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Museums get fed. and state funds but not nearly enough to operate all they do in their entirety.
The reason the Met and Natural History can't force a set charge is because of their land lease use on Central Park.
The Museum of the City of NY as well as the Brooklyn Museum also have pay as you wish admissions. Do they have similar land leases from the local authorities?
Apparantly, these museums such as the Met are paid for by the taxes of the people of New York. I don't see why I would need to pay twice for something I am already paying for, especially since I am already paying 40% in taxes so I definitely do not feel justified paying full amount. yep 5 cents does it for me! And don't call me a cheapskate, I am paying quadruple everybody else does in the country for everything, I'll take it while I can there's a reason things are pay as you wish in NYC, it also gives a break to locals. Everything you pay for the pay as you wish is for their profit, I don't know whose.
But it all pans out, the locals who are in the know usually pay less than full price and they pay NYC taxes. While tourists who have no idea and come to enjoy this great city pay full price so I think it all works out in the end.
There was a big write up in one of the local papers about the Met museum and how, legally, they aren't supposed to collect any entrance fees. They can "suggest" a donation but they cannot call it an entrance fee. You can pay nothing and they would still have to let you in.
One time, after reading the article, I tried to get in for free. I was actually short on cash that day but wanted to take my daughter on an outing. We had been to the Met many times and have paid a donation to get in but this time, I just didn't have $$. I told the girl I couldn't pay anything that day and she told me we HAD TO PAY something. I gave her $1 and told her that's all I had. She was fine with that and gave us our buttons and a receipt.
I was embarrassed at being forced to pay anything when, in reality, I shouldn't have had to pay anything. I have donated a lot to that museum and have made many purchases in their restaurant and the stores. I shouldn't have been backed into a wall like that.
While I've generally paid full fare and was once embarrassed to pay a lower fee under the "suggested fees" system, I now always pay significantly less when visiting Museums/other attractions in NYC that have a "suggested fee." I used to feel that the Museums were seriously cash-strapped and needed as much in terms of donations as they could receive, but no longer feel this way. While current way of thinking has been evolving over time, the NYC ID program, which provides "free" 1 year membership to people signing up for the program, certainly helped firmly place me where I am now. If the museums/other attractions can offer such a substantial perk to entice people to signing up for NYC ID (and I seriously doubt that a significant portion of those signing up will pay to renew their memberships in the City's cultural institutions once their year is up), they can't be hurting all that much.
The hope is to involve people who have traditionally been, shall we say, dis-involved in the museums, especially art museums.
There is specific funding for such initiatives. The museums need money, which is used for things like giving underserved communities access, programs for dementia and similar ... so it is worthwhile.
People often do not realize this, how much service many of the museums provide.
The Museum of the City of NY as well as the Brooklyn Museum also have pay as you wish admissions. Do they have similar land leases from the local authorities?
There's a group called Cultural Institutions Group and all of the member institutions have a public / private relationship with the city. The list is below and you can read more about it here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcla/html/fu...itutions.shtml. The short version of how it works is that the city provides certain infrastructure support to these institutions--often in the form of covering utility payments, leasing land, or helping with capital projects.
Museums typically get a very small percentage of their operating costs from the admission fees people pay at the door, and surprisingly little, percentage-wise, from state funds (i.e. your tax dollars are not paying to keep the doors open). Operating budgets are usually made up of private funding, foundation funding, federal grants (for which competition is steep), some state funding (also fierce competition), and revenue earned from admissions, tickets to events, space rentals, shop sales, etc.
For the poster who thinks that the NYC ID program means that museums don't need admission fees, that's just nonsense. All of the CIGs were asked by the city to participate in the program as an added incentive to encourage New Yorkers who needed them to get IDS and museums received no monetary compensation for taking part. Museums are usually happy to participate in this kind of thing because the more people who come through the door to see exhibitions, participate in family and educational programming, etc., the better the institution is able to serve its mission, which is usually to hold art and historical objects in the public trust and make them available to that public as widely as possible. Believe it or not, most people who work in museums are in it for the mission, not the money, and the civic achievement of the NYC ID program is something everyone who works in a CIG can be proud to be a part of.
Suggested donations exist to allow anyone to have access to diverse cultural heritage. If you can afford the entire fee, pay it, especially at some of the smaller institutions, all of which are operating on very tight budgets. All of which is part of the public record, by the way, if you want to delve further into what it costs to run a museum.
The hope is to involve people who have traditionally been, shall we say, dis-involved in the museums, especially art museums.
There is specific funding for such initiatives. The museums need money, which is used for things like giving underserved communities access, programs for dementia and similar ... so it is worthwhile.
People often do not realize this, how much service many of the museums provide.
The article I mentioned earlier made mention that the Met has a multimillion dollar apartment on Fifth Avenue that sits EMPTY because whoever was supposed to live in it (curator? president?) opted to live in his/her own home rather than the majestic apartment.
These museums get HUMONGOUS donations of money and art. They are not hurting for money, you can believe that.
I wish I could remember the article or the newspaper so I could provide a link. Anyone?
The article I mentioned earlier made mention that the Met has a multimillion dollar apartment on Fifth Avenue that sits EMPTY because whoever was supposed to live in it (curator? president?) opted to live in his/her own home rather than the majestic apartment.
These museums get HUMONGOUS donations of money and art. They are not hurting for money, you can believe that.
I wish I could remember the article or the newspaper so I could provide a link. Anyone?
I know for a fact that many of the museums need money. It was not the expression of an opinion.
By the way, donors will often give for one specific thing or another. They quite seldom just give blanket amounts to be used as the institution sees fit.
The article I mentioned earlier made mention that the Met has a multimillion dollar apartment on Fifth Avenue that sits EMPTY because whoever was supposed to live in it (curator? president?) opted to live in his/her own home rather than the majestic apartment.
These museums get HUMONGOUS donations of money and art. They are not hurting for money, you can believe that.
I wish I could remember the article or the newspaper so I could provide a link. Anyone?
You are correct. I use to work at the MET and they get plenty of private donations. You can see all the renovation that goes on at that place. They are loaded so you should never feel obligated to donate. Your money is a drop in a very big budget.
I would also like to note that most likely the cashier is an intern anyway, so could care less if you donate or not. They got a job at a prestigious museum only to work the registers, so they are generally not very happy.
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