Museum & Archives of Vernon

What Museum & Archives of Vernon does

The Museum & Archives of Vernon (MAV) is a registered charity and not-for-profit cultural heritage institution in Vernon, British Columbia, founded in 1950 and incorporated as a non-profit in 2016. It collects, preserves, exhibits, and interprets the artifacts and history of the Greater Vernon and North Okanagan region, maintaining a collection of more than 23,000 objects and specimens including 1,200+ Indigenous cultural objects and 1,500+ Indigenous archival documents. The institution's core products include rotating, virtual, and permanent museum exhibits; archival research services backed by the John Shephard Reference Library of 2,800+ rare publications and newspaper archives dating to 1891; BC Curriculum-aligned school programs for grades K-4; venue rentals with a 60-person capacity; and the MAV Insider membership program.

Its technology stack consists of a collections database and archival management system, integration with the British Columbia Archival Information Network (memorybc.ca), complimentary Ancestry.com access in the research room, Square-based e-commerce for memberships and the museum store, and CanadaHelps for charitable donations. The institution operates from a facility opened in 1966 at 3009 32nd Avenue, on the Ancestral, Traditional and Unceded Territory of the Okanagan Nation and Syilx People, and is preparing for relocation to the purpose-built Greater Vernon Cultural Centre.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of donation-based admissions (recommended $5 per person or $20 per family), tiered memberships ($30-$100 annually), venue rentals ($100/hour, $650/day), museum store sales, fee-based archival research services, and financial donations via CanadaHelps. The go-to-market approach is community-engagement driven: walk-in visitors, school group bookings, speaker series, events, blog content, social media, and a monthly newsletter, with no single customer segment dominating revenue. The institution is governed by a Board of Directors and operates with a small staff of 9 employees led by an Interim Executive Director, an Archives Manager, a Curator, a Collections Registrar, and a Visitor Experience Ambassador.

Name

Museum & Archives of Vernon

Legal name

Greater Vernon Museum & Archives Society

Website

https://vernonmuseum.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Museum & Archives of Vernon is a registered non-profit heritage institution in Vernon, British Columbia, founded in 1950. It preserves and exhibits more than 23,000 regional artifacts, operates archival research services with complimentary Ancestry.com access, runs BC Curriculum-aligned school programs, and is preparing to relocate to the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museum and Archival Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

History Museums (THAJADAB), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF), Archives, Special Collections & Preservation Operations (Rare Materials, Conservation) (EDAEAGAJ)

Keywords

• Cultural heritage preservation
• Museum exhibit services
• Archival research services
• Educational programming
• Genealogical research access

Headquarters

HQ city

Vernon

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Admissions: Museum admission is by donation with recommended $5 per person or $20 per family
2. Membership Program: Annual memberships providing newsletter, event invitations, and discounts on services and store purchases
3. Venue Rentals: Hourly ($100) and daily ($650) rental rates for events, presentations, and workshops in the museum facility
4. Museum Store: Gift shop offering books, local artisan works, postcards, and jewellery
5. Archival Research Services: Fee-based archival research and copying services with discounts for members
6. Financial Donations: Accepts financial donations through CanadaHelps portal as a registered charity and nonprofit

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Museum & Archives of Vernon is a registered charity that collects, preserves, exhibits, and interprets the Greater Vernon area's cultural artifacts and history. Its core offerings include museum exhibits (temporary, virtual, and permanent), archival research services with complimentary Ancestry.com access, BC Curriculum-aligned school programs, venue rentals, group tours, a membership program, and a local history speaker series.

