Membership Letter, circa 1990s

The first five series to this record group pertain to some of the department's ongoing programs. Each focuses on a specific donor group; namely corporate partners, Associate museum members, annual contributors, "Friends" and "Young Friends," and planned (estate) giving. Most of the records in each series document special events and activities conducted by the department, such as private tours to special exhibitions, lectures, receptions and galas. The "Associates" series, which is the largest, also includes documentation of committee and annual meetings and member lists. The "Planned giving" series, which like the "Corporate partners" and "Annual contributors" series has limited documentation, consists primarily of published material, such as "Estate Planning Quarterly."

Files compiled by Johanna Hynes make up most of the "Miscellany" series, and include staff and donor photos, ephemera, press releases and other material. The series also includes a small am ount of documentation of special projects, such as holiday mailings and the Matching Gifts program. The department's publication "Developments" is the subject of Series 7. Produced seasonally, "Developments" highlights current and upcoming exhibitions, programs and major projects, and spotlights certain special supporters and donors of the Museum. The publication is mailed to all annual and other significant donors, which currently amounts to 15,000 recipients. The series consists of nearly 15-years of publishing documentation.

Another extensive series is "General department records," which covers a number of subjects, such as special exhibitions, special events policy, external affairs, gifts, collections at other institutions, interdepartmental activities, such as retreats, city reports, and outside publications. Correspondence and invoice transmittals comprise a substantial amount of documentation. There is also research material, 1990-1999, regarding prospective donors. Series 9 consists of the records generated by Alexandra Q. Aldridge, who served as Vice President of Development, when the office was under the aegis of Administration and as Director, when the office began operating as a separate department. Most of the material is Aldridge's correspondence with donors and with Museum staff. The last series consist of donor files, arranged alphabetically.