component in successful fundraising. See your donors as more than just wallets, and it will pay off in donations, reputation, and a sense of community.
Cultivating relationships with your donors and building community helps create a feeling amongst donors that being a part of your museum is important.
Fundraising is an important part of your museum’s activities to ensure the doors stay open. It’s also a means of development for the entire community. Grants, donations, and membership programs can create or reinforce the existing social community where your museum is located.
Museum fundraising is hard work, and there aren’t any shortcuts that will lead to quick success. That’s why it’s vital to get everyone in your museum involved.
At Donorbox, we strive to make your nonprofit experience as productive as possible, whether through our online donation system or through resources on our Nonprofit Blog.
Happy fundraising!
Ilma is a content writer with over eight years of experience, specializing in nonprofits and social impact, marketing, language, and psychology. She draws on years of volunteering in the nonprofit sector to craft thoughtful, research-informed pieces. Ilma is also a therapist passionate about mental health and often weaves this perspective into her writing.
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!
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Ilma Ibrisevic
