Telfair Museums

What Telfair Museums does

Telfair Museums is a private nonprofit art and history museum complex operating three distinct sites within Savannah, Georgia's Historic District: the Telfair Academy (the oldest art museum in the South, opened 1886 via Mary Telfair's bequest), the Jepson Center for contemporary art (opened 2006), and the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters (a National Historic Landmark). The combined collection exceeds 7,000 works of fine and decorative art spanning American Impressionism, the Ashcan School, African American art through the Walter and Linda Evans Collection, and the largest public collection of Kahlil Gibran visual art in the United States. A unified ticketing system provides unlimited admission across all three sites for seven days, priced from $10 (child) to $30 (adult), with discounted access through SNAP EBT ($3 adult via Museums for All) and free admission for fourth-grade students through Savannah-Chatham County Public School System partnerships.

The museum operates a diversified revenue model spanning admissions, tiered annual memberships ($25 Student to $25,000+ Chairman's Council), corporate sponsorships (over 25 named partners), donations, museum retail, facility rentals, summer camps and art classes, and reciprocal membership commissions through NARM, SERM, and ROAM networks serving 1,500+ museums. Education and community engagement are central to operations, with programs reaching more than 30,000 children annually and 8,000+ PreK-12 students in 2025, supported by initiatives such as the Telfair Children's Art Museum (CAM, opened July 2023), Free Family Days across seven regional counties, Veterans Open Studio, and Teen Arts Council. The 46th Annual Telfair Ball serves as the flagship fundraiser, anchored by Diamond sponsors including Gulfstream, Georgia Power, Critz Auto Group, and Evans General Contractors. The museum is governed by a Board of Trustees, has no parent company, and sustains operations through a hybrid earned-contributed revenue model typical of mid-size American cultural institutions.

Name

Telfair Museums

Legal name

Telfair Museums

Website

https://telfair.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1886

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Telfair Museums is a private nonprofit operating three heritage art and history sites in Savannah, Georgia — Telfair Academy, Jepson Center, and Owens-Thomas House — serving tourists, K-12 schools, families, and corporate donors through admissions, memberships, education programs, and fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Museums

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Historic Sites, Heritage Landmarks & Archaeological Sites (THAJACAC), Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH), Children’s Museums (THAJADAE)

Keywords

• Art museum operations
• Cultural heritage institutions
• Museum exhibitions
• Art education programs
• Historic house museums

Headquarters

HQ city

Savannah

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees: Revenue from ticket sales to all three museum sites. Tickets include unlimited admission to all sites for one week. Pricing varies by visitor category (adult, senior, military, student, child).
2. Memberships: Annual membership programs with tiered pricing from Student ($25) to Patron ($1,000), offering free admission, guest passes, discounts, and reciprocal museum access at higher levels.
3. Donations & Sponsorships: Individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and endowment gifts. The Telfair Ball serves as the museum's most significant annual fundraiser.
4. Museum Store: Gift shop sales at all three sites plus online store offering local art, exhibition-related items, and souvenirs.
5. Education Programs: Revenue from summer camps, art classes, workshops, and teen arts council programs for youth and adults.
6. Event Rentals & Facility Use: Private event rentals at museum venues and the Telfair Ball ticketed special events.
7. Museum Travel Alliance: Travel program partnerships offering curated international and domestic travel experiences for members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Telfair Museums operates a three-site art and history museum complex in Savannah, Georgia, comprising the Jepson Center (contemporary art), Telfair Academy (the oldest art museum in the South, founded 1886), and the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters (National Historic Landmark). The museum sells admission tickets valid for unlimited access to all three sites for seven days, plus memberships, art classes, summer camps, group/school tours, museum shop merchandise, event rentals, and corporate partnership packages. It also operates the Telfair Children's Art Museum (CAM), a hands-on children's art space within the Jepson Center.

Product overview

Telfair Museums is a three-site art and history museum complex in Savannah, Georgia, comprising three distinct venues: the Jepson Center (contemporary art), Telfair Academy (the oldest art museum in the South), and Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters (historic house). The museum offers a unified product portfolio including permanent galleries, rotating exhibitions, and the dedicated Children's Art Museum (CAM). Supplementary offerings include art classes and workshops for youth and adults, summer camps, art clubs, family programs, school tours, group tours, a membership program with multiple tiers, corporate partnerships, volunteer docent program, and Director's Circle donor recognition. The museum also provides digital engagement through the Bloomberg Connects app and maintains a museum shop. All three sites share a unified ticketing system with unlimited admission valid for seven days.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAM (Telfair Children's Art Museum): Hands-on children's art museum located within the Jepson Center, opened July 2023
• Jepson Center
• Telfair Academy
• Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters

