news-record.com

GREENSBORO - Dealing with annual operating deficits in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and finding fund-raising difficult, the Greensboro Children's Museum is looking for money from the city.

The decade-old downtown museum, which recently announced plans for an expansion, is asking for $500,000 annually.

Help is needed for the museum "to remain a viable institution," John Cross, the museum board chairman, told the City Council on Tuesday.

"I realize that's a big number," Cross said.

The museum, a private nonprofit, depends heavily on private contributions.

They make up about 40 percent of its revenue, according to its Web site.

But finding enough money to meet ongoing expenses has been a struggle.

In the fiscal year ending in summer 2007, the museum reported a $334,000 deficit, according to federal tax information.

The museum started its existence with a cash surplus and received a large contribution some years ago, but is now in need of a new infusion of funds, Cross said.

Receiving money from the city would do more than shore up the museum's finances, he said.

"We think we have the potential to serve a larger role in this city," Cross said.

City Council members didn't offer any commitments, but generally sounded positive notes about the museum.

"We all know what a great asset the museum is for Greensboro," Mayor Yvonne Johnson said.

"I think we're very willing to begin to look."

Councilman Robbie Perkins said that the museum might need to come under city ownership and make other fundamental changes.

Cross noted that other area institutions such as the Natural Science Center, also a private nonprofit, and the Greensboro Historical Museum, which is almost entirely funded by the city, have received significant amounts of city money over the years.

He said the museum has already scaled back in response to its financial situation, but that many of its expenses, such as utility and insurance bills, are fixed amounts.

"We try to do as much as we can and we stretch the dollar as thin as we can to do it," he said.

If the city ultimately chooses not to chip in, it's not clear what the museum would do.

"We don't know yet," Cross said.

The museum, which sits on Church Street across from the main city library, offers hands-on exhibits and play spaces for children.

It has been planning an expansion, including an "Edible Schoolyard," aimed at teaching children about food and healthful eating by letting them work in a half-acre garden.

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or at jason.hardin@news-record.com