One of the major activities of the City Art Museum (CAM) is a Neighborhood Outreach Program, which was developed both as a public service and to market the museum and its other programs. One of the Outreach offerings, which is popular with both city and suburban residents, is the weekly Evening Lecture Series. The Series provides lectures on local art and history in various locations throughout the greater metropolitan area. A new museum director has been hired with the goal to make the museum more self-sustaining and less reliant on donations and government grants. One of the director's first actions was to ask the museum staff to put together detailed financial information on the individual activities. The result, shown in the accompanying table, indicates that the series operates at a loss. CITY ART MUSEUM Neighborhood Outreach: Evening Lecture Series Sales revenue Costs Advertising For the Year Ending June 30 Lecturer fees and expenses Operating costs (staff) Space rental Food and bevarage expenses Allocated museum overhead Total costs Net loss $ 386,400 $ 15,200 197,000 26,400 12,200 25,200 145,000 $421,000 $ (34,600) The museum director is considering a proposal by the head of the Neighborhood Outreach Program to keep the Evening Lecture Series but expand it by offering a Weekend Lecture Series as well. The Weekend Series would be offered in a single location downtown near the museum itself. The program head estimates that the attendance of the combined Series (Evening and Weekend) would be double that of the current Evening Series. The revenue of the combined Series would be 90 percent higher because of some price discounts that would be offered. Because the Weekend Series would be new, a more intensive advertising campaign would be required. The director estimates that advertising costs for the combined Series would be 150 percent higher than their current level. Lecturer fees and expenses will increase by only 75 percent, because of the larger rooms used on the weekend. Staff operating costs will increase by 25 percent. Rental costs for the Weekend Series will be $12,200 annually. Total food and beverage costs will increase by 60 percent with the new Series. The larger program will require an increase in Museum overhead of $8,200. Allocated museum overhead for the combined Series will be $35,200 annually.