Products and services

• Jepson Center Contemporary art museum at 207 W. York St., Savannah, featuring rotating exhibitions of contemporary artists from around the world. Houses the Telfair Children's Art Museum (CAM) and serves as the museum's primary contemporary exhibition venue. Open to the public with admission tickets or membership.
• Telfair Academy Historic mansion museum at 121 Barnard St., Savannah, housing American and European art from the 19th century to the present, including fine arts, decorative arts, and the Walter and Linda Evans Gallery of African American Art. Open to the public with admission tickets or membership.
• Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters National Historic Landmark at 124 Abercorn St., Savannah, featuring Regency architecture by William Jay (1816-1819), urban slave quarters, carriage house, and parterre garden. Tours offered at fifteen-minute intervals daily, focusing on layered histories and slavery in Savannah. Open to the public with admission tickets or membership.
• Telfair Children's Art Museum (CAM) Hands-on, immersive children's art museum located within the Jepson Center, featuring interactive exhibits, the mascot Cammy the chameleon, and programs including Artful Tales Storytime and CAM Art à la Carte. Designed for children of all ages.
• Membership Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Served over 8,000 PreK-12th grade students in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Museums for AllcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTelfair Museums partners with Museums for All, a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Association of Children's Museums. Through this program, SNAP EBT cardholders from any state can purchase reduced-rate admission at $3 per adult with children 17 and under free.
• Bloomberg ConnectscoreTechnology or IntegrationTelfair Museums offers the Bloomberg Connects app as a free digital guide, allowing visitors to learn about sites, exhibitions, and works on view while exploring other cultural institutions worldwide.
• FREN Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSavannah design firm that partnered with Telfair Museums to create the transformative Telfair Children's Art Museum (CAM) space.
• NARM AssociationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorth American Reciprocal Museum Association - provides Telfair members at Adventurer level ($175) and above access to over 1,500 museums nationwide.
• SERMcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSoutheastern Reciprocal Membership - provides Telfair members reciprocal benefits at regional museums.
• ROAMsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReciprocal Organization of Associated Museums - provides additional reciprocal benefits for Donor level members and above.
• Museum Travel AlliancesupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConsortium of cultural institutions offering curated luxury travel experiences led by scholars and curators, providing Telfair members exclusive travel opportunities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Gibbes Museum of Art: Historic art museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Closely comparable to Telfair as a Southern, regionally-anchored art museum housed in a historic building, serving both tourists and local residents through exhibitions, education, and membership programs.
• Morris Museum of Art: Regional art museum in Augusta, Georgia. Comparable to Telfair as a Southern regional art museum of similar scale with a focus on American art, rotating exhibitions, education programs, and membership-driven revenue.
• Hunter Museum of American Art: Regional American art museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Comparable multi-site art museum combining a historic mansion with a contemporary wing, similar in operating model and scale to Telfair's three-site configuration.
• Columbia Museum of Art: Regional art museum in Columbia, South Carolina. Comparable to Telfair in scale, audience mix (tourists + locals), and revenue diversification through exhibitions, education, memberships, and event rentals.
• Lauren Rogers Museum of Art: Mid-sized regional art museum in Meridian, Mississippi. Comparable to Telfair as a Southern, community-anchored art museum offering permanent collections, education programs, and membership-driven earned revenue.
• Speed Art Museum: Regional art museum in Louisville, Kentucky. Comparable to Telfair as a long-established mid-sized American art museum combining historic and contemporary exhibition spaces with education, memberships, and event rental revenue.

Broad incumbents

• High Museum of Art: Major art museum in Atlanta, Georgia. Larger regional incumbent serving the same Georgia/Southern audience as Telfair with broader programming and a deeper endowment, but operating at materially greater scale than Telfair.
• Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art: Major American art museum in Bentonville, Arkansas. Larger regional incumbent operating free general admission with extensive education programming; relevant scale benchmark for Telfair's aspirations in regional art museum positioning.
• Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: Major art museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Larger regional incumbent with comparable free/low-cost admission model, comprehensive American and European collection, and significant education programming analogous to Telfair's mission.

Regional players

• SCAD Museum of Art: Contemporary art museum operated by Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. Local regional player competing for tourist attention and corporate sponsorship within Telfair's home market, with a contemporary focus overlapping Jepson Center's programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TelfairMuseums
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TelfairMuseumsTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/TelfairMuseums
• Instagraminstagram.com/TelfairMuseums
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/telfairmuseums

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Telfair Museums