Author: Judy Niner, Development Partners
On-site donations can play an important role in a museum’s overall fundraising strategy for two principal reasons. Firstly, the very presence of a donation box or device reinforces the charitable nature of the museum. Secondly, the income itself (with or without Gift Aid) can be significant, whether unrestricted or raised for a specific project.
There are definitely some dos and don’ts to understand if you want to get the best results. Donation boxes are a significant investment but, managed well, can return that investment over and over again.
This Success Guide, prepared for AIM by Development Partners (DP), updates an original guide written in 2014 with fresh information gathered from a survey of AIM members in summer 2025. Collectively this sample of 60 organisations welcomed 3.5million visitors in 2024: 67% charge for admission, 33% are free to enter. This feedback is combined with other research and DP’s experience of working with museums, large and small, across the UK.
The principal change since the first paper was written is the rise of digital technology and contactless donation devices. More and more museums have been using these devices, usually supplementing rather than replacing traditional cash boxes, and we are beginning to learn useful lessons from these experiences.
This guide will give you practical advice on the use of donations boxes and contactless devices and we would like to thank the 2025 survey respondents who have allowed us to share their experience.
With thanks to funding from Welsh Government Culture Division, this guide is also available in Welsh.
Click here to download the success guide to to donation boxes (opens in a new tab) Click here to download Success Guide – Donation boxes in Welsh (opens in a new tab)