I have been appointed to chair a 3-person committee assigned to recommend the allocation of the so-called "Thomas profits". What procedures have been used so far to fairly distribute the fruits of our labors? Are there hard feelings and clamoring? I feel like I am about to become the most unpopular member of our all-volunteer museum.
How have you made it work?

BTW, after our first weekend (out of 2) we are running at about 86% of projected attendance and 81% of projected retail sales. We expect those numbers to go up next weekend

wyld@sbcglobal.net

This exact subject came up at ARM in more than one panel. While no detailed procedures were offered, one "golden rule" was stressed again and again:

Use the Thomas money for one-time, long-term improvements (basically capital expenditures) which will improve your visitor experience, improve your collections care, or improve your gate receipts, and which will not require a permanently higher level of annual income to service or maintain. DO NOT use the Thomas funds to make changes (ie, hiring paid staff) which entail structurally higher fixed costs across the indefininate future.

The concept is that Thomas is like winning the lottery--a one-time event--we have no idea when the craze will end and the money flow will cut off as though it has never been. So, we can't spend Thomas money doing things we won't be able to continue with only the "old-fashioned" pre-Thomas balance sheet we inevitably will revert to.

Probably nothing you haven't thought of already, but worth saying out loud. I commend your group for establishing a formal mechanism for airing and debating this decision.

If you asked me for advice, I'd say broadly speaking to try to identify one or two things which would have the greatest impact on your visitors (new signs, paved walkways, ADA access provisions, whatever) and one or two things that would have the greatest impact on your collections care (a new pole barn? re-roof some of your buildings?) and concentrate your consideration there. Try to come up with things that will leverage the Thomas money by creating a return on investment down the road, in the form of more satisfied visitors or reduced maintenance on your collections and physical plant.



eledbetter@rypn.org

There is no such thing as a Thomas windfall. It is all revenue, and it all needs to be budgeted as part of an annual budget and spent wisely. Don't do it separately from your budget! In fact, if you've already got a budget from this year (most of us are on a fiscal year that goes from July 1-June 30), DON'T SPEND ANY OF IT THIS FISCAL YEAR. Wait and budget it to be spent next year.

Your organization needs to do some planning for the future before it touches any of the money. That requires everyone's participation and a commitment by your board to listen, think and plan. Then you can allocate where the money will go and what it will buy that will bring the greatest reward to the group.

I have the name/number of a good strategic planner if you or anyone else is interested who can guide you through the process. Jim


http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

> There is no such thing as a Thomas
> windfall. It is all revenue, and it all
> needs to be budgeted as part of an annual
> budget and spent wisely. Don't do it
> separately from your budget! In fact, if
> you've already got a budget from this year
> (most of us are on a fiscal year that goes
> from July 1-June 30), DON'T SPEND ANY OF IT
> THIS FISCAL YEAR. Wait and budget it to be
> spent next year.

> Your organization needs to do some planning
> for the future before it touches any of the
> money. That requires everyone's
> participation and a commitment by your board
> to listen, think and plan. Then you can
> allocate where the money will go and what it
> will buy that will bring the greatest reward
> to the group.

> I have the name/number of a good strategic
> planner if you or anyone else is interested
> who can guide you through the process. Jim

Jim---

Thnak you for your thoughts. To handle the money as part of the regular buget process sounds like a very good approach.

My own thoughts are that the use of the money needs to balanced between the many needs of a museum and its organziation. These can be capital work to the grounds, facilities and exhibits; capital money for heavy maintenance or restoration of railway equipment; or debit reduction. But the approach needs to balanced.

Also the use of the money needs to be thought out. I would want to be putting the money into planned projects. I do not want to just give a part of the museum money for them to spend willy-nilly -- I want it to go where the best value can be obtained.

Brian Norden

Thomas, I will not mention our nickname for him,was just at the Age of Steam in Dallas two weeks ago following the ARM convention and I am sure this subject will come up at our next board meeting. Because we were able to charge a reduced admission to the museum and keep our gift shop open for sales of non-Thomas items our budget deficit for the year was probably erased as attendance is down in 2002 and attendance is also down at the six other museums in the Fair Park complex where the Age of Steam is located. This director will push for capitol improvements and bonuses for the paid staff because of the large amount of extra work required.
Tom Cox


tcox@parknet.pmh.org

> Thomas, I will not mention our nickname for
> him,was just at the Age of Steam in Dallas
> two weeks ago following the ARM convention
> and I am sure this subject will come up at
> our next board meeting. Because we were able
> to charge a reduced admission to the museum
> and keep our gift shop open for sales of
> non-Thomas items our budget deficit for the
> year was probably erased as attendance is
> down in 2002 and attendance is also down at
> the six other museums in the Fair Park
> complex where the Age of Steam is located.
> This director will push for capitol
> improvements and bonuses for the paid staff
> because of the large amount of extra work
> required.
> Tom Cox

When we drew up IRM's budget last year, we added a "bonus" budget category for the equipment departments for additional restoration work (e.g., traction motors for a couple of interurbans/streetcars), and also took care of a few capital and track projects. Given the HUGE increase in insurance this year, I'm not certain how much, if any, "bonus" money there will be on April 1 (start of our budget year), but my inclination would be to continue to use this money for projects that otherwise could not be readily funded or that might have to be stretched out for too long a period. The last thing I want to see is to p**s it away on piddly stuff that doesn't give a long-term benefit to the collection or the museum as a whole.

