Model A Museum Endowment Fund Needed

[msmaron]

Originally Posted by Jerry Kzoo

P. S. and all,

I
Mark and his group help out at every Model A Day to make each one better and they also have a fundraiser in August with the proceeds going to help the Museum. Our club has an auction every year and all the proceeds go to the Museum. We also have a number of work days where we volunteer to do the things necessary to keep the Museum looking as good as it does.

This is every Model A owners Museum and together we need to work together to make sure it is the best it can be and it's future is secure.

Jerry

As usual Jerry well said..Ill see you in september for another GREAT Model A Day!!! thank you Jerry...
mark

[P.S.]

Thank you for adding information to the discussion, Jerry. And of course, thnk you Mark for always showing me the other side of the discussion. Agreeing to disagree is fine with me also. I am not physically located near enough to the museum to be as hands-on as you guys.

Jerry, please know that I do not speak for the entire club, but I do share the same opinion as about half the club. In fact, I am not authorized to speak for the club in any way. All I can tell you: There was VERY spirited debate several meetings ago about our donation of the AA on top of all the other Model A's and huge sums of money we previously donated. Our decision to postpone the donation of the AA is a private matter amongst our club and for reasons that are also private. However, I will admit that you do have me to blame, in large part, for helping that debate materialize.

Mark and I had some fun, but never heated, discussions leading up to the November elections as well. Being friends off-board, one particular phone conversation I remember had some interesting long pauses in it. Ultimately, the candidate I supported won, yet I did not gloat, as I also felt what it must have been like for Mark to lose like that. I hope Mark feels a little of what I feel about the direction of the Model A museum and MAFFI as an organization. As previously posted, the direction the museum is headed is NOT sustainable, and I feel will ultimately lead to its loss. I'm a lot younger than you guys, so when I look into the future, I am looking a lot further ahead than you guys.

In my opinion, MAFFI should review all current and future and proposed expenses, and then assume a future linear drop in donations and fundraising. The goal should be a balanced budget with a slight lean toward profitability and saving at least 50 years into the future. When the old guys are gone, and the youngsters that you complain show no interest in Model A's are all that is left, how will the museum survive? What happens after the major donors, including the club to which I belong, stops sending huge wads of money and the museum has to live almost entirely off of its endowment fund interest earnings?

I feel it is time for the MAFFI board to stop competing with the neighboring museums and hunker down for some very likely tough financial times in the distant future. Stop displaying non-Model A items, stop expansion, live within our means. I dont see MAFFI doing that. As Mark pointed out, it seems MAFFI is under the assumption that money will always be flowing in at current levels and constant growth and added expenses will somehow translate into success. I could not disagree more.

You guys might not live long enough to see the demise of the museum, but at this rate, I will.

[Jim Brierley]

I agree with Jerry and Mark. The museum is a fantastic place, and does need more room. Rent paid by MAFFI and the other museums on the grounds is a necessary evil. I suggest we all add a little to our annual dues for the endowment fund, it is an easy and painless way to help MAFFI and in turn all of us Model A enthusiasts and future generations. I also think the Board has done, and is doing a great job!

[jehagado]

I live in Kalamazoo and go every Wednesday to the cruise in.
The museum and the five buildings dedicated to specific cars are all very nice.
I am often baffled why people do the things they do.
If you want to keep up with the Lincoln and Caddy museum you need to raise $500 million and spend like crazy.
If MAFFI goes bankrupt does Gilmores get the building and the collection of cars? I hope so.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by jehagado

If MAFFI goes bankrupt does Gilmores get the building and the collection of cars? I hope so.

That's why the endowment is so important. The money earned from the investments of the principle should be and need to be, the money needed for day to day operations.

[Chris Haynes]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Located on The Gilmore Campus? Who or what is Gilmore?

[WTSHNN]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=gilmore+museum

-Tim