Abstract:
When the fast-growing Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida finds out that a key, privately-owned parcel of land adjoining its "campus" is up for sale, it moves quickly--but unsuccessfully--to convince the owner to sell the land through an arrangement combining a long-term payout and select tax advantages. The owners' rejection of this approach forces the museum to consider a variety of other options, ranging from partnership with a for-profit firm to a request for financial assistance from local county government, that already owned the land on which the formerly-public museum was located. This case uses the "Fowler Avenue land parcel question" as a window into the ways in which sudden, individual decisions faced by nonprofit boards of trustees are linked to larger strategic and financial issues for institutions. The MOSI board must consider the long-term prospects for its endowment, the question of admission fees, even the question of the propriety and efficacy of using board members to lobby public officials. The case was developed with the support of the Museum Trustee Association.
Learning Objective:
This case uses the "Fowler Avenue land parcel question" as a window into the ways in which sudden, individual decisions faced by nonprofit boards of trustees are linked to larger strategic and financial issues for institutions.
