The document presents an analysis of attendance and revenue sources across various types of museums, including art, children's, science centers, and living collections. It highlights differences in membership, fundraising efficiency, and reliance on private and annual support for each category. Key findings indicate that children's museums experience the highest membership turnover and fundraising costs, while art museums are the least reliant on box office revenue.

1. Development Advice from Across the Field
AAM Annual Meeting
Sunday, April 26, 2015

2. Jenny Burch
Indianapolis Children’s Museum
Leslie Findlen
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Carl Hamm
Saint Louis Art Museum
Erik Pihl
Pacific Science Center

3. Average Attendance

4. Paid Attendance vs. Free
44.5
55.5
Art
68.6
31.4
Children's
76.2
23.8
Science Centers
65.5
34.5
Living Collections
Paid
Free

5. School Groups as % of Attendance
8.4
91.6
Art
10.9
89.1
Children's
19.9
80.1
Science Centers 10.4
89.6
Living Collections
Schools
Other

6. Private Support as % of Revenue
53.4
46.6
Art
72.2
27.8
Children's
71.1
28.9
Science Centers
79.7
20.3
Living Collections
Other Sources
Private

7. Funding Source by Segment
13.3
46.6
21.5
18.6
Art
11.7
27.8
48.3
12.1
Children's
19.3
28.948.8
3
Science Centers
35.4
20.3
30
14.3
Living Collections
Government
Private
Earned
Investment

8. Average Annual Membership
$93.70
$87.07
$63.24 $62.55
Art Children's Living Collection Science Center

9. Membership Loyalty
78
22
Art
43.5
56.5
Children's
5545
Science Centers
78
22
Living Collections
Retention Rate
New/Recapture

10. Median Fund Raising Cost
as % of Total Operating Expenses
8.6%
7.8%
5.3%
2.4%
Children's Art Science Centers Living Collection

11. Cost Per Dollar Raised
$0.07
$0.10
$0.13
$0.30
Living Collections Science Centers Art Children's

12. Attendance
Science Center attendance
Not quite double Living Collections
Almost 3 times more Children’s Museums
6X higher than Natural History Museums
8X times higher than Art Museums

13. Attendance
Art Museums least reliant on box office
Science Centers live and die by the gate
Science Center school attendance
double others

14. Annual Giving
Living Collections rely less on annual
private support than others
Art Museums rely on annual giving
twice as much as others
Endowments virtually non-existent in
Science Centers

15. Membership
Art Museum & Children’s Museum
members pay 30-35% more annually
Science Centers & Children’s Museums
lose and have to replace half their
membership every year

16. Fund Raising Efficiency
Children’s Museums and Art Museums
spend more on fund raising as a
percentage of total expenses
Children’s Museums spend 3x more than
others to raise a dollar

17. General Philosophy &
Case for Support
Annual Giving
Membership

18. Membership Program as % of Revenue
43
57
Saint Louis Art Museum
86
14
Children's Museum of Indianapolis
80
20
Pacific Science Center
65
35
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
General
($1000 and
below)
Upper-Level
($1001+)

19. % of Membership Base by Level
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Saint Louis Art Museum Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Pacific Science Center Children's Museum of Indianapolis

20. % Membership Revenue by Level
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Saint Louis Art Museum Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Pacific Science Center Children's Museum of Indianapolis

21. Corporate – Restricted vs. Unrestricted
23
77
Saint Louis Art Museum
12
88
Children's Museum of Indianapolis
81
19
Pacific Science Center
6
94
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Restricted
Unrestricted

22. Foundation – Restricted vs. Unrestricted
99
1
Saint Louis Art Museum
80
20
Children's Museum of Indianapolis
97
3
Pacific Science Center
65
35
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Restricted
Unrestricted

23. Jenny
jennyb@childrensmuseum.org
Leslie
lesliefindlen@bbg.org
Carl
carl.hamm@slam.org
Erik
epihl@pacsi.org