Model A Museum Endowment Fund Needed

msmaron

msmaron

Well-known member
MODEL A MUSEUM located on the Gilmore campus is now paid for, The building was paid for before construction began but we still need to grow the endowment fund, receive money for operations and yearly members.

Looking forward to seeing so many of you on Model A day At Gilmore on September 16th
 
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Re: Model A Museum

Wow!!! Truly a large undertaking by a group of totally devoted folks. Congratulaions.

P.s. Keep the fire extinguisher handy for the mortgage burning ceremony. :). Jeff
 
Re: Model A Museum

Fantastic !
A large and noble undertaking done by a group of totally dedicated individuals. Congratulations for a job well done! Having a concept is one thing - but to actually bring it to fruition is quite another. The Gilmore group working on the Model A Museum has done both!
An accomplishment of which all can be justly proud.
And the public and the Model A 'family' will reap the rewards for years - decades - to come. Thanks to all involved.
 
Re: Model A Museum

Congratulations to all of the people that love the model a and made this all happen!
 
Re: Model A Museum

Congratulations, the Foundation has made us proud and continues to preserve the history of our beloved Model A. Thanks to all!
 
Re: Model A Museum

Wow, congratulations! This is a big deal as many other places struggle & even go under causing us to lose out.
 
Re: Model A Museum

That's great news. When will the Wauconda swap meet be this month??? I may want to sell some stuff.
 
The Model A museum truly is a monstrous project, and I salute those who made it happen. In the beginning, wife and I send a rather large donation. Later, we also bought bricks and became life members.

With that said, I am becoming slightly upset with the museum's direction and feel it is becoming a money pit. The following is merely my opinion, no offense intended to anyone...

Initially, they said that a million dollars would be sufficient endowment to keep the museum running. We all made that happen. Then, they said that two million is the magic number. Now, it seems the museum just wants to keep going so they can knock down the back wall and expand more, which will increase operating costs, rent for the grounds, insurance costs, etc. This isn't at all what we were told would happen.

By the way, you did read that correctly- The museum RENTS the ground. Sure, we own the building, but it is sitting on rented earth. That is an ongoing expense. The museum is now displaying an airplane and other Model A "related" items, not just Model A's. That takes away some precious floor and ceiling and wall space from actual Model A items. It also has apparently raised the cost of staying open.

One of the clubs to which I belong has given nearly 6-figures to the museum already, and the museum sends nice letters saying that was nice, but we want more. Our club has donated some very rare/exceptional Model A's already, only one of which is on display. We were also about to donate a very rare AA when we found out the museum said they dont have room, but they still wanted it badly because they could possibly sell it and raise more money for ongoing expenses. Oh, and they insisted that our club also transport, etc. so they could sell it. I am left with very bitter feelings about that.

Not sure why, but the museum has transformed from a blessing into a money pit that appears to be run by government caliber people and/or attitudes. More money will not solve the museum's woes. A complete draining of the MAFFI 'swamp' might.
 
I could not have said it better myself. Many organizations start out the same way as the Model A museum, but at a later date scandals take place and expose those in charge as nothing more than scoundrels and crooks. What type of checks and balances are in place to ensure everything is on the level?
 
Interesting, P.S.

I didn't know the ground was rented. That is never a sound business practice in itself. Would you build a new house on a lot, not owning the ground on which it stands:eek: Talk about future conflicts. No ethical lawyer would ever advise you to do something like that.

On an episode of Fox News' 'Strange Inheritances' they once had a story about the famous LeMay Auto Museum out in Washington State. Same type of scenario it seems as what I'm reading about here. It turned into a real nightmare. Corporate for- profit types came in and took over.

And 'yes' just because you donate anything to a museum, doesn't mean it will sit in the museum or you have any say in it anymore. It has become THEIR property, they own it, and can do with it as they please which often means selling it to raise $$ for whatever.
 
P.S. said:
The Model A museum truly is a monstrous project, and I salute those who made it happen. In the beginning, wife and I send a rather large donation. Later, we also bought bricks and became life members.

