I am interested in hearing from others who might have experience or insight into projecting membership levels and revenue for a small to mid-size art museum. Our museum is relocating in 2017 to a new building (we are now temporarily closed for 1.5 years beforehand) and are unsure how to set reasonable expectations for membership levels and revenue leading up to the opening. The projections/goals we set will of course have a significant impact on our 2017 budget, staffing, program management, etc.
In the past five years, our museum has hovered around 350-400 memberships, with no one dedicated staff person to drive the program. As the museum plans to relocate--and to a much higher visibility building, 4 times the size--I feel we should employ a dedicated, experienced staff person to direct membership in all its facets. In order to make that argument in a clear, tangible fashion however, I need to forecast membership levels and revenues well in advance (now really).
So my question is, are there metrics commonly used to gauge a "successful" membership program in correlation with a museum's visitation, budget size or? For example, if an institution anticipates X number of visitors, then it should aim for Y number of memberships sold in correlation? Or perhaps membership revenue, as a gauge of success, should meet a certain % of the overall budget? If there are any suggestions on how to pragmatically project membership numbers using industry metrics or through your own similar experience, I'd love to hear them!
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Charlotte Otto
Visitor Services Manager
Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
Denver CO
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