Mayor Ted Bettencourt and some members of the Peabody City Council say they want the North Shore Children’s Museum to be less reliant on city funds in the upcoming years.
Bettencourt also said that the museum is establishing the Friends of the NSCM as a foundation.
“I’ve always tried to be open about this, that I don’t think that this is a venture that can just be funded by the city,” Bettencourt said. “We’re going to need some significant funding from the Friends group, the board members, and some other people, and the hope would be that every year there’s less and less of a reliance on the city, until eventually, it might be the opportunity where the Friends will take over the complete operation.”
However, Bettencourt does not expect the reliance on city money to stop any time soon.
“I don’t see that happening for a number of years,” Bettencourt said. “We’re so intertwined right now, with IT, human resources, security, a whole number of things that are really connected and hard to untangle.”
NSCM Executive Director Ali Haydock, who will leave the position as early as this June, presented an update on the museum to the city councilors, which included the museum’s accomplishments last year, and path towards financial independence from the city in the near future.
“Corporate donations are rolling in,” Haydock said. “And we’re having our first big event on May 17 which is a great way to engage the community, and we have a strong grant pipeline developed, and as soon as we get that letter of determination (a 501c3 letter for the FONSCM), we can start applying (for grants).”
Haydock also presented a graph showing that the projected annual net investment by the city to the museum will be smaller each year from 2025 to 2029.
“As time goes on, donations to the Friends will be up, which will help zero out that blue portion (referring to the city’s net investments to the museum),” Haydock said.
Haydock said that the museum has raised more than $100,000 from donations to the Friends of NSCM, and around $400,000 last year from revenue. Contributions from the city amount to around $512,000 each year.
“It looks like, you’re doing so well, we could be breaking even,” Councilor-at-Large Anne Manning-Martin said. “I think with those numbers, and a continued focus on a successful 501c3, I am more hopeful than the mayor indicated to get this up and privately running, and not dependent upon half a million dollars a year of the city’s operating budget. Those are impressive numbers.”
Councilor-at-Large Jon Turco also expressed his hope for the museum to run independently.
“I didn’t support this in the beginning, not because I don’t support the children’s museum,” Turco said. “I had the same concerns as Councilor Manning’s always had. I never thought it should be in the city budget and it should’ve been run as a nonprofit, and I’m glad you’re heading in that direction.”
According to Bettencourt, currently, all money collected from museum operations such as ticket sales and memberships, as well as donations toward supplies that the city typically pays for, go to a revolving account for the city. Unspecified donations go to the Friends of NSCM.
