Marin Museum Of Contemporary Art, Inc.

What Marin Museum Of Contemporary Art, Inc. does

Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Inc. (doing business as MarinMOCA) is an independent nonprofit contemporary art museum headquartered at 1210 Fifth Avenue in downtown San Rafael, California, serving the North Bay region. The museum operates a single physical venue open Wednesday through Sunday, presenting rotating group exhibitions of local, regional, and national contemporary artists (e.g., the 2025 group show The Shape of Thought featuring six women artists), and runs an annual signature fundraiser called ART FWD that combines a curated exhibition with a community block party. Beyond exhibitions, the museum functions as an arts education provider, offering hands-on classes and workshops (ceramics, watercolor, cyanotype, papier-mâché, fiber arts, creative writing) priced at $45-$600 per session, free monthly Family Days, K-12 field trips on weekdays, and a Teen Leadership Council described as the only program of its kind in the North Bay.

The organization is supported by approximately seven paid staff (Executive Director Jodi Roberts, Program Manager, Assistant Curator & Marketing Manager, Development Manager, Finance Manager, Exhibitions Manager, and a Strategic Advisor) plus a Board of Directors and Advisory Council that includes recognized artists. Revenue is generated through four primary streams: tiered memberships ranging from $75 Individual to $25,000 Visionary (with reciprocal access to 950+ NARM museums at the Individual Plus tier and above), per-class fees, donations and contributions (including a four-tier Giving Circle at $2,500-$25,000), and proceeds from the annual ART FWD event. The museum is funded in part by major foundations (Marin Community Foundation, Teiger Foundation, Pisces Foundation), corporate sponsorship (Bank of Marin), and municipal partners (City of San Rafael, County of Marin).

The technology stack consists of commodity SaaS tools rather than proprietary platforms: DonorSnap for membership and donation processing, Givebutter for event ticketing, Constant Contact for email marketing to a 9,000+ subscriber list, and Adobe Acrobat Sign for artist workshop proposal intake. There is no proprietary technology product, no app, no API, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities. The museum maintains a strategic partnership pipeline that includes Marin County Free Library, Marin School of the Arts, Marin Theatre Company, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Exploratorium, Youth in Arts, and a forward-booked Mill Valley Film Festival partnership for 2027.

Name

Marin Museum Of Contemporary Art, Inc.

Legal name

Marin Museum Of Contemporary Art, Inc.

Website

https://marinmoca.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MarinMOCA is a nonprofit contemporary art museum in San Rafael, California, serving the North Bay region with rotating exhibitions, hands-on classes and workshops, free Family Days, school field trips, and a Teen Leadership Council, funded through tiered memberships, donations, foundation grants, and an annual fundraiser.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contemporary Art Museum

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Contemporary art museum
• Art exhibitions
• Art education
• Community arts programming
• Museum memberships

Headquarters

HQ city

San Rafael

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees at multiple tiers ranging from $75 Individual to $25,000 Visionary, providing benefits including free admission, discounts, reciprocal museum access, and exclusive events.
2. Class and Workshop Fees: Per-class fees ranging from $45-$600, with member discounts typically 15-20% below non-member pricing. Additional materials fees paid directly to instructors.
3. Special Events: Annual ART FWD celebration generates proceeds supporting exhibition and education programs. Features sponsorships, ticket sales, and donations.
4. Donations and Contributions: Tax-deductible donations supporting exhibitions, education programs, Family Days, Teen Leadership Council, and general operations through the Giving Circle program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Marin Museum Of Contemporary Art, Inc. (MarinMOCA) is a nonprofit contemporary art museum in San Rafael, California that curates rotating exhibitions of contemporary artwork, offers art classes and workshops for all ages, hosts community events including family programs, sound baths, and field trips, and operates a tiered membership program. The museum provides free general admission during open hours and supports local artists and community engagement with arts programming.

