Comparing CAM and Cape Fear Museum

The Cameron Art Museum has been in the spotlight lately for asking the City of Wilmington for $100,000 at a time when the city is facing a $7 million shortfall. We wanted to know how the Cameron Art Museum’s budget compares to other museums in the area. So we compared it to the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science.

Cameron has an overall operating budget of more than $1.5 million. Cape Fear’s is $1.8 million, most of which comes from county tax dollars. Payroll at Cameron is $770,000. Cape Fear has an $850,000 payroll.

The big differences are what their leaders make and how much they pay for utilities. The Cameron director makes $120,000 a year plus benefits. Cape Fear’s director makes around $85,000. Cameron spends $350,000 on utilities. Cape Fear spends just more than $100,000.