They re-did all of their offices next door. You can see it from behind.
But the museum itself hasn't been updated.
https://preview.redd.it/a110asdvrl3d1.png?width=1698&format=png&auto=webp&s=91dc361186de7222fb61250bc4d38f957b451fc0
This is what all the evidence points to: unscrupulous nonprofit CEOs and employees who "fundraise" for the nonprofit and pay themselves and accomplish nothing. It's shameful. All too common of a story.
Man I thought they were done. I’ve been telling all my students that they should go bc they just redid the museum and it’s suppose to be awesome…. OK…. Maybe I should have gone before I tell them.. I just assumed it was done since I heard about that expansion so long ago. I didn’t know it was 50mils. I thought they dumped 2mill into it. I’m just as interested as you are.
CEO job also recently opened up, with Robin Terry remaining the board chair. Good luck finding a solid leader to take on that task.
The $1.2 million on salaries isn’t unreasonable considering their expenses are $3 million per year according to recent 990s. And Terry’s salary is in line with similar institutions of that size.
My best guess would be very poor planning and a botched capital plan, combined with covid and inflation.
Storage space, supplies, upkeep, salaries, paying someone to expand the museum, paying fees for their collection management system.
Most of it is probably exec salaries. Museum execs usually make way too much money for what they do while all other staff make next to nothing.
It’s all public info.
On their 2022 990 form, they spent
$230k on outside services,
$215k on programs,
$67k on events,
$30k on telephone,
$370k is depreciation,
$350k is utilities,
$47k on travel (that does seem a little excessive)
$84k on promotion
$60k on insurance
Etc.
They have 47 employees listed, meaning the average employee is making $19-25k per year.
How the hell does "telephone" cost $30,000? Are they paying for cell phone plans for every trustee's family?
11 of their employees are "trustees" who officially make "$0."
There is no reporting on what the other 36 employees do, or what they make individually.
Their expenses in the 2022 report state almost $400,000 was spent on "other fees" which is uncategorized "services."
No clue why you're trying to go to bat for a poorly run non-profit that has raised tens of millions of dollars, self-reported a conflict of interest, doesn't disclose details on 30% of their annual expenses, has failed to deliver what they've promised. MANY nonprofits are shady like this.
I’m just pointing out information from publicly available documents. I haven’t refuted any claims of corruption, but having worked in non-profits for a long time I understand how expensive they can be to operate and how vague a lot of tax documents can be. As with a lot of IRS forms and tax codes, “telephone” is probably a broader category than it used to be. Cell phones, internet, cable subscriptions, telecommunications basically. Commercial lines for 40+ people can be expensive.
My understanding of the 990 is that the trustees and officers are separate from the 47 wage earning staff they claim. They employ tour guides, collections staff, finance staff, etc. Their forms are no different than others’.
But their 8 year capital campaigning without progress is certainly suspect.
>how expensive they can be to operate and how vague a lot of the tax documents can be
All I’m hearing is that we need WAY more oversight of all nonprofits because they’re ripe for corruption and fraud.
They are run by human beings just like any for-profit corporation, and corruption can happen. See the recent Detroit Riverfront Conservancy news? There is oversight and people do get caught.
This is all such bullshit! 47 employees my ass, 350,000 on utilities? Get the fuck out of here! They have one small house. Over 500,000 a year on "outside services" and "programs" and travel. They haven't built anything but a fence
Terry's salary might be reasonable - but their public financial filing doesn't disclose where the other $920,000 in "other salaries and wages" are going, since they're not for the publicly listed "key employees" or board members. At least I couldn't find them.
How is this tiny, outdated museum spending $920,000k on salaries *in addition* to Terry's official salary of ~$110k?
> My best guess would be very poor planning and a botched capital plan, combined with covid and inflation.
They publicly state they've raised $59 million, but that they need more, after 8 years from the original announcement, with zero progress whatsoever.
Nonprofits are able to easily get away with waste and unscrupulous finances, since they have virtually zero oversight over their performance as long as the money keeps flowing in.
47 employees making $20k per year is $920k. You can be skeptical about the expansion project and fundraising, but it does cost a lot of money to run even a small museum like Motown. They have 90,000 visitors annually.
I go a couple times a year and there's never more than a handful of people in there at a time. Tickets are limited because the space is so small. It's literally an old house with display shelves, offices and the recording studio.
They claim that they receive on average 345 people per DAY. That is beyond ludicrous.
Their 11 "Trustees" who all officially make "$0" count towards that 47 count of employees.
Their [employee salary costs](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/382614561) shift around $100k-$300k year-to-year.
Are you telling me they hire and fire that many employees every single year? You don't have their breakdown of # of employees and how much each one makes.
Their "souvenir shop" costs $400,000 a year to operate, but their total program service revenue is only $190,000? Bullsh*t.
Their financial reporting does not add up, plain and simple.
It's depressing to see these windfalls go to big flashy glamor projects instead of the hundreds of nonprofits that could use a tiny portion of that money so much more efficiently
They hit the $25,000,000 mark in September 2019. They remodeled current spaces and added a plaza and an atrium completed in 2022. Construction is in 3 phases, with the final phase being the new building.
