Lombard historical museums may have to charge admission

Lombard’s history museums may have to charge admission as their parent organizations face increasing pressure to stop relying on the village’s money.

Leaders of the historical society and historical commission met with trustees before Thursday’s village board meeting on becoming more self-sufficient through budget management, a fundraising campaign the society plans to launch this spring, and possibly charging admission to the society’s two museums.

Jeanne Schultz Angel, historical society executive director, said the nonprofit organization raises about 15 percent of its budget through donations and grants, but relies on the village for the remaining 85 percent.

The society’s budget — a proposed $144,840 for the next fiscal year — supports maintenance of the Shelden Peck Homestead and the Victorian Cottage Museum, as well as community events and a local history archive.

“The problem with small museums is they are not sustainable business models,” Schultz Angel said. “Can we increase our revenue? Well, yes, we can. But we also have to know our limitations.”

Schultz Angel said current staffing and facilities limit the two free-admission museums to a maximum capacity of 13,500 visitors a year. Visitors have increased from 3,464 in 2000 to 7,765 in 2010, and the society aims to attract enough people to meet the total capacity in the future.

With the museums growing in popularity, Trustee Greg Gron asked whether charging admission would decrease revenue generated by donations from museum visitors. Door donations brought in $634 in 2010, according to the historical society.

Schultz Angel said she is unsure how admission would affect donations, but setting a price for a visit could give the experience a set value in people’s minds.

“I’d like to (charge admission) as a trial and go back to free if we need to,” she said.

The society also plans to begin a fundraising campaign this spring on the heels of a $70,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The grant will partially fund an addition to the Victorian Cottage Museum, Schultz Angel said, and the organization will seek community contributions to pay the rest.

“We really work to foster community pride,” said Corinne Flemm, president of the historical society’s board. “We are growing and there will be a time where we can be more self-sufficient, but there’s hardly a way any museum can be fully self-sufficient.”

Trustees did not make any decisions about historical commission or historical society funding Thursday night.