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Our small museum is hoping to have a tax measure passed to help fund the museum.
Does anyone have the facts about the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?
I seem to remember seeing a graph showing that 30 years was the normal lifetime of such a museum.
This type of data would go a long way toward convincing our local population to strengthen our museum for the future.
Thank you for any help you can give us.

------------------------------
Jean Nels
Executive Director
Mt. Shasta Sisson Museum
------------------------------

Interesting question and I look forward to responses.  I wonder who would have done any research to actually quantify such a statistic.  Often museums start as all-volunteer organizations then gradually grow into places with paid staff, be they full-time, part-time, seasonal, hourly, contract, whatever.  As part of the Hudson Highlands Roundtable, I recently attended a lunch meeting were Brian Zweig presented information on how museums (and other cultural entities) can promote their value to a community in a dollars and cents manner.  I am always cautious about justifying a museum's existence by its earned income potential for a local but it can be good information to make public in some manner.  His firm is in Rensselaer, NY, and the website is www.BusinessOp.com.  I have no personal or professional interest in his company.

Good Luck!

Steve

------------------------------
Steven Miller
Executive Director
Boscobel House and Gardens
Garrison NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-22-2017 12:57 PM
From: Jean Nels
Subject: What is the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?

Our small museum is hoping to have a tax measure passed to help fund the museum.
Does anyone have the facts about the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?
I seem to remember seeing a graph showing that 30 years was the normal lifetime of such a museum.
This type of data would go a long way toward convincing our local population to strengthen our museum for the future.
Thank you for any help you can give us.

------------------------------
Jean Nels
Executive Director
Mt. Shasta Sisson Museum
------------------------------

I appreciate this new avenue to investigate.
Thank you

------------------------------
Jean Nels
Executive Director
Mt. Shasta Sisson Museum
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-23-2017 10:08 AM
From: Steven Miller
Subject: What is the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?

Interesting question and I look forward to responses.  I wonder who would have done any research to actually quantify such a statistic.  Often museums start as all-volunteer organizations then gradually grow into places with paid staff, be they full-time, part-time, seasonal, hourly, contract, whatever.  As part of the Hudson Highlands Roundtable, I recently attended a lunch meeting were Brian Zweig presented information on how museums (and other cultural entities) can promote their value to a community in a dollars and cents manner.  I am always cautious about justifying a museum's existence by its earned income potential for a local but it can be good information to make public in some manner.  His firm is in Rensselaer, NY, and the website is www.BusinessOp.com.  I have no personal or professional interest in his company.

Good Luck!

Steve

------------------------------
Steven Miller
Executive Director
Boscobel House and Gardens
Garrison NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-22-2017 12:57 PM
From: Jean Nels
Subject: What is the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?

Our small museum is hoping to have a tax measure passed to help fund the museum.
Does anyone have the facts about the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?
I seem to remember seeing a graph showing that 30 years was the normal lifetime of such a museum.
This type of data would go a long way toward convincing our local population to strengthen our museum for the future.
Thank you for any help you can give us.

------------------------------
Jean Nels
Executive Director
Mt. Shasta Sisson Museum
------------------------------

​Hi Jean,

It seems that the life cycle of a museum is about 30 years.  However, that does not mean it dies.   Museums like other organizations and people have periods of birth, growth, maturity and death.  Being aware of these phases makes the transitions easier and often in maturity or later life, some event or person will revitalize the organization.  This is a topic I've been involved in many times - especially at the near death phase.

------------------------------
Charlene Akers
Executive Director
Coronado Quivira Museum - Rice County Historical Society
Lyons KS
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-22-2017 12:57 PM
From: Jean Nels
Subject: What is the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?

Our small museum is hoping to have a tax measure passed to help fund the museum.
Does anyone have the facts about the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?
I seem to remember seeing a graph showing that 30 years was the normal lifetime of such a museum.
This type of data would go a long way toward convincing our local population to strengthen our museum for the future.
Thank you for any help you can give us.

------------------------------
Jean Nels
Executive Director
Mt. Shasta Sisson Museum
------------------------------

Thank you for your reply  
"Life Span of a Nonprofit" from Gail Anderson Organizational Life Cycle Stages | NH Center for Nonprofits

Nhnonprofits		remove preview
Organizational Life Cycle Stages | NH Center for Nonprofits Organizations are like people. They often move through several different stages of development - from "Start-Up" to "Growing" (sometimes called the "Adolescent" stage) to "Mature" and sometimes to a stage of "Stagnation" or "Decline." Just like people, organizations rarely do this in a neat, orderly, and predictable fashion. View this on Nhnonprofits >

http://www.nhnonprofits.org/content/organizational-life-cycle-stages


------------------------------
Jean Nels
Executive Director
Mt. Shasta Sisson Museum
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-23-2017 11:27 AM
From: Charlene Akers
Subject: What is the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?

​Hi Jean,

It seems that the life cycle of a museum is about 30 years.  However, that does not mean it dies.   Museums like other organizations and people have periods of birth, growth, maturity and death.  Being aware of these phases makes the transitions easier and often in maturity or later life, some event or person will revitalize the organization.  This is a topic I've been involved in many times - especially at the near death phase.

------------------------------
Charlene Akers
Executive Director
Coronado Quivira Museum - Rice County Historical Society
Lyons KS
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-22-2017 12:57 PM
From: Jean Nels
Subject: What is the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?

Our small museum is hoping to have a tax measure passed to help fund the museum.
Does anyone have the facts about the typical lifetime of an all-volunteer museum?
I seem to remember seeing a graph showing that 30 years was the normal lifetime of such a museum.
This type of data would go a long way toward convincing our local population to strengthen our museum for the future.
Thank you for any help you can give us.

------------------------------
Jean Nels
Executive Director
Mt. Shasta Sisson Museum
------------------------------