This chapter will review the cost, funding and budgeting for the National Museum of the American People.
Given the size, scope and importance of this institution, the final cost figure is apt to be between $1-2 billion. Using the $2,000 per square foot figure for a museum provided in 2022 by the Congressional Research Service, the cost of building an 800,000 square foot building now would be about $1.6 billion.
Projections of other museum proposals undertaken by Congressional and Presidential commissions, and reviewed by CRS, have generally been considerably different from the final costs even though, in some cases, the costs were measured down to the dollar.
For example, the projected cost to build the National Museum of African American History and Culture was $360 million if it was completed in 2011. The museum opened in 2016 and cost $616 million in 2021 dollars. The potential estimate to build it now would be $802 million. The cost per square foot would go from about $1,500 in original estimates to $2,000 today.
The only way to come up with an accurate cost projection is to:
Then you'll begin to have an idea of the total cost and how long it will take to build.
The cost will include the building and grounds, the final exhibition, the opening special exhibitions, opening events, the founding staff of the museum and all of its many components and programs.
There will be two phases to fundraising for the National Museum of the American People. The first phase will be to fund the planning and construction of the museum, as well as its initial exhibitions and varied programs. This phase will take 7-10 years from onset until the museum opens. The second phase will be to build a significant endowment to help fund the museum's operations starting when it opens.
Our model for fundraising is that of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum which raised all of the funds to plan and build the museum from private donations.
The initial goal of the NMAP will be to raise $1.5-2 billion over its first 7-10 years while the museum is being established and its building and grounds are built. While that is a high goal for many museums, universities throughout the nation have established and reached multi-billion dollar fundraising goals on a regular basis. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum reached its $1 billion goal in 2022 and is working to add on to it. The NMAP plans to raise funds along the lines used by other major institutions engaged in multi-million and multi-billion dollar campaigns. We'll start with a funding goal pyramid which is deemed appropriate for the museum. Here's an example:
| # of Donors | Amount of Donation (in Millions) |
Total (in Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100 | $100 |
| 4 | $50 | $200 |
| 10 | $20 | $200 |
| 50 | $10 | $500 |
| 80 | $5 | $400 |
| 200 | $1 | $200 |
| 200 | $0.5 | $100 |
| 1000 | $0.1 | $100 |
| 1 million | <$0.1 | $200 |
| $2 billion |
The NMAP plans to obtain funding and assistance from a variety of sources:
We will ask Congress to transfer a prime piece of priceless federal land to the National Museum of the American People. The preferred locations are listed in Chapter 4 of this report. The two prime sites are the Hoover Building site controlled by the General Services Administration and the Banneker Overlook site controlled by the National Park Service. Having either one of those sites officially designated will greatly facilitate fundraising by making the museum more imminent.
The NMAP governing board would be a federal entity and we would ask for operating appropriations for it. As an example, the Holocaust Museum's governing body, the US Holocaust Memorial Council, has 68 members. Fifty-five are appointed by the President and an additional 10 members are appointed by Congress. There are three ex-officio members representing federal agencies.
The Holocaust Council and senior museum staff are supported by appropriations. The total for this would be in the range of $2 million a year based on the experience of the USHMM. In the case of the NMAP, this investment will gain a multi-billion dollar institution not funded with federal appropriations which will have a priceless positive impact on the nation.
The NMAP's governing body will create two units, one to plan and build the museum and the other to raise all of the funds necessary to plan and build the museum. These two units would be supported by private donations.
Having said this, the National Museum of the American People will be very pleased to accept any federal dollars to help pay for the cost of planning and building it. Congress approved a 50-50 federal-private split to pay for the African American, Latino and Women's History museums.
We will seek to have the legislation creating the NMAP allow gifts from foreign governments. A model for this is the Kennedy Center which was allowed to accept such gifts when it was built. As envisioned, a senior US diplomat, possibly a former secretary of state, could be recruited to obtain gifts from $1 million to $20 million, with a cap so that no single nation can contribute an inordinate amount.
