Editor
jevans@pickenssentinel.com
PICKENS COUNTY - The small plastic box near the door of the Pickens County museum is more than just a donation box to Executive Director Allen Coleman.
To Coleman, the box is a vital asset in providing quality programming at both the museum and the Hagood Mill - at no charge to its visitors.
A recent letter to The Pickens Sentinel questioned the need for such a donation box and asked where exactly that money goes.
"We have absolutely nothing to hide," Coleman said, explaining that the money allows the museum to put on the festivals, concerts, classes and other events it has become known for. "We're a public agency. Our records are public."
Money received from donations goes to a restricted funds account, Coleman said.
"This is where all the money goes, the money we get from selling grits out at the mill, the money we get when a sponsor writes a check to sponsor an exhibit, our membership dues, the donation box" Coleman said. "Any kind of charitable giving goes into that fund."
Coleman empties the box every week.
"Part of that money goes into a petty cash box for small expenditures," he said. "
The majority of the money, less petty cash, is deposited into the restricted funds account at the county treasurer's office.
"The treasurer's office monitors the deposits and we're a part of the county audit," Coleman said. "There's no room for math error or misappropriation. It's closely watched."
The money that goes into the donation box "basically goes to our programming," Coleman said.
"We're extremely fortunate that the county is supportive of us," Coleman said. "Our (county) appropriations are generous and they help us to operate. They pay our electric bills, our salaries, they pay for a lot of things in the cost of operating this facility."
The majority of the museums programming is free, Coleman said.
"The money for programming comes from donations," he said. "That's from membership dues, soliciting sponsorships, people who make outright donations and the people who volunteer to drop money in that box.
"It's 100 percent voluntary," Coleman said. "Whether you drop something in that box or not, we want to you to come. We like heads crossing through our doors to see that we have to offer."
Coleman is proud of the museum and believes those who place money in the box are proud of it too.
"It's pride that actually steams the charitable giving that the museum receives," he said.
"The majority of people who put money in that box, they don't put it as they come in. It's when they're leaving, when they've been impressed, that they might drop a dollar in.
"If we did not receive donations, the programming we offer could not exist," Coleman said.
Donations pay for programming including first and third Saturday events at the Hagood Mill, the annual storytelling festival and the Selugadu Native American festival
Donations allow free admission at the museum to continue, Coleman said.
"The whole time I've been here and as far in the future as I can see, I would like this to be a free facility for our community," he said. "I think that's very important."
For more information on the museum, call 868-5968.
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