Smart car shoppers consider both the cost of buying it and the cost of owning it. Why isn’t that a more standard step for our exhibitions? The average monthly payment on a new car is about $735 right now. Youch. But what's it cost to operate that car? ...

What do exhibitions cost today, compared to before the pandemic? Compared to right before the pandemic, exhibition fabrication bids are still slightly higher today than they would be from inflation alone. But how much higher, and will that last? ...

Let’s be honest. Lots of cultural project teams come up with lots of great ideas, have no idea what it will all cost, and wait until some milestone down the road to find out. Is it any surprise that “what comes back” is crazy high? Here comes the budget axe. …

Aaaaargh! I am watching a budget train wreck happen to a cultural project team. (Not mine. No, really.) And it was avoidable. Budgeting and cost control don’t happen to a project. They are the project. You seem nice. Take these tips — and use them. …

Time, money, quality: the three basic factors in exhibition project delivery. But these are interdependent and interlocked. Given normal time and normal money, we can deliver normal quality. True. But what if something isn’t normal? Here’s a rule of thumb for that. …

How do new museums make money — really? What is “the peril of the bicycle wheel”? Is it bad to rely on “anchor funding”? Amy Kaufman (Principal, Amy Kaufman Cultural Planning) joins host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) to discuss “The Money Pie Chart”. …

In Do Nonprofits Make No Profits?, I asked you: So if “nonprofit” doesn’t mean “no profits” — then what does it mean? Thanks to everyone who wrote in! Here’s a good start from one reader: I’m going to say “nonprofit” means that “mission takes priority over profit”. …

“Nonprofit” is short for “nonprofit business”. Harvard, the Smithsonian, and the Met (either one) all have employees, bring in money, pay their bills, and offer things that people want (like, ahem, exhibitions). So does a nonprofit make no profits? The answer might surprise you. …

Why is economic planning so vital to any new museum project? What happens if you don’t do it? James Stevens (VP, ConsultEcon, Inc.) joins Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) to discuss “An Economic Planner’s Advice to Museums”. …

We might think a design concept is the first step — but it’s not. What do you need to ask yourself, before you even start? Carolynne Harris (Museum Planner, Carolynne Harris Consulting) joins Jonathan to discuss “The Questions You Have to Ask Before the Project”. …

Almost all museums are nonprofit businesses. But “nonprofit” is a tax status, not a financial goal. Museums make money. They have to. And when our work helps them to do that, we can have a bigger impact. So how do museums make money? Here’s the list …

You’re done making the documents that you’ll use to get bids. But what will happen if all the bids you get are over budget? Maybe you got estimates along the way. Maybe you could drum up more funding if need be. Maybe you have strict procurement rules. …

Can a museum revitalize a city? Are design competitions a good idea? What comes first in design, practicality or fun? Andy Klemmer (Founder, Paratus Group) joins host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) to reveal “The Real Bilbao Effect”.

Visitors don’t expect to find raw, unfinished building materials like chain link fencing, raw plywood, or unpainted concrete blocks in an exhibition. These materials can be both memorable and affordable. But there’s a “but”.

When we develop our projects, we sometimes leave “maintenance” to others. Someday. Later. But if we don’t keep maintenance in mind, it will come back to haunt us financially. And there isn’t just one kind. There are 5. …

We want our spaces to be dynamic. Flexible. Adaptable. Changing. Always current. Sounds … so right. Is it? How adaptable should our projects be? Do we pay for changeability we don’t need? What’s the hidden cost of unused flexibility? …

In this week’s podcast on “How to Build a Museum” with David Greenbaum, we heard that “over time, OpEx will eventually outstrip the CapEx of a new museum building.” Maybe this made you think: “Interesting.” Or maybe it made you think: “What?” …

Thank you! Thanks to your reading, your comments, and your feedback, Making the Museum (the newsletter) just turned … [drum roll] … 1. A year ago, the first email went out. And it wouldn’t be an anniversary if we didn’t do some Top Ten lists …

Ever wonder why a “small” at Starbucks is a “tall”? Once, you could order short, tall, or “grande” (Italian for “large”), but newbies just chose the middle: tall. The chain tried dropping shorts from the menu and adding a bigger size: “venti”. Guess what happened. …

There is a song we sometimes sing in our exhibition and experience projects: We’re poor. Our projects are underfunded. We don’t have the money those “other” industries have. We’re always the ones that have to do a lot with a little. A common refrain. But is it true? …