As you may have heard, the IMA has decided to make several changes to our membership program beginning September 1.  These changes were first announced to our IMA members via email last week. Since then, we have received several good questions about the changes that we thought we should share with our blogging community.

Why did the Museum change the membership structure?

After five years of the same basic membership structure, the Museum was past due for an update. Therefore, after months of research and benchmarking, the Museum’s development department decided to make necessary adjustments to our program in order to keep it current.

I hear the IMA is instituting paid parking in September. Do members park for free?

Yes, all IMA members will receive free parking as a benefit of membership. Simply bring your membership card with you each time you visit the Museum for entry.

 I just purchased my membership in June. Will my benefits change September 1, 2011?

No. Current members who have an expiration date before September 1, 2012 will not experience any changes until their current membership expires.

 Why did you take away the guest from the Individual and Student membership levels?

We want our members to know that the majority of their contribution is going to support the IMA’s efforts to offer free school tours and educational opportunities to the community, and unfortunately the previous structure could not guarantee this.

 Why did you increase the price of the Student and Individual levels?

A slight increase to these levels was necessary in order to stay current, and is in line with our peer institutions.

 Why did you change the name of the Family membership level to Dual/Family?

We changed the name in recognition of the fact that modern families are defined in many ways. We want our members to be able to share the museum with members of their family, whether that be a spouse, life partner, children, grandchildren, or their closest friends.

 Why did you take away the Sustaining level membership?

With our new structure, we have worked to establish benefits at each level that are distinctive and match the various personalities of our visitors. We did not feel that the Sustaining level offered enough benefits to continue offering it as a distinct level. Therefore, the IMA decided to consolidate two of the upper-level member groups, Sustaining and Associate, by phasing out the Sustaining level and reducing the cost of the Associate to $125.

 Why does the Associate level no longer offer reciprocal benefits?

The IMA has continued to grow its reciprocal program over the years. Today, we have one of the most extensive reciprocal membership programs in the country, offering benefits at more than 500 institutions. Therefore, we decided to start the reciprocal benefit at a higher giving level.

 Will docents still continue to receive reciprocal benefits?

Yes. Our docents, who do so much to support the IMA’s audience engagement efforts, will continue to receive reciprocal benefits with the purchase of an Individual or Dual/Family membership.

We thank you for all of your thoughtful questions and your understanding of the changes. The Museum looks forward to offering more family programs, better communications and additional special promotions in the coming year in thanks for the support of its members.

Filed under: Local

We all have them: people on our Christmas lists who are impossible to shop for every year. Maybe they simply buy the things they want on their own. Maybe they ask you for world peace (like my father). You look through catalogs and in stores, but nothing you can find seems unique enough for them. Let me let you in on a little secret – if you are looking for that perfect gift, look no further. The IMA is prepared to help you with all of your holiday shopping needs.

The Art Lover – Are you shopping for someone who briefly majored in photography or loves fashion or is always looking for new things to do on the weekends? An IMA gift membership is all of this, plus more, rolled into one package deal! Plus, it is literally the gift that keeps giving all year long. Simply send in this form by December 14 to make sure that your gift arrives before the holidays.

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Filed under: Current Events, Musings

Check out our latest Flickr set from this year’s Perennial Premiere:

Filed under: Horticulture, Local

Calling all IMA Members – this blog is for you! As an IMA member, you support everything the museum offers the Indianapolis community – an encyclopedic collection of more than 54,000 objects, vibrant programs and events, free general admission and more.

Your continued financial support and philanthropy is important to the community and the IMA, and we want you to know that we appreciate you.

As a thank you, we have some fantastic opportunities for you to take advantage of, May 10-16, during our first ever IMA Member Appreciation Week. Member week is your ticket to access special tours, talks and discounts all week long. I’ll tell you about a few highlights – but take a look at our full schedule of events (RSVP to reserve your spot.)

Kick-start Member Appreciation Week on Tuesday with an introduction to the IMA’s World War II-era Provenance Research Project. Annette Schlagenhauff, Associate Curator for Research, discusses the IMA’s continued efforts to research current and proposed works in our collection and publish the findings. You may recognize Annette from her articles in the IMA Magazine.

Thursday, May 13 is Member Night. Happy Hour starts at 5:30 pm, with double discounts at Nourish Café on food and beverages, including a “Member’s Special” drink. Thursday through Sunday, the Museum Store is offering an extra 20% off merchandise related to art featured in the museum’s special exhibitions and permanent collections. After happy hour, join Chelsey Fleming, co-curator of the newly-opened Ancient Art of the Mediterranean gallery for a personal tour.

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Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Current Events, Horticulture, Marketing, Public Programs

Back in February we launched a new version of the IMA website.  But by now, I’m sure you are already aware of this.  And because a programmer’s work is never done, after the launch it was on to phase 2. That included improving our online store and integrate it into the rest of the site.

With that, we are pleased to announce the new and improved online Shop Section:

With the launch of the online shop, users (that’s you) will now be able to purchase tickets and memberships right along side any books, cards, or jewelry you may decide to buy.  Whether you’re shopping the IMA Store, the Design Center, or the Greenhouse Shop, you’ll immediately receive a 10% membership discount on items when you are purchasing a membership.  If you already have a membership, you will just need to login to take advantage of the discount.

The shop also received a dramatic visual overhaul, bringing featured products and categories to the front.  And all based on the 960 grid system as previously discussed by Matt. Happy shopping!

Filed under: Technology