In a pinch, non-profits boost sales

Organizations have stepped up their licensing efforts to counteract funding cuts and to raise public awareness about their causes.

©New York Times

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 13, 2001

NEW YORK -- For years, Colonial Williamsburg has sold copies of furniture and plates displayed inside the museum's restored and reconstructed 18th century homes. Now consumers can buy copies of the houses themselves.

This month, Colonial Williamsburg, the 75-year-old history museum and restored capital of pre-Revolutionary Virginia, said it had licensed the blueprints of some of its buildings to William E. Poole, a home designer in Wilmington, N.C. Poole has created a portfolio of 18 different house plans based on Colonial Williamsburg houses (with modern conveniences such as indoor plumbing added) for sale at up to $1,400 each.

Non-profit organizations, including advocacy groups and museums, have long licensed a range of inexpensive items such as tote bags, calendars and mugs, which by and large have been sold in gift shops and specialty stores. But non-profit groups lately have begun to expand those efforts to raise revenues and public awareness of their mission, licensing experts and organization executives say.

Non-profit groups and tourist destinations such as Colonial Williamsburg have even pushed their way into Licensing 2001 International, a trade show that began Tuesday in New York. The exhibition has long been the domain of large Hollywood studios and other big corporations, and those companies still dominate the trade show floor. But this year, more non-profits will display their wares, and they will be more ambitious about their offerings and their target audience, organizers said.

Colonial Williamsburg already runs one of the most successful museum licensing programs in the country. In 1999, the most recent year for which figures are available, the museum earned $9.5-million in licensing fees, which represents sales of nearly $100-million in retail goods, according to The Licensing Letter, a trade publication. In comparison, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York earned $4-million in licensing fees while the Victoria & Albert Museum in London earned $7.5-million.

"It's a period of growth for the Williamsburg brands," said Sophia Hart, a Colonial Williamsburg spokeswoman. "We are trying to increase awareness."

Overall, according to the licensing publication, $73.75-billion worth of licensed products -- from Red Sox caps to Monet-inspired bedsheets to Mickey Mouse dolls -- were sold at retail shops last year, an increase of 18.6 percent over 1992. But art licenses, many of them benefiting museums, accounted for about $6.1-billion last year, 38.6 percent more than 1992. Other non-profit organizations are currently a much smaller business, accounting for $700-million in sales, up 16.6 percent from $600-million in 1992.

"Non-profits are being squeezed for funding and many are discovering that licensing is not selling their souls to the devil, if they do it right," said Ian Mayer, publisher of The Licensing Letter.

Declining government grants means licensing has become a more important source of revenue for non-profit groups. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, for example, used to receive $7-million annually in federal funds but has received no such government grants for three years, said Richard Moe, president of the trust.

But even as they embrace licensing, non-profit executives say they are moving carefully to ensure others do not come to think of them as panhandlers. Many officials of non-profit groups say it is important not just to emphasize how putting their name on products raises money but also how it promotes their mission. In addition to owning 20 historic sites, the National Trust runs a variety of programs to promote preservation, and group officials say their licensing program can advance that work.

"We have built up trust in our name, and we are going to use it sparingly but in ways that are productive," Moe said.

The Sierra Club, which has long licensed T-shirts and caps as well as calendars and wind chimes, also has been working on expanding its licensing program. This year, the organization has come to the licensing show seeking a manufacturer to create a full line of clothes, shoes, outdoor gear, furnishings and even housewares.

Johanna O'Kelley, the Sierra Club's director of licensing, said interest in her organization had surged since George W. Bush became president. And O'Kelley said she hoped interest in the group would translate into interest in buying Sierra Club products.

"The climate is right," she said. "There is a heightened awareness of the environment. It's a great opportunity."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright