Museum funding

The founding of independent Slovenia in 1991 did not bring about any considerable organisational or financial changes in museums. In addition to national institutions, the state took under its financial wing more than 30 regional and municipal museums. The 1990s were nevertheless a period of dynamism, re-organisation and success for museums in Slovenia.

State funding

Every year the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport issues a public invitation for all cultural institutions to present their programme for the following year(s), including salaries, operating costs, projects and investments. The invitation usually specifies the priorities for the period and requests applicants to list projects according to particular categories (exhibitions, international exchange, education, information management, accessibility, investments and so on). In future the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport will continue to provide the financial resources for Slovenia’s national museums, but the financial burden of maintaining other museums is to be divided between the state and local government. Funding provided for administration and programming by the state is supposed to guarantee a minimum level of regular museum activity, however it is quite limited. Figures are transparent and available at the Ministry website.

Earned income

It is to be noted that additional funds generated by entry fees, rent, museum shops and sponsorships rarely exceed 10 per cent of the museum's overall needs. Attracting new sources of funding is a skill that is to be developed as even small financial investments are likely to bring noteworthy results.

Entry fees

The first museum to abolish entry charges was the City Museum of Ljubljana when it reopened with a renovated building and permanent collection in 2004.

Sponsorships

To date the Slovene museums sector has attracted only a few corporate sponsors and most sponsorships have been relatively small contributions given at different exhibitions and events. The most substantial sponsorship sum to date has been from the Post Office of Slovenia and the national telecommunications company Telekom Slovenije, which since 1987 have sustained the activities of a branch of the Technical Museum of Slovenia.

Marketing the venues

Some funds are raised through marketing museum spaces. At present the most frequent requests are made for hiring the Atrium at the National Museum of Slovenia, the Glass Hall at the National Gallery of Slovenia, the Knights Hall at the National Museum of Contemporary History in Ljubljana, the park and several halls at the Technical Museum of Slovenia and the Ceremonial Hall at Ptuj Castle.

EU funding

Some Slovene institutions have been co-organisers or partners in co-operative projects supported by the EU Culture Programme (former Culture 2000 Programme): in 2002 the Upper Sava Valley Museum, Jesenice co-operated with Austrian and Italian partners in the project Schoene Oede, lepa pušča, Bella Brulla, while the Celje Regional Museum presented a Roman sculpture site in the framework of a project initiated by Vienna Institute of Archaeology, and in collaboration with Spain, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy and Greece. Funds raised from European support programmes and various foundations around the world should certainly increase in the near future, along with matching funds through international exchange and touring exhibition projects.