2017-004-Kittitas Co Historical Society

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the previous year,we were able to retain some business partnerships that wish to remain anonymous. We also have received an increased rate of donations to the museum as a result of increased visitation to the museum,which we attribute to the current advertising campaign. We plan to build on our membership and corporate partnerships and sponsorships to offer more events,activities and programs,which would benefit both the museum and local businesses, institutions and organizations.We anticipate growing our sponsorships for regular museum events with a variety of local companies.Additional partnerships and event sponsors are currently being discussed for the 2017 year. At present,there are some plans to eventually develop the tour program into some free tour opportunities while some would be at a cost.This would be explored in the second year of the downtown walking tours provided there is sufficient interest by private parties and special events. 7.Additional information:Provide any additional information which will assist the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee in evaluating your project and its benefit to tourism. Please limit any additional written information to one page and any other additional attachments to 3 pages.Regardless of how much additional information is included, only the first 3 pages will be provided to reviewers. The Kittitas County Historical Museum is a private,nonprofit charitable organization.With only two paid staff and 25 volunteers,we plan to continue building awareness of the museum,which will reflectively increase our further sustainability. In 2013,we embarked on a new advertising campaign after having been denied funding the previous year.Through the new program we saw a positive response from visitors.Overall,we saw a consistent 25-28%increase in attendance yearly,especially in our targeted market.Our museum attendance nearly doubled from 4,975 in 2013 to 8,697 in 2015.Our Museum Monthly Attendance numbers have shown an 8-year high in our visitor attendance,and as of August 31,2016 we have had 4,898.We are on track to meet our expected goal of over 10,000 visitors for 2016.We anticipate with our new offerings and new targeted market,that we will exceed 12,000 in-person visitors for 2017,as well as reach thousands more through our digital offerings. We have also had yearly increases in donations to the museum and gift shop sales.Our donations already exceeded the anticipated income by 101%which will be greater at year's end.Comparing the amount to previous years,we have already exceeded the amount donated in 2014,and are nearing 75%of last year's total donation.By the end of 2016,we should again see a record amount of donations to the Museum.Our gift shop sales have slightly declined for 2016 (only 78%of the anticipated 2016 has come in),but we expect that with the coming months and activities,we should be at or above our projected income.Continued visitation to the museum will reflect in increased purchases,which the museum expects to develop its marketing and sales to accommodate the increased interest in the Museum.This may include redesigning the Museum's gift shop (and increase items for sale)as a result. In addition,as a result of increased visitation,the museum has experimented with its hours to meet the needs of the community.For example,the Museum was open for 3 Sundays this year to coincide with major events (Spirit of the West,Jazz in the Valley,and the Kittitas County Fair/Ellensburg Rodeo).These openings have resulted in increased visitation to the museum as a whole,with an Page |16