[BCMA] To charge or not to charge?

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Dear Friends,

We operate three museums in downtown Kelowna, with admission by donation. Our admissions  policy is under review, and we would like to know what other museums have learned about admission policy.  What are museums of various size categories handling admission? Does charging admission, rather than asking for a donation, increase or decrease revenues?  How does it impact visitation?  What else has been learned?

Here is our experience:  Kelowna Museums Society sees just under 40,000 visitors a year at our three museums.  We have a long history of offering admission by donation.  Last year, we posted small signs on the donation boxes stating the suggested donation is $5 per person. This worked for us, and we noticed an increase in donation box revenues. Based on recent performance, our budget reflects anticipated donation box revenues from our three facilities of $34,000.  Our average donation per person is about half of our suggested donation, or around $2.50 (some of our visitors pay program fees that are not reflected in the donation box revenue line, so this average refers to casual drop-in visitors).

The board would like to know if revenues would increase if we instituted an admission fee.  Alternatively, they wonder if it would be beneficial to make our suggested donation signage more prominent and detailed, with suggested donations for individuals,  families, seniors, students, etc.

General comments may be shared with the entire listserv community.  Anyone who would like to engage in a more detailed exchange may contact me directly at:
ldigby at kelownamuseums.ca<mailto:ldigby at kelownamuseums.ca>, or 778-478-0346

Best,
Linda

[Linda Digby_email tags-small]

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