Social and financial signalling to increase fundraising revenue in Museums

Abstract

Faced with the gradual reduction in public sector funding and the changes taking place in the model of cultural management, museums must rise to the challenge of devising and implementing strategies to obtain resources that will enable them to secure revenue from a range of sources and thus reduce public sector dependence. Based on a sample of museums from various countries which use private funding, the present work examines different signals that can impact on private fundraising from donors and sponsors: social signals (reputation and social performance) and economic signals (fundable projects and transparency). The study also draws a distinction between large and small museums.