How a Nonprofit Moved Toward a For-Profit Marketing Model to Advance Its Nonprofit Mission

by Kimberly Smith
Published on 5/29/2007

For more than a century, Boston's Museum of Science has depended on government grants and donors to finance its stated goal of encouraging "interest in and further understanding of science and technology and their importance for individuals and for society." The Museum attracts about 1.6 million visitors a year, including more than 50,000 members who visit regularly. Corporate branding and marketing for fundraising purposes hadn't been given much thought, but in 2001, as the U.S. stock market collapsed and the global economy slowed, the Museum found itself stretched for donors. It realized it was time to start marketing itself. Pioneering any major change naturally involves its share of challenges; this study reveals how one very traditional organization was able to make the transition.

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