The NMAP, telling about the origins of all Americans, can help improve US relationships with other nations. Heads of state from across the globe, particularly those from where Americans came, would be expected to participate in the museum's opening. For example, 17 heads of state attended the Holocaust Museum opening, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe. The NMAP would expect many more. Gifts from the donor nations' would be acknowledged in the museum on a prominent wall with the words: "A gift for the People of the United States from the People of (name of nation)."
The most significant fundraising element will be to seek seven-figure or higher gifts from selected individuals, foundations and corporations that have a special interest in their heritage, in civics education for all Americans and in strengthening our nation's social fabric. As the museum tells the story of all Americans, in other words, nearly every customer of most American corporations, associating with the NMAP can be expected to carry a positive impact with corporate customer bases. That will be an argument for strong corporate support.
Successful fundraising consulting firms will be asked to help guide the NMAP's fundraising unit as it accomplishes the goals laid out in the fundraising pyramid. The overall goal of the fundraising pyramid is to get 345 donors—nations, corporations, foundations and wealthy individuals—giving $1 million and more.
An early order of business will be to get key donors to make lead gifts. There are more American billionaires and millionaires than ever before and the NMAP will seek to tap into those sources.
With significant seven-figure gifts providing the solid financial base to begin planning and building the museum, the last element of the first phase is to engage in a broad national fundraising effort to obtain gifts from all Americans in any amount.
All money donated to the National Museum of the American People would essentially be gifts to the federal government, earmarked for the museum. They would therefore be tax deductible up to any limit under current tax law.
There will be a wide variety of naming opportunities for major donors in and around the National Museum of the American People. Final decisions, and a donor level for each, will be made by the museum's governing board. Here are some that could be considered:
The museum itself, its permanent exhibition, its central atrium space and its memorial hall would not be available for naming.
Major wall spaces in the museum's entry area and/or its central atrium space would be reserved to recognize nations, individuals, foundations and corporations that make major gifts to the National Museum of the American People as determined by the museum's governing board.
The fundraising campaign will be supported by significant marketing and public relations efforts answering these questions:
In conjunction with the fundraising campaign, some organizational decisions were identified by the commission that led to the African American Museum:
Establishes an identity and builds public confidence.
Establishes the vehicle to seek and receive private-sector gifts, grants and sponsorships.
Builds public confidence and establishes a pact with the people.
Builds public confidence and establishes a source of funds for the units overseeing the fundraising, planning and construction of the museum.
Builds public confidence and provides coordination of fundraising with all other aspects of museum development.
Builds public confidence and understanding of mission.
Builds public confidence, translates vision and mission into tangible possibilities, and leads to naming opportunities.
Income from museum operations such as the book store, shops, restaurants, programs and facility rentals would be applied to cover operations.
There would also be significant ongoing fundraising efforts to fund special programing at the museum including seeking grants for some programs. There would be an ongoing membership program and other general fundraising efforts.
One significant source of income could eventually be from visitor fees, but the NMAP would plan to follow the lead of Smithsonian museums which are free for visitors.
We estimate that it will take about six months after the NMAP's governing body's first meeting for its fundraising and public relations staff to be operational. Board members will be asked to contribute $1 million in total to get the fundraising apparatus running and, thereafter, it would be self-sustaining.
The case for the National Museum of the American People will be incorporated into all of its messages, solicitations, marketing, communications, direct mail appeals and reports to make these key points:
Once the museum opens, it will have an annual operating budget. While it's challenging to predict what an annual operating budget for the National Museum of the American People would look like 7-10 years after the museum is established, an example of what it could look like is included in the full report.
The household wealth of the American People now stands in the neighborhood of $147 trillion. We believe that telling the story about the making of the American People will captivate the interest of the American People enabling the NMAP to raise the funds necessary to create this institution. Here's what the American People will get and its value:
| The National Museum of the American People will: | Value |
|---|---|
| Breathe new life into the words "We the People." | Priceless |
| Bring all Americans together in one place. | Priceless |
| Give new meaning to E Pluribus Unum, from many, one. | Priceless |
| Be a memorial to all of our ancestors who first came here. | Priceless |
| Pass on our basic national values to our descendants. | Priceless |
| Stimulate civics nationwide. | Priceless |