Product overview

The Museum & Archives of Vernon operates as a unified cultural heritage institution offering multiple interconnected services. The core offering centers on museum exhibits (temporary, virtual, and permanent exhibitions), archival services with complimentary Ancestry.com access, and the John Shephard Reference Library. Additional services include school programs aligned with BC Curriculum, venue rentals for events, MAV Insider membership program, group bookings for tours, and the Speaker Series featuring local history presentations. The organization is preparing for relocation to the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Exhibits Rotating temporary, virtual, and permanent exhibitions showcasing the history and culture of Greater Vernon and the North Okanagan region, for visitors and community members.
• Archives Services The Greater Vernon Archives provides by-appointment research access to archival materials, photographs, newspapers, and the John Shephard Reference Library with 2,800+ rare and out-of-print publications for academic and genealogical researchers.
• Ancestry.com Research Access Complimentary on-site access to Ancestry.com's family history resource with 1.5 billion names in 7,000+ databases, available on research room computers for genealogical researchers.
• School Programs Self-guided educational programming aligned with BC Curriculum for Kindergarten through Grade 4, covering local animals, butterfly life cycles, and fur trade history for visiting school groups.
• Venue Rentals Event venue rental for presentations, workshops, musical events, and corporate team-building with 60-person capacity, meeting space, Wi-Fi, and kitchen facilities, offered hourly at $100 or daily at $650.
• MAV Insider Membership Annual membership program ($30 Individual / $40 Family / $50 Nonprofit / $100 Corporate) offering monthly newsletter, special event invitations, discounts on archival research and photographs, tours, programs, and Museum Store purchases.
• Group Bookings and Private Tours Private tours and special group or school bookings for elementary, secondary, post-secondary, community, adult, and senior groups visiting the museum.
• Speaker Series Hometown Histories speaker series featuring presentations on local history, ecology, and heritage topics with guest speakers; the Don Gayton presentation is scheduled for August 22, 2026.
• Museum Store Gift shop offering books, local artisan works, postcards, and jewellery, accessible online through Square e-commerce platform and on-site at the museum.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 700 research inquiries annually from across the province and country
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and flagship.

• British Columbia Archival Information Network (BCAIN)coreTechnology or IntegrationHoldings are available online through memorybc.ca, the British Columbia Archival Information Network, making the collection discoverable to researchers across the province and beyond.
• Ancestry.comcoreTechnology or IntegrationArchives provides complimentary access to Ancestry, the world's largest online family history resource, with over 1.5 billion names in 7,000+ databases, available on research room computers.
• Okanagan Historical SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presenting the Don Gayton Speaker Series on fire ecology and Okanagan landscape history as part of the Hometown Histories speaker series.
• Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner100% of proceeds from the Don Gayton Speaker Series event donated to OKIB Wildfire Relief efforts.
• Vernon Public Art GalleryflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-locating in the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre, a dynamic cultural hub for the region that will bring together the museum, art gallery, and intimate presentation/event space.
• British Columbia Museum AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSigned on to BC Museum Association's Call to Action in 2021, a pledge to return all human remains and grave goods as part of Indigenous repatriation efforts.
• Okanagan Indian Band / Syilx PeopleflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost nation for consultation on repatriation policy and Indigenous archival practices. MAV is located on the Ancestral, Traditional and Unceded Territory of the Okanagan Nation and the Syilx People.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kelowna Museums Society: Operates multiple museums and heritage sites in Kelowna, BC, including the Okanagan Heritage Museum and the Lake Country Museum. Directly comparable as an interior BC community-museum network serving a similar population demographic with comparable exhibits, archives, and educational programming.
• Kamloops Museum & Archives: Combined museum and archives operation in the BC interior, similar in combining local history exhibits with archival research services and school programming. Most structurally similar peer to MAV in scope and service mix.
• Penticton Museum & Archives: Community museum and archives in the Okanagan Valley with local history focus, school programs, and curatorial exhibitions. Comparable scope, similar size, and operating in the same donor and visitor market as MAV.
• Salmon Arm Museum at Heritage Park: Small community museum in the North Okanagan–Shuswap corridor with comparable local history mandate, volunteer-heavy staffing model, and educational programming. Closest peer in terms of scale and operational footprint.
• Revelstoke Museum & Archives: Community museum and archives serving a small interior BC town with similar dual mandate of exhibits and archival research. Comparable in size, mission, and reliance on donation and membership revenue.

Broad incumbents

• Royal BC Museum: Provincial museum operating under the BC government, offering large-scale exhibits, archives, and Indigenous collections that overlap with MAV's areas of activity. A hierarchy-of-scale incumbent whose mandates extend beyond MAV's regional focus.
• Canadian Museum of History: National museum covering Canadian history and Indigenous heritage, with mandate overlap with MAV's regional collection but operating at dramatically greater scale and funding. A broader-incumbent benchmark for museum operating models and Indigenous repatriation practice.

Regional players

• Nanaimo Community Archives: Community archives on Vancouver Island providing archival research and educational services. Comparable in archival-and-research orientation, but serving a different regional market on Vancouver Island rather than the Okanagan.

Others

• Vernon Public Art Gallery: Flagship partner institution co-locating with MAV in the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre. Directly comparable in cultural-heritage mission and local audience, but focused on contemporary visual art rather than history and archives.

Emerging players

• Okanagan Indian Band Cultural Centre (Sncewips Heritage Museum): Indigenous-led cultural centre and heritage museum for the Okanagan Nation with overlapping mandate on Syilx cultural heritage and repatriation. Comparable in geographic focus and collections scope, but led by the host nation rather than a municipal nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Museum & Archives of Vernon