Authors: Judy Niner, Helen Shone and Faye Clews, Development Partners
On-site donations can play an important role in a museum’s overall fundraising strategy for two principal reasons. First, the very presence of a donation box reinforces the charitable nature of the museum. Secondly, the income itself (with Gift
Aid) can be significant, whether unrestricted or allocated to a specific project.
There are definitely some dos and don’ts to understand if you want to get the best results. Donation boxes are an investment (cash boxes cost around £800 each) but, managed well, can return that investment over and over again.
This short paper, prepared for AIM by Development Partners (DP), reflects on the results of a survey of AIM members in summer 2014, along with other people’s research and DP’s experience of working with museums, large and small, across the UK. It was updated in summer 2019 to include advice on contactless ‘boxes’ and response from members to the original paper. By giving practical advice on the use of donations boxes, we hope it will help you get the most out of this form of fundraising.
Download the quick guide to donation boxes (opens in a new tab)