Marketing Museum

Earned Revenue *Earned revenue* is *revenue* created by the business operations of the facility. Sources that contribute to museums’ earned revenue include admissions, gift shops, food and beverage sales, memberships, facility rentals, and fees for research services. Essentially, any product or service that is offered by the museum and generates income is considered earned income. *Unearned revenue* is money that is not generated by the business operations of the facility, but is provided by others. The main sources of unearned revenue are fundraising and grants. Fundraising to increase unearned revenue includes both internal and external activities. Internal activities include such actions as special events, garage sales, and auctions. External activities include tactics such as soliciting sponsorships and developing partnerships, plus such activities as establishing foundations and/or ‘friends of’ societies. Grants are the other type of unearned revenue. Grants are funds given to tax-exempt non-profit organizations or local governments by foundations, corporations, governments, businesses and individual donors. {draw:rect} 0 © British Columbia Museums Association, 2007 Suite 204, 26 Bastion Square, Victoria, B.C. V8W 1H9 www.museumsassn.bc.ca BCMA / Best Practices Modules Page 5. *In order for a museum* to remain financially viable, increasing earned revenues should be a fundamental part of the budget planning process. With government funding decreasing, generating increased earned revenue will likely be the tactic chosen by museum boards of directors and their finance committees. The following list offers some ideas and suggestions for increasing earned revenues: Instituting or raising an admission fee is a realistic option for increasing earned revenue. Prior to any implementation of an admission fee, it is key that market research takes place to set a price point fee structure. If a product or service has enough interest to