Private Contributions and Admissions are Top Revenue Sources for Museums and Historic Sites

26/09/2019 12:37

SAHUARITA, Ariz., Sept. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Admissions revenue and private contributions are the top two revenue sources for museums and historic sites, according to the US Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census, analyzed by Preston Argus, LLC. Merchandise sales, investment income, government grants, and membership sales are also top revenue sources.

Top Ten Revenue Sources for Museums and Historic Sites (Percent of Revenue) – 2012 Economic Census

Museums	Historical Sites

Contributions, gifts, and grants - Private (29.2%)	Contributions, gifts, and grants - Private (28.5%)

Admissions to museums (15.4%)	Admissions to historic sites (17.7%)

All other receipts & revenue (9.8%)	Resale of merchandise (10.9%)

Investment income (9.6%)	Rental of non-residential space in buildings or other facilities (10.7%)

Contributions, gifts, and grants - Government (9.1%)	Investment income (8.7%)

Resale of merchandise (7%)	All other receipts & revenue (8.3%)

Membership services (5%)	Contributions, gifts, and grants - Government (7.4%)

Rental of non-residential space in buildings or other facilities (4.5%)	Guided tours and educative services (3.5%)

Gains (losses) from assets sold (4.2%)	Meals and beverages, for immediate consumption (2.7%)

Meals and beverages, for immediate consumption (2.1%)	Membership services (2.2%)

The private contributions category includes gifts from individuals, grants from non-government entities, and any other non-government donations to museums and historic sites. The US Census Bureau collects this data every five years and publishes a few years subsequent. The 2017 data set should be published in 2020.

Additional data and discussions of sustainable revenue for museums and historic sites are available in the recently published book – Sustainable Revenue for Museums – available via Rowman and Littlefield at https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538112984/Sustainable-Revenue-for-Museums-A-Guide. To obtain aggregate revenue and trend data customized to your geographic location or subdiscipline, like Art Museums in California or History Museums in New England, contact Samantha Chmelik, principal at Preston Argus, at info@prestonargusllc.com.

About Preston Argus
Preston Argus is a research and consulting company that serves museums, libraries, and other historical & cultural institutions. MuseOps, a Preston Argus service available at www.museops.com, helps museums and historic sites analyze information and make decisions that are easily explainable to staff, board members, donors, the community, and other stakeholders. See www.prestonargusllc.com for information about all our products and services.

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