How to Get a Job in a Museum Or Art Gallery - By Alison Baverstock Page 0,48

money as much as many people fear and many are pleased (and often flattered) to be asked;

• asking for too little is a common mistake: you cannot insult by assuming that the potential donor you approach is either more generous or more wealthy than they really are.

People decide to support a charity for a variety of reasons. In The Seven Faces of Philanthropy: A New Approach to Cultivating Major Donors4, Russ Alan Prince and Karen Maru File describe a variety of different kinds of donor and accompanying motivations, from those who give from a sense of dynastic obligation (‘my parents and grandparents supported this institution, so it behoves me to do the same’), through the altruistic (wanting to give to the community) to those who rely on business models that make financial sense (it is tax efficient and helps me promote my business or organisation). Different individuals and groups require different messages, and the key skill in securing money is often in spotting (or rather listening out for) what it is that the donor gets from association with a particular museum or gallery.

It is also important to pay attention to the criteria that will influence a decision. Most buying decisions are based on both rational and emotional grounds, and most of us assume we are rational at all times. In effect, emotional factors are hugely important although, having felt their impact, we may then justify our decisions under the ‘rational’ heading. The effective message of asking for support communicates both emotional and rational messages, which are mutually reinforcing.

Rational reasons for supporting an appeal from a museum or gallery:

• an effective use of resources;

• makes good use of financial planning, especially in connection with tax and inheritance liabilities;

• prominent display of the name and logo and hence wider visibility of the organisation/individual;

• public support for an organisation that is doing an effective or important job, and hence the resulting halo effect includes you/ your organisation;

• networking with significant others likely to be useful in future, both within the organisation asking for the money and other patrons you may meet in the process;

• a springboard for changes you want to implement too, e.g. showing that you are an organisation that values culture or building a culture of optimism and hope by being associated with a project that attracts enthusiasm and reveals dynamism.

Emotional reasons for supporting an appeal:

• a deep sense of satisfaction;

• an awareness of doing the right thing;

• learning more about something that is intrinsically interesting;

• appreciating the opportunity to meet interesting people who have chosen to do the same thing;

• being valued and validated through the process of involvement;

• belonging to a community;

• making a difference.

Explaining the proposition

Development staff need to present a message asking for support that potential donors respond to. Different people will respond to different messages, so while one potential organisational donor may be looking for a chance to project their company’s name, another may be looking for the opportunity to make their brand seem more ‘family friendly’ and thus see a link with a cultural and educational institution as a mechanism for achieving this.

Individuals may have similar aims, whether subconscious or conscious. Some may like to use the restaurant, and appreciate that by eating there they support an organisation they are proud to be associated with; others may relate to a particular aspect of the collection, having been taken to see it as a child, or perhaps because it displays something from the area where their ancestors originated.

Marketing materials need to be written with such core messages in mind and at the same time convey an effective description of the project, the values it encapsulates and the careful husbandry of resources (materials should be tastefully but never over-expensively produced – this would imply the draining off of funds that could have gone to the core project).

In return, the organisation will offer its supporters something back, such as free entry for members to special exhibitions, or a newsletter for Friends that reinforces a sense of pride every time they step through the doors. Most organisations are particularly keen on family memberships that develop and extend the sense of belonging into the next generation, a habit of association that children grow up with and so see as part of what they do (and hence pass on the habit to the next generation).

Case Study: How does it feel from the donor’s point of view?

Mary and Tom are sponsors of a major cultural venue and have been so for six