Missouri History Museum – New Additions with New Offerings

New leadership can often translate to a new focus and energy for a membership program. At the Missouri Historical Society a new Vice President for Advancement began her tenure with a goal of increasing the Society’s 4,500 membership while also growing the prospect pool to focus on an upcoming capital campaign to fund a new museum expansion.

Membership planning and an overhaul of membership operations was the first step. Adding engaging programs for members was the first step, providing meaningful and entertaining opportunities for all members.

The new museum building build-up included engaging members in the capital campaign with a phone/mail program that attracted $400,000 campaign commitments, giving members a vital role in completing the $24 million campaign.

The grand opening of a new Missouri History Museum provided the impetus for a major membership growth focus. Using direct mail and on-site membership sales allowing the membership to grow to 9,000 members during the grand opening year.

The new Museum building made great new exhibit offerings a possibility. The Museum created and curated a major national touring exhibit celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The buzz and excitement for this momentous exhibition which kicked off its national tour at the Museum created a phenomenal membership opportunity. In its 9 month run, utilizing direct mail, telemarketing and an aggressive on-site sales effort, the Museum’s membership program doubled in size for a second time to 18,000 members!

The Museum’s relentless focus on operating a Membership program with laser focused attention to detail and opportunity, created one of the nation’s largest history museum membership programs.