The Funk Music Hall Of Fame & Exhibition Center

What The Funk Music Hall Of Fame & Exhibition Center does

The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2014 and headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, with a planned future facility at the Sears Building in Salem Mall, Trotwood, Ohio, as part of the city's redevelopment strategy. The organization's mission is to preserve and promote the legacy of Funk Music through a permanent Hall of Fame, memorabilia and oral history collections, and STEAM-based educational programming, serving funk music enthusiasts, youth and students, and the Dayton/Trotwood community.

The organization's product surface spans physical and digital channels. Core offerings include The Funk Box — a traveling, interactive song creator exhibit available for reservations — and the Funk Music Interactive Visualizer, developed by Ohio State University graduate students. Media properties include The Funk Chronicles, a YouTube interview series produced with DATV (Dayton Access Television), and The Dayton Scene Radio Show, a nationally syndicated program distributed via iHeart, Podomatic, and SoundCloud. Hall of Fame inductees include George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, the Ohio Players, and James Brown.

The business model is donation- and sponsorship-driven. Revenue streams consist of individual donations (accepted via PayPal or mail), a multi-year Capital Campaign for museum construction, and corporate and individual sponsorships. Ticket-based revenue is minimal, limited to $10 admissions for occasional costume party events, with full museum admission pricing yet to be established. Operations are lean, with 8 paid staff supplemented by an extensive volunteer network of Funk Ambassadors domestically and internationally (Scotland, Las Vegas) and an advisory board featuring notable funk artists.

Name

The Funk Music Hall Of Fame & Exhibition Center

Legal name

The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center Inc

Website

https://thefunkcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center is a 501c3 non-profit in Dayton, Ohio that preserves funk music legacy through a planned museum, traveling exhibits, media properties, and STEAM education programs, funded by donations and a capital campaign.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museum & Cultural Heritage (Music Hall of Fame)

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (71211)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Beauty, Fashion & Pop-Culture Conventions (MPAGAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA)

Keywords

• Funk music museum
• Music hall of fame
• Cultural heritage preservation
• Music education programs
• Community arts nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Dayton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Non-profit organization accepting donations to build The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center. Donations can be made via PayPal or mail.
2. Capital Campaign Fundraising: Extensive fundraising campaign to raise money for the specific project of building the museum and exhibition center
3. Sponsorships: Corporate and individual sponsors supporting the organization

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center is a 501c3 non-profit organization that preserves and promotes the legacy of funk music through a planned museum and exhibition center in Trotwood, Ohio, a Hall of Fame inductee program, traveling interactive exhibits (The Funk Box), a Funk Music Interactive Visualizer, a YouTube interview series (The Funk Chronicles), and a nationally syndicated radio show (The Dayton Scene Radio Show). It also delivers STEAM-based arts education and community outreach programs. Revenue is generated through donations, a capital campaign, and corporate/individual sponsorships.

Product overview

The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center is a 501c3 non-profit organization that serves as both a museum and exhibition center dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Funk Music from Dayton, Ohio. The organization operates as a unified offering combining physical museum experiences with media properties. Key products include: The Funk Center museum itself (the core offering featuring exhibitions and Hall of Fame inductions); The Funk Box (a traveling interactive song creator exhibit); the Funk Music Interactive Visualizer (created by Ohio State University graduate students); The Funk Chronicles (a YouTube Television Series with artist interviews); and The Dayton Scene Radio Show (a nationally syndicated radio program). The organization focuses on community engagement, arts education through STEAM-based educational experiences, and celebrating the cultural impact of Funk Music.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Funk Box: A traveling, interactive, song creator exhibit
• The Funk Chronicles
• The Dayton Scene Radio Show
• Funk Music Interactive Visualizer

