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‘‘Anytime there is an incident or an event like this . . . it’s going to have an effect on the non-profit sector,’’ said Dan Baldwin, president of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.

‘‘There is no value for someone to open up a checkbook and cover past sins if its operations can’t be sustained,’’ he [Tom Hauer, president of The History Center’s board] said.

Lee Clancey, president of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, said the community needs to place more emphasis on operations when attractions like the IMAX theater are built. ‘‘We have built these wonderful cultural institutions, but we have not built into them a method to help sustain them operationally,’’ she said. Most of the fundraising for such attractions is for bricks and mortar, she said. But nearly none of it is given to create an endowment that could help pay for ongoing operations, such as supplies or utilities . . .."

  ‘‘Anytime there is an incident or an event like this, it would have the donor community lose confidence in an agency. It’s going to have an effect on the non-profit sector,’’ said Dan Baldwin, president of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.

  Area museum executives are quick to throw their support to the Science Station & McLeod/Busse IMAX Dome Theatre, which announced Wednesday that it may be forced