On the subject of windfalls, we received several large bequests in the past year. Last Saturday, we authorized the construction of two new carbarns (3200' more indoor storage, for those who like to moan about how much stuff we have outside without noting the TWO MILES of inside storage), one (and possibly two, depending on quotes) new yard, rebuilding of one carbarn roof, initial planning and engineering for an extension of the electric car shop, and ancillary drainage and property work. That should keep us busy for a while . . .


kevinmccabe@avenew.com

>I agree with Eric, it should be used to better the visitor experience. The visitors are your best advertisement. As far as bonuses, depends on whether everyone that worked is paid, then everyone should get a bonus, if you had volunteers that worked, than bonuses shouldn't be paid because those volunteers work for free.
If you put it in as part of your budget, don't assume it will be there every year. This golden goose or as I have heard it called "Thomas the Bank Engine" will not last forever.



phess@webkorner.com

> This golden goose or as I have heard it
> called "Thomas the Bank Engine"
> will not last forever.

Perhaps we should lobby Hit Entertainment to get back on TV or create another full-length feature. It seems that may be in our best interests. Could ARM make some representation for us to that end?


wyld@sbcglobal.net

>I agree with Eric, it should be used to better >the visitor experience. The visitors are your >best advertisement. As far as bonuses, depends >on whether everyone that worked is paid, then >everyone should get a bonus, if you had >volunteers that worked, than bonuses shouldn't >be paid because those volunteers work for free.

As a part-time volunteer, I object to your implication that volunteers should be automatically excluded from ANY goodies that get distributed to the workers, such as bonuses, just "because they work for free". Volunteers have feelings also, and get upset if they are excluded for such reasons. After all, good volunteers are such a bargain that they should be encouraged, and not treated unfairly as you suggest.
Dividing up the pie on the basis of "time spent on the job" seems much more equitable than basing it on how much you were paid. Of course, this way the decision maker, i.e. the boss, would not get as much for themself....

clica@xieee.org

Guaranteed to drive away volunteers!

lamontdc@adelphia.net

Guaranteed to drive away volunteers?

You don't think that a genuinely involved volunteer who actively toils part-time in an organization appreciates the hard working full-time+ employees who bust their butts without recognition or extra compensation for arduous labor would support giving a small bonus to those individuals whose daily efforts make a DOWT possible? Believe me, it's just not possible to pull off a successful event with an all volunteer crew. Actually, not giving something could drive away employees! Maybe you've never been there?

Been around long enough to recognise that when a segment of an organization is ignored while the rest get something extra is guaranteed to cause hard feelings. I also recognise that you can't pay volunteers or they ain't volunteers, but some token of appreciation would go down easier. Volunteers provide a service that is worth something to the organization, show them you appreciate it!

lamontdc@adelphia.net

Please don't misunderstand the "bonus" concept that we used at IRM....it involved money distributed to departments as a supplement to the regular budget for the year. Volunteers are not paid and did not receive cash bonuses.

My advice to all who are doing Thomas events for the first time is to pay your bills--all of them--before you start planning how to distribute the actual profits. The actual profit may be less than you anticipate, and it's better to know what you have before you start to split it up.....

I believe that HIT is planning to produce additional Thomas episodes.

Someone asked earlier about gaining new members through the Thomas event...some people join for the immediate benefits and will stay as visiting members as long as their children are small. But unless they become dedicated rail/museum fans, don't expect most of them to become long-term supporters or working members. To many visitors, the Thomas event is an amusement park type program; they don't really know [and frequently do not care] what the museum is all about.

beast@mc.net

HIT Entertainment made it clear at TRAIN 2002 that new episodes were in the works.

Amused to see several postings of guys fighting over who gets nonexistant funds - go raise them and then you can worry about it.

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

Believe me,
> it's just not possible to pull off a
> successful event with an all volunteer crew.
> Actually, not giving something could drive
> away employees! Maybe you've never been
> there?

I do not believe you! We just finished our first weekend entertaining about 15,000 paying guests and have received nothing but rave reviews of our all-volunteer (one paid clerical office staff)organization.

The theme of the previous two posts about everyone getting their fair share is just the attitude I am worried about. The best way I see to pay back the volunteers is with a clearly defined direction of the organization which is supported by Thomas revenues. If the organization progresses everyone volunteer or otherwise should be proud of the milestone. At our place, we don't care who gets the credit and most of us try working toward the common good as defined by a well-informed and listening leadership.

Some of Thomas-funded(money spent in anticipation of Thomas)improvements: a 450 ft x 12 ft brick platform, a second 800+ ft x 12 ft brick platform, curbing, asphalt paving, a new museum-wide PA system, Phone and electrical service to 10 new locations throughout the museum, 1000 ft of track retamped, new signage and several signals improvements. As a volunteer, that is plenty of "payback" for me. Did it increase funding for my favorite restoration project? No, but these long-term improvements are for all of us. The first weekend more than paid for these improvements so now...the encore this weekend. Cha-ching!

wyld@sbcglobal.net