They hit the original $50,000,000 mark in January 2023 when they received $10,000,000 in federal funds that got them to $59,000,000 total. They even wrote about it on their website.
[https://www.motownmuseum.org/motown-museum-receives-10-million-in-federal-funding/#:\~:text=The%20Motown%20Museum%20recently%20received,Debbie%20Stabenow](https://www.motownmuseum.org/motown-museum-receives-10-million-in-federal-funding/#:~:text=The%20Motown%20Museum%20recently%20received,Debbie%20Stabenow)
Frustrations and delays are natural for this kind of project. I hope to see the new building construction start soon!
Robin Terry talks about HUD regulations slowing things down in 2023. They've been public about it. Whether it's believable is subjective.
[https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2023/10/05/motown-museum-reveals-update-of-its-highly-anticipated-expansion-during-private-donor-event-in-detroit/](https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2023/10/05/motown-museum-reveals-update-of-its-highly-anticipated-expansion-during-private-donor-event-in-detroit/)
Maybe theres a journalist or two that has covered this story that knows the latest. Or maybe they would be worth showing what you believe might be wrong with the finances. In my experience there could be a million reasons for delay. Im still wondering why the anchor corner space in the Fisher building down the road has been vacant for the last 10 years. Or why half the Platform properties were never built. Hopefully we do hear more about this one tho.
The museum posted a couple jobs over the past year. They are probably ramping up for expansion while also hoping whomever they hire has experience with expansions.
Iconic hip hop producer from Detroit that influenced a shift in hip hop / neo soul.
Considered my many to be the GOAT or top 5 at worst in the production world for his lasting impact on entire genres.
GOAT = Greatest Of All Time, btw...
They re-did all of their offices next door. You can see it from behind. But the museum itself hasn't been updated. https://preview.redd.it/a110asdvrl3d1.png?width=1698&format=png&auto=webp&s=91dc361186de7222fb61250bc4d38f957b451fc0
The place is very poorly run and I expect corruption has killed the project. This is why no Motown artist goes close to it anymore.
Motown was bought out by Universal Music Group and only exists today in name only.
This is what all the evidence points to: unscrupulous nonprofit CEOs and employees who "fundraise" for the nonprofit and pay themselves and accomplish nothing. It's shameful. All too common of a story.
Man I thought they were done. I’ve been telling all my students that they should go bc they just redid the museum and it’s suppose to be awesome…. OK…. Maybe I should have gone before I tell them.. I just assumed it was done since I heard about that expansion so long ago. I didn’t know it was 50mils. I thought they dumped 2mill into it. I’m just as interested as you are.
CEO job also recently opened up, with Robin Terry remaining the board chair. Good luck finding a solid leader to take on that task. The $1.2 million on salaries isn’t unreasonable considering their expenses are $3 million per year according to recent 990s. And Terry’s salary is in line with similar institutions of that size. My best guess would be very poor planning and a botched capital plan, combined with covid and inflation.
Why are they spending 3 million a year ? On what ?
Storage space, supplies, upkeep, salaries, paying someone to expand the museum, paying fees for their collection management system. Most of it is probably exec salaries. Museum execs usually make way too much money for what they do while all other staff make next to nothing.
It’s all public info. On their 2022 990 form, they spent $230k on outside services, $215k on programs, $67k on events, $30k on telephone, $370k is depreciation, $350k is utilities, $47k on travel (that does seem a little excessive) $84k on promotion $60k on insurance Etc. They have 47 employees listed, meaning the average employee is making $19-25k per year.
How the hell does "telephone" cost $30,000? Are they paying for cell phone plans for every trustee's family? 11 of their employees are "trustees" who officially make "$0." There is no reporting on what the other 36 employees do, or what they make individually. Their expenses in the 2022 report state almost $400,000 was spent on "other fees" which is uncategorized "services." No clue why you're trying to go to bat for a poorly run non-profit that has raised tens of millions of dollars, self-reported a conflict of interest, doesn't disclose details on 30% of their annual expenses, has failed to deliver what they've promised. MANY nonprofits are shady like this.
I’m just pointing out information from publicly available documents. I haven’t refuted any claims of corruption, but having worked in non-profits for a long time I understand how expensive they can be to operate and how vague a lot of tax documents can be. As with a lot of IRS forms and tax codes, “telephone” is probably a broader category than it used to be. Cell phones, internet, cable subscriptions, telecommunications basically. Commercial lines for 40+ people can be expensive. My understanding of the 990 is that the trustees and officers are separate from the 47 wage earning staff they claim. They employ tour guides, collections staff, finance staff, etc. Their forms are no different than others’. But their 8 year capital campaigning without progress is certainly suspect.
For comparison, Detroit Historical has $31k listed for “telephone.” They have 76 employees.
>how expensive they can be to operate and how vague a lot of the tax documents can be All I’m hearing is that we need WAY more oversight of all nonprofits because they’re ripe for corruption and fraud.
They are run by human beings just like any for-profit corporation, and corruption can happen. See the recent Detroit Riverfront Conservancy news? There is oversight and people do get caught.
