I am hijacking the early thread to introduce a new concept.

There is a need for a businessman approach for fundraising and local contacts for railway museums.

There is also a need for volunteers and railroad knowledgeable people to be on the museum board the day to day affairs.

Solution=

The Museum Board is the volunteers who make a budget and plans for equipment and visitors. They come up with a wish list of projects needing funding.

A "Friends of the xx RR Museum", a 501 (c)(3) made up of the 3 G's Board members who's goal it is it to identify the project they want to raise money for.

Best of two worlds.

No comments?

A 501(c)(3) is almost the requirement for grant(s). There some given to individuals but they are usually in the Humanities area not restoration/reconstruction/preservation of RR related items/projects.
No matter how you get the money please remember to say thank you and not only when you ask for more!

Related - you must make visible progress with granted funds to interest your donors in providing more, unless the donations are specifically targeted for an endowment or a long term funding program (which must then show its growth as visible progress).

Friends groups can do well, but most of the ones i know about are the nuts and bolts guys, not the high rollers.

Does it seem to anybody else that the majority of the horror stories in this thread result from having the wrong people in the wrong positions at the wrong time, rather than the universal impropriety of any particular structure?

Is it even possible to create a structure that will work everywhere all the time? I think it's like the concept of a free market - great in theory, but nobody can actually develop one given the human drive towards unenlightened short term self interest and political powermongering. First thing you know you have mercantilism, then political parties, then you invade Iraq and lose all your friends

Gotta admit that I tend towards a board of resource providers supporting (knowledgeably) a beneficient dictator in charge - but that is based on my experience and frustration as a control freak trying to get work done, in some cases despite the board or other management structure in place. I have a short fuse for such things, altough if they do come through with the goods I will gladly kiss their collective a** appropriately.

dave

Or you feel the need to spew specious & trite views of economics and a decidedly partisan view of national politics into what should a haven from political bloviating.

We're going to get enough of this for the next 9 months so skip it.

Please keep your political leanings to yourself. Your comments have absolutely nothing to do with railway preservation.

dan

Unfortunately this thread has taken a nasty political non railroad direction.

I am going to request that in the future, if someone takes offense at anothers posting, you notify the moderator of your choice (our names with links appear at the top of the Interchange page.) Do not start a non railroad argument.

Randy Hees
Moderator, RYPN