Admissions fees and membership

Back in October I spoke to the directors of four free museums. And in preparation for those conversations I talked to several other directors. Many -- probably most -- had stories about how their membership programs had thrived more than expected after they went free. "When we decided to become free, our membership went up," said Contemporary Arts Museum Houston director Marti Mayo. "I also think that's because membership here has been more of a gift. It's a different kind of mindset. Membership surveys tell us that the highest motivation for becoming a member is philanthropy."

A few days later, Marc Wilson at the Nelson-Atkins told me a similar story: "You can actually make that a part of a [membership] appeal: 'Your membership helps make your museum free. You're contributing to the welfare of your community by making us free and keeping your museum open.'"

So as were talking about admissions here last week, I thought I'd try to compare museums of comparable size (and comparable foci, when possible) to see how the membership dollars generated by free museums compare to the membership dollars plus admissions dollars at not-free museums. This isn't a completely realistic comparison: free museums also usually benefit from higher traffic in their museum stores, cafes and in their parking facilities. And it's impossible to find museums with similar budgets, similar missions and similar funding streams, but I tried to match museums as closely as I could. All data is from the most recent available tax returns. I think the numbers will be closer than you'd expect...

• Free museum: Dayton Art Institute: $565,000 in membership. ($9.8 million in total revenue, $7.6 million in total expenses.)
• $8 for admission: Joslyn Art Museum: $260,000 in membership, $140,000 in admissions. Combined: $400,000. ($9 million in revenue, $7 million in expenses.)

Free museum: Des Moines Art Center: $420,000 membership. ($6.5 million revenue, $4.7 million expenses.)

$8 admission: Norton Simon Museum of Art: $157,000 membership, $457,000 admissions. Combined: $614,000. ($7 million total revenue, $5 million total expenses.)

$9 for admission: Santa Barbara Art Museum: $395,000 membership. $190,000 admissions. Combined: $585,000. ($8.6 million total revenue, $7 million total expenses.)

• Free museum: Toledo Museum of Art: $1.3 million membership revenue. ($26 million total revenue, $18.5 million in total expenses.)
• $7-10 for admission: Indianapolis Museum of Art: $500,000 membership revenue*, $770,000 admissions.* Combined: $1.3 million. $50.5 million revenue (building project), $20 million expenses. [Because the IMA was closed for part of 2005 and only partially open in 2004, I averaged the '04 and '05 membership totals and I used the 2005 admissions figures. Of course, the IMA became free on Jan. 1.