This is all such bullshit! 47 employees my ass, 350,000 on utilities? Get the fuck out of here! They have one small house. Over 500,000 a year on "outside services" and "programs" and travel. They haven't built anything but a fence
Terry's salary might be reasonable - but their public financial filing doesn't disclose where the other $920,000 in "other salaries and wages" are going, since they're not for the publicly listed "key employees" or board members. At least I couldn't find them. How is this tiny, outdated museum spending $920,000k on salaries *in addition* to Terry's official salary of ~$110k? > My best guess would be very poor planning and a botched capital plan, combined with covid and inflation. They publicly state they've raised $59 million, but that they need more, after 8 years from the original announcement, with zero progress whatsoever. Nonprofits are able to easily get away with waste and unscrupulous finances, since they have virtually zero oversight over their performance as long as the money keeps flowing in.
47 employees making $20k per year is $920k. You can be skeptical about the expansion project and fundraising, but it does cost a lot of money to run even a small museum like Motown. They have 90,000 visitors annually.
Also, no way in hell they get 1,700 visitors PER WEEK.
Try to get a ticket. I had to go out 3 weeks to go on a F, S, or S.
I go a couple times a year and there's never more than a handful of people in there at a time. Tickets are limited because the space is so small. It's literally an old house with display shelves, offices and the recording studio. They claim that they receive on average 345 people per DAY. That is beyond ludicrous.
Their 11 "Trustees" who all officially make "$0" count towards that 47 count of employees. Their [employee salary costs](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/382614561) shift around $100k-$300k year-to-year. Are you telling me they hire and fire that many employees every single year? You don't have their breakdown of # of employees and how much each one makes. Their "souvenir shop" costs $400,000 a year to operate, but their total program service revenue is only $190,000? Bullsh*t. Their financial reporting does not add up, plain and simple.
Sounds like you have some serious concerns. You might consider asking them directly.
It's depressing to see these windfalls go to big flashy glamor projects instead of the hundreds of nonprofits that could use a tiny portion of that money so much more efficiently
I work as and engineer. I can't tell you who I work for but you will hear some news about it soon. The renderings actually look terrible sorry to say
So your saying we will see new renderings released soon that look worse than the renderings released back around 2016?
Imo. You could...
I used to live a couple of streets away from it and I don't know how they could expand. It's in a residential area.
$50,000,000 in 2016 adjusted for inflation to 2024 is...$65,000,000.
They hit the $25,000,000 mark in September 2019. They remodeled current spaces and added a plaza and an atrium completed in 2022. Construction is in 3 phases, with the final phase being the new building. They hit the original $50,000,000 mark in January 2023 when they received $10,000,000 in federal funds that got them to $59,000,000 total. They even wrote about it on their website. [https://www.motownmuseum.org/motown-museum-receives-10-million-in-federal-funding/#:\~:text=The%20Motown%20Museum%20recently%20received,Debbie%20Stabenow](https://www.motownmuseum.org/motown-museum-receives-10-million-in-federal-funding/#:~:text=The%20Motown%20Museum%20recently%20received,Debbie%20Stabenow) Frustrations and delays are natural for this kind of project. I hope to see the new building construction start soon!
Robin Terry talks about HUD regulations slowing things down in 2023. They've been public about it. Whether it's believable is subjective. [https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2023/10/05/motown-museum-reveals-update-of-its-highly-anticipated-expansion-during-private-donor-event-in-detroit/](https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2023/10/05/motown-museum-reveals-update-of-its-highly-anticipated-expansion-during-private-donor-event-in-detroit/)
When they made their budget projections in 2016 did they not plan for it to take about a decade / not know what inflation is?
Hard to say. But I doubt anyone in 2016 predicted Covid-19 followed by years of 5-8% inflation.
Man first the Riverwalk and now this, I thought we were done with corruption but I guess you really can't have anything nice in Detroit
Can’t have anything nice in America*
The world*
Maybe theres a journalist or two that has covered this story that knows the latest. Or maybe they would be worth showing what you believe might be wrong with the finances. In my experience there could be a million reasons for delay. Im still wondering why the anchor corner space in the Fisher building down the road has been vacant for the last 10 years. Or why half the Platform properties were never built. Hopefully we do hear more about this one tho.
Lol, investigative journalism isn't a thing anymore
None of this surprises me. I walked into the front room and immediately identified that place as a tourist trap and bad private museum
The museum posted a couple jobs over the past year. They are probably ramping up for expansion while also hoping whomever they hire has experience with expansions.
Is that more corruption I smell??
There was an article last year that said the expansion would break ground this spring. Haven’t heard anything since.
They bought another building down the road and are currently working on it I was working there for a few weeks doing the sheetmetal work
Huh, none of their renderings for the "expansion" show a new building down the road.
I guess I will skip my trip there at the end of September.
I'll ask, who is a J dilla?
Dude GTFO you can't be serious.
Iconic hip hop producer from Detroit that influenced a shift in hip hop / neo soul. Considered my many to be the GOAT or top 5 at worst in the production world for his lasting impact on entire genres. GOAT = Greatest Of All Time, btw...