Product overview

Marin Museum of Contemporary Art (MarinMOCA) operates as a cultural institution offering a unified portfolio of programs centered on contemporary art exhibitions and arts education. The museum presents rotating group exhibitions in its San Rafael venue featuring local, regional, and national artists, with The Shape of Thought as the current major exhibition. The annual signature event is ART FWD, a fundraising celebration combining curated exhibitions with community festivities. Education programming includes diverse art classes and workshops spanning ceramics, watercolor, fiber arts, printmaking, and creative writing for all ages and skill levels. Family Day provides free monthly art-making for families, while Field Trips serve schools with tailored tours and hands-on activities. Teen Leadership Council offers youth development through arts programming. The museum sustains operations through tiered membership programs (Individual through Sponsor levels) and a Giving Circle (Creators through Visionaries) offering exclusive experiences and reciprocal museum benefits through NARM.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Shape of Thought Exhibition
• Art Classes and Workshops
• Annual Membership Program
• Family Day Programs
• School Field Trips
• Sound Baths
• ART FWD Annual Fundraiser
• Teen Leadership Council
• Giving Circle

Named customers1 record

Segments6 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

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, moderate and minor.

• Alonzo King Lines Ballet at Dominican University of CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramming partner offering collaborative cultural events and performances at the intersection of dance and visual arts.
• Marin County Free LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner providing educational programming and literacy-related cultural events.
• Marin Theatre CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheater partner for performing arts programming and cross-disciplinary artistic collaborations.
• ExploratoriummoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience and experiential learning museum partner for educational programming and community outreach.
• Marin School of the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal arts school partnership for student exhibitions and educational enrichment programs.
• Marin Youth Poet Laureates, Marin Poetry CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPoetry and literary arts partnership featuring teen poet commissions responding to visual art exhibitions.
• Mill Valley Film FestivalmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerFilm festival partnership planned for 2027 exhibitions creating cross-disciplinary arts programming.
• Youth in ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner providing youth arts education and programming support.
• Park LifemoderateGTM or Marketing PartnerSan Francisco's beloved independent art and design shop, founded in 2006 by Jamie Alexander and Derek Song, popping up at ART FWD event with curated books, prints, apparel, and design objects.
• Give Me a DollarminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal rising star musicians performing at ART FWD 2026: In Other Words event.
• Sumi Ink ClubmoderateGTM or Marketing PartnerArtist collective leading collaborative mural-making activity at ART FWD event.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Minnesota Street Project: San Francisco arts complex housing galleries, artist studios, and nonprofit art spaces; comparable as a contemporary arts community hub with exhibitions and education in the same Bay Area market.

Direct peers

• San Jose Museum of Art: Mid-sized contemporary art museum in the Bay Area offering rotating exhibitions, education programs, and tiered memberships — closely comparable in scope, mission, and operating model.
• Museum of Craft and Design: San Francisco contemporary museum focused on craft and design exhibitions and education programming, closely comparable in scale, mid-size contemporary focus, and Bay Area regional positioning.
• Hyde Park Art Center: Community contemporary art center in Chicago with rotating exhibitions, education classes, and teen programs — directly comparable to MarinMOCA's combination of exhibitions, classes, and youth leadership programming.
• di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art: Napa-based contemporary art center serving the North Bay with rotating exhibitions and arts programming, directly comparable to MarinMOCA in regional mission, contemporary focus, and community-anchored operating model.
• Headlands Center for the Arts: Marin County-based arts organization offering artist residencies, exhibitions, and public programs; directly comparable as a North Bay contemporary arts anchor serving overlapping audiences.
• Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans: Mid-size contemporary art center combining exhibitions, education, and community programming in a regional market — comparable operating model to MarinMOCA's exhibition-plus-classes-plus-community-engagement approach.

Broad incumbents

• Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA): Larger Bay Area institution with contemporary exhibitions, film programming, and education, overlapping MarinMOCA's regional mission but operating at significantly greater scale and with a permanent collection.
• de Young Museum: Major San Francisco fine arts museum that is itself a NARM reciprocal partner of MarinMOCA; competes for the same regional donor pool while offering overlapping exhibition programming at much larger scale.
• Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA): Established contemporary art museum offering exhibitions, education, and membership programming — broadly comparable as a contemporary art institution but operating at substantially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/marinmoca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marin-museum-of-contemporary-art

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Marin Museum Of Contemporary Art, Inc.