Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) was founded in 1860. Its mission is to reach the widest and most diverse public possible, providing them with full access to the world’s artistic heritage. MMFA hosts art exhibitions and collections, as well as education and art therapy programs. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is not a government-run museum and must generate a large portion of its own operating budget. MMFA reports that this amount has jumped from 24% to nearly 55% in a few years. In addition, MMFA reports that in Quebec, culture accounts for 1% of total government budgets. According to the 2018 annual report,the MMFA acquired over 900 works in F2018, worth a total of $13.7 million, of which $12.2 million is attributable to donations.

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts welcomed 1,323,837 visitors in F2018, making it the largest art museum in Canada. With the help of community organizations and key stakeholders, over 25,000 people have accessed the Museum’s programs for free in F2018. In F2018, MMFA hosted an exhibit named La Balade Pour La Paix which was an outdoor museum along 1km of Sherbrooke Street. This exhibit alone was visited by 229,300 people, and hosted 42 artists, 30 sculptures, and 42 sets of photographs.

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts provides education programs in the form of school outings and EducArt. In F2018, MMFA had over 450,000 participants in its educational and cultural activities during the year. In addition, 62,054 people participated in the museum’s school programs in F2018. EducArt is an online resource outlining information on the museum’s collection, used by high school teachers. The goal is to involve students with the art and history shown in the museum. Thus far, the EducArt program has reached over 600 students in the province’s seventeen regions.

MMFA highlights that in 2016 the Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy was founded to improve its education and art therapy programs. MMFA reports that the Michel de la Chenelière welcomes 300,000 participants per year, which is an attendance record among Canadian museums and a 207% increase in three years at MMFA.

In F2015, the MMFA conducted an analysis in conjunction with McKinsey & Company on the museum’s ongoing performance and its impact on the economy and tourism. The study found that the museum influences more than 100,000 tourists in choosing their destinations. A third of the MMFA’s visitors are tourists spending at least one night in Montreal. The report also showed that the MMFA generates $100m in annual benefits for Québec.

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and MMFA Foundation’s financial statements were consolidated for the purposes of this analysis.  

MMFA is a large-sized charity, with $12.4m in donations in F2018. Ci did not report amortization of deferred capital contributions or deferred contributions related to acquisition of works of art, and instead reported amounts received during the year. This affected donations by ($4.2m) in F2018, $19.4m in F2017, and $4.3m in F2016. The MMFA also receives $16.3m (27% of its total revenues) from government funding.

Its administrative costs are 7% of revenues (excluding investment income). The MMFA did not report its fundraising costs in its audited financial statements. Using reported CRA data, the MMFA’s fundraising costs were 26% of donations in F2018. For every dollar donated, 67 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

The consolidated charity has funding reserves of $33.9m, of which $2m of the MMFA Foundation’s reserves are donor-endowed. No breakdown is provided for the MMFA’s donor-endowed funds. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity’s reserves can cover annual program costs for 11 months.  

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on July 29, 2019 by Parker Thomlinson.