Products and services

• The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center A 501c3 non-profit museum dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Funk Music, featuring planned exhibitions, Hall of Fame inductions of funk artists, and community engagement through arts education.
• The Funk Box A traveling, interactive song-creator exhibit that allows visitors to create and experience funk music hands-on; available for reservation.
• Funk Music Interactive Visualizer An interactive visual experience created by Ohio State University graduate students that allows users to explore and visualize funk music.
• The Funk Chronicles A YouTube Television Series featuring interviews with artists, producers, and other Funk Storytellers.
• The Dayton Scene Radio Show A nationally syndicated radio show from Dayton featuring funk music and funk-related content; distributed via iHeart Radio, Podomatic, and SoundCloud.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• University of DaytoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2020Collaboration with University of Dayton Graul Chair in Arts and Languages for 2nd Dayton Funk Symposium held September 24-26, 2020. Academic partnership for funk music scholarship.
• Dayton FoundationmajorOthersLetter of support from Dayton Foundation displayed on website indicating endorsement of organization's mission and capital campaign efforts to build the Funk Music Hall of Fame.
• Moody-NolancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNationally recognized architecture firm headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and the largest African-American-owned architecture firm in the United States. Listed as Advisory Board member providing architectural expertise for museum design.
• Tessellate StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoseph Karadin is Founder/Executive Creative Director. Responsible for museum and exhibit design for The Funk Center. Created the visual identity and exhibition design.
• Dayton Philharmonic OrchestramajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for Rockin' Orchestra Series concert featuring Funk Music and the Dayton Funk All-Stars Band as part of the 2nd Dayton Funk Symposium.
• The Dayton Scene Radio ShowcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNationally syndicated radio show from Dayton that promotes funk music. Executive Producer David R. Webb. Distributed via iHeart, Podomatic, and SoundCloud.
• Ohio State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGraduate students created the Funk Music Interactive Visualizer for the organization.
• DATV (Dayton Access Television)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDayton Access Television produces The Funk Chronicles series and provides studio facilities for interviews with funk artists.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stax Museum of American Soul Music: Memphis-based museum dedicated to soul/R&B heritage. Comparable as a genre-specific music heritage museum with similar revenue model (donations, admissions, retail) and STEAM-adjacent educational programming.
• Grammy Museum: Music heritage museum operated by the Recording Academy in Los Angeles. Comparable as a music-focused museum with rotating exhibits, educational programming, and donor/sponsor-driven revenue.
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: A music genre-specific hall of fame and museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Direct functional analog: a music-heritage hall of fame that operates a physical exhibition venue, inducts artists, and runs educational programming in Ohio. Closest comparable given the shared mission and Ohio geography.
• Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP): Seattle-based pop-culture and music heritage museum (formerly Experience Music Project). Comparable as a music-and-pop-culture museum with interactive exhibits and educational programming; broader in scope but functionally similar.
• National Blues Museum: St. Louis-based museum dedicated to blues music history. Comparable as a genre-specific music museum with interactive exhibits, educational programming, and a donor-driven non-profit operating model.
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: Nashville-based music hall of fame and museum. Comparable as a hall of fame + exhibition model, inducts artists, and runs educational programming; larger scale, but directly analogous in operating model and category.
• Musical Instrument Museum: Phoenix-based museum focused on musical instruments from around the world. Comparable as a music-heritage museum with educational programming and a non-profit operating model, though with a different thematic focus.
• Motown Museum: Detroit-based music heritage museum preserving the legacy of a specific genre/era (Motown). Comparable in scale, mission, and operating model as a genre-dedicated museum with educational programming, donor-supported revenue, and a single-genre focus.
• International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum: Owensboro, KY-based music hall of fame dedicated to bluegrass. Closest scale and operating-model analog: a genre-specific hall of fame and museum in a mid-sized U.S. city, donor-driven, with educational programming.

Emerging players

• Rhythm Discovery Center: Indianapolis-based interactive percussion and rhythm museum. Comparable as a smaller, donor-supported music/heritage museum emphasizing interactive, educational exhibits — a useful smaller-scale operating model analog.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheFunkCenter
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2jUqktpZH7x472KoVNNXdQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheFunkCenter
• Instagraminstagram.com/thefunkcenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thefunkcenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

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 The Funk Music Hall Of Fame & Exhibition Center