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  • 1.  Future Budget

    Posted 11-19-2018 11:37 AM
    We are in the initial stages of creating a budget for our new Museum project, scheduled to open in the Spring of 2019. Included in this post are categories we believe need to be included in our budget discussions. Are we missing anything of significance that we should be considering before we start assigning figures to each category?  Thank you in advance for any help, guidance, or assistance. 

    -Office Supplies
    -Payroll
    -Miscellaneous 
    -Utilities
    -Gift Shop

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    Stephanie Gadell
    Director of Operations
    Sainte Genevieve Museum
    Sainte Genevieve MO
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  • 2.  RE: Future Budget

    Posted 11-20-2018 09:47 AM
    Hello, I would suggest you include a line item for insurance and since you appear to be preparing to operate a store, you will need a Cost of Goods (COGS) and shipping as categories.

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    James Walther
    Executive Director
    National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
    Albuquerque NM
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  • 3.  RE: Future Budget

    Posted 11-20-2018 11:30 AM

    If the museum is the project I would suggest including maintenance for building and grounds, programming, research, collections management, exhibitions, volunteer costs, professional development membership, travel, advertising, social media & web site, equipment, insurance (already suggested)  etc . Although I do have a miscellaneous account I know the auditors are not in favour of having it (although it may help you add a new account in future for something you missed in the budget). Hope this is what you are looking for!    

     

    Image result for ruthven park national historic site

     

    Marilynn Havelka

    Chief Administrative Officer

    Ruthven Park National Historic Site

    243 Haldimand Hwy #54, P.O. Box 610

    Cayuga, ON, N0A 1E0

    P: (905) 772-0560  C: (905) 977-1845

    E: marilynn@ruthvenpark.ca 

    http://www.ruthvenparknationalhistoricsite.com/

     

    FALL / WINTER HOURS:  OFFICE AND GROUNDS OPEN: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Weekends open intermittently for bird banding (until Nov. 7th) and pre-scheduled events.

    MANSION TOURS can be booked for groups of 15 or more during fall and winter and are normally offered as part of events or programs.

     

    Ruthven Park National Historic Site is owned and managed by the Lower Grand River Land Trust Inc., a not-for-profit, non-government, charitable organization which seeks to conserve, maintain and promote Ruthven Park's rich cultural and natural heritage through research, stewardship, interpretation and education for the enjoyment of present and future generations.

     




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  • 4.  RE: Future Budget

    Posted 11-21-2018 11:55 AM

    Hi, Stephanie -


    Disclosure:  I've never founded nor ran a museum (I work with the extinct), but I've worked in and for a number of them.  In the interest of attracting and keeping capable staff, I recommend taking extra care when creating the staff salaries portion of the budget.  Find the living wage calculations for your area and make sure that you don't create any positions that pay less than that threshold.  (This will help to minimize costly staff turn-over.)  Also look at your local cost of living trends and try to account for them in your budget.  (Where I live, housing costs have gone up about 13 percent since last year, and have increased by about $200,000 over the last 20 months.  Hopefully your location has a little more sanity.)  A museum may be centered around its collections, but its people are what make it function, and it's worth it to invest accordingly.  Good luck!  :)

         Cheers,

                Michael

     



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    Michael Holland
    Principal/Owner
    Michael Holland Productions

    Redmond, WA USA
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  • 5.  RE: Future Budget

    Posted 11-26-2018 10:34 AM
    There have been a number of great answers to this question so far - but I don't think I saw "security" on the list. This can take many forms - a badging system, security guards (building and/or galleries), alarms for motion/theft/etc., and the like. Protecting your assets from the walls inward is important!

    -Meredith Peruzzi

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    Meredith Peruzzi
    Manager
    Gallaudet University Museum
    Washington DC
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  • 6.  RE: Future Budget

    Posted 11-27-2018 02:34 PM
    Stephanie--

    Please email me a few more details and I can send you a sample operating budget for a new museum. 

    If you can include the size of the museum building, the expected attendance, and a few notes about your programming, I can likely come up with a budget model that may be roughly similar to your needs: guy@museuminsights.com

    Guy

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    Guy Hermann
    Museum Insights: Master Planning for Museums
    http://www.museuminsights.com
    guy@museuminsights.com
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  • 7.  RE: Future Budget

    Posted 11-28-2018 03:04 PM
    The Lord Manual of Museum Planning has a good budget planning section that can be used to project budgets for start-ups. 

    --
    Barbara Cohen-Stratyner, Ph. D.
    Suite 7C, 265 Riverside Drive
    Now blogging at outsidethemuseumblog on Wordpress.com


     James Baldwin - You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. [Early Essays]
    Mila Jasey -- If you are not at the table, you are on the menu




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  • 8.  RE: Future Budget

    Posted 11-29-2018 12:43 PM
    Hi Stephanie,

    You didn't mention anything about how you're tracking your current expenditures.  It can be very helpful to have a sufficient number of categories leading up to opening in order to help with future planning. You might consider the following categories, in case you're lumping current expenses into more broad categories:
    • Fundraising (including subcategories for travel, meals, and the cost of preparing presentation materials)
    • Building construction (including subcategories for signage, permits, inspections, and insurance)
    • Building design (including subcategories for architects and other types of specialty designers)
    • Travel and entertainment (including subcategories for meals for meetings, conferences, and misc. - this one always has misc. ;-)
    • Exhibits (including subcategories, if applicable, for reimbursable expenses, travel, and meals)
    • Staff (including subcategories for specific positions, especially temporary positions to get you to opening)
    • Payroll, etc. for staff-related expenses and withholdings
    • Marketing (including subcategories for PR, advertising, brand identification, and misc.)
    Have fun and enjoy the excitement of "birthing" a new museum,
    Barbara

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    Barbara Punt
    President
    Punt Consulting Group
    Redondo Beach CA
    javascript:AddSignatureVariable('barbara@puntconsulting.com');
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  • 9.  RE: Future Budget

    Posted 11-30-2018 07:51 AM
    Sections 20 - 22 of the Museum Manager's Compendium (Jacobsen, 2016, Rowman & Littlefield) has detailed capital budgets, principles and implementation steps for startups used successfully for many startup projects.

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    John Jacobsen
    CEO
    White Oak
    Marblehead MA
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