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35

[[underline]] Hillwood Budget [[\underline]]

The last Will and Testament of Marjorie Merriweather Post established a $10,000.00 Hillwood Trust Fund, and provided that the net income thereon should be paid as follows:

to the Smithsonian Institution so much thereof as the Board of Regents of the said Smithsonian Institution shall certify to the Trustees to be necessary for the operation of 'Hillwood' as a nonprofit museum of the entire amount thereof if the amount so certified shall be equal to or greater than the net income. . . .

The attached Budget for the operation of Hillwood in Fiscal Year 1975 is submitted to the Regents for certification so that it may be submitted to the Trustees in pursuance of the above provision.

This budget is based upon our experience in operating Hillwood during the last five months under grants received from the Marjorie Merriweather Post Foundation prior to funding of the Hillwood Trust. In preparing the Budget we have considered the cost to Mrs. Post of operating Hillwood during her lifetime, as well as the cost of operating similar facilities (notably Dumbarton Oaks), and we have relied heavily upon the judgement of Smithsonian experts in such areas as security, horticulture and museum operations.

The Board of Regents should be aware that the total amount called for in this Budget -- $735,000 -- will almost certainly exceed the income available from the Hillwood Trust in Fiscal Year 1975. It is our present