Now, it seems the museum just wants to keep going so they can knock down the back wall and expand more, which will increase operating costs, rent for the grounds, insurance costs, etc. This isn't at all what we were told would happen.
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WONDERFUL NEWS and We had hoped it would come to this that they WOULD Knock down the back wall when they are ready and you be they want to keep on going and expand even more. You must not have been listening but that was always a possibility to do, Oh and the plane is a FORD TRI-MOTOR with a Model A Engine and YES that is the idea of the museum and YES we are out of room, I will have my Henry car on display also at this great museum. One of the most visited there is on the campus of Gilmore.. The direction the museum is going in is the best that it can be and it takes money to run things and cost change and that was expected. Have you been their lately Paul?? have you been to Model A Days at the Museum to see what happens and the excitement. I have because I run the swap for the last 7 years and success is what it is. The Model a Museum is a wonderful thing....JMHO!!
 
Mark,

You know how much I love you, man. And, you know that I have opinions that sometimes differ from the mainstream. This time, I respectfully disagree with the direction the museum is taking.

Purposely making the museum more expensive to own in perpetuity is a bad move, in my opinion. Once they expand, they cannot go back when cost-cutting becomes mandatory.

Also, the airplane on display is not a Ford tri-motor. It is a Pietenpol. It was not made by Ford. It is not very interesting or historic. Not even to a serious aviation fan, like myself. Its only connection to our cars is the motor in it. By that logic, the museum should also clear away legitimate Model A vehicles and parts to display ag pumps using Model A motors, or a boat with a Model A motor, or any other home-built thing using a Model A motor. It's ridiculous and I do not support that.

As a life member and donor of the museum, I disagree with the future the museum board has planned for it. I would like to see the entire board replaced with more conservative people who live in the reality that a constant flow of money is not sustainable.
 
P.S. said:
Mark,

You know how much I love you, man. And, you know that I have opinions that sometimes differ from the mainstream. This time, I respectfully disagree with the direction the museum is taking.

As a life member and donor of the museum, I disagree with the future the museum board has planned for it. I would like to see the entire board replaced with more conservative people who live in the reality that a constant flow of money is not sustainable.
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I hear ya Pauly but conservative I disagree with so much in every aspect of the museum...and instead of options let see you run for a trustee position...lets move forward all the way we can and keep making it better, and expansion is what we need and more cars and display and the airplane does have a connection to our model a fords. and ya know what lets see that boat motor in the museum also, Because our roadster is going their and we keep getting more and more visitors and our Model A Day is coming and it will again be a success...are you coming to support it?? . Sorry we agree to disagree on this, but that is always cool with you and i, and my donations are their also and its been a yearly one for me and Im sorry I like what is happening.. so be it.....love ya always pauly...
 
P. S. and all,

I want to try to clarify a few points made in previous posts. It is true that the land is "rented" while the building and its contents are owned by MAFFI and fully paid for. One of the benefits of having the Model A Museum at Gilmore is that included with that very reasonable rental fee are staff that operate entrance, gift shop, maintenance, lawn mowing, weekend docents, and other volunteer docents during the week 360 days out of the year! This fee could not even pay one persons salary for a year to do all of these functions if this Museum was located in a stand alone place.

It is also true that MAFFI waited until the funding was there to build the Museum before construction started and the Museum was totally funded by Model A people of which the club P.S. belongs did contribute a lot. The Endowment goal initially was $500,000, but has been raised to $1,000,000 mainly because interest rates are so low that the return on these investments are not covering the fees.

I do believe that the current Board is working very conservatively for the good of people in the hobby. However the bylaws are written to make sure that there is turn over and oversight to try to keep any kind of fraud or waste from happening. The Organization is constantly looking for Trustees to serve and it also opens up its business meeting to people interested, so I don't think there is a hidden wasteful agenda.

As far as the vehicles on display it is correct that the Museum is full. Initially we had a number of vehicles on Loan to fill up the Museum and as more cars and trucks have been donated we have been thinning out the Loaned vehicles to try and balance our space with the best collection we can display. There are many favorable voices and letters providing feedback and these do play a role in the future actions taken.

I can personally say that I had never heard that the AA considered for donation would be sold. That is possibly misinformation and unfortunately may have left a bad taste in your club that has done so much for the Museum.

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
 
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