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  • 1.  Complimentary Memberships to Upper Level Donors

    Posted 11-22-2020 09:16 AM
    Does your museum provide complimentary memberships to upper level donors? Do you have a benefit system in place so that upper level donors receive free admission to your galleries?
    Thanks so much.

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    Heather Wilson
    Deputy Director
    Cameron Art Museum
    Wilmington NC
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    AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, Baltimore, May 16-19, 2024, click to learn more


  • 2.  RE: Complimentary Memberships to Upper Level Donors

    Posted 11-23-2020 07:21 AM
    Yes.  We prefer to have as many people engaged as possible.

    Vivian F. Zoë, Director
    Slater Memorial Museum
    108 Crescent Street, Norwich CT 06360
    860-425-5560 vox
    860-885-0379 fax

    "Inspiration is for amateurs - the rest of us just show up and get to work," Chuck Close, 2003


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    Original Message
    AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, Baltimore, May 16-19, 2024, click to learn more


  • 3.  RE: Complimentary Memberships to Upper Level Donors

    Posted 11-24-2020 10:15 AM

    Heather, 

    Think of it this way - if Major Donor lives next to a Low Level Member, and hears that they are getting invited to events and activities that Major Donor doesn't even know about at your Museum, they might be surprised and offended.  Plus, if after giving your museum $50,000, they show up for a visit, and have to pay, that could be perceived as a slight.

    At the organization I worked for early in my career, we certainly had major donors who were also members, but if that donor did not have a separate membership, once a year we would issue a card that was distinguishable from the regular membership cards, and send that along with a letter from the Director, thanking them for their donation and inviting them to enjoy a visit at any time.  And then on the communication side, with every communication or event announcement sent to all members, we would also send to our higher level donors.  

    So in essence, it wasn't an official membership per se, but we wanted them to be as involved as they wanted to be, and we gave them the opportunity to do that.
    This was not an advertised "benefit" per se, just how we treated our high level donors.  Since it was not an advertised benefit and they did not make their decision on what they were going to receive (they did not know they would be receiving anything at the time of making their gift) it was not deducted from their tax deductibility for their gift.

    But no, you should not bestow a membership on anyone making lower level donations.  Just the donors at a certain level (that you decide upon as an organization) that you want to engage in a more robust way.  

    I hope that helps!

    Dana Hines



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    Dana Hines
    Vice President Membership Marketing

    Membership Consultants, A Gabriel Group Company
    Earth City MO
    Dana.Hines@gabrielgroup.com
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    Original Message
    AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, Baltimore, May 16-19, 2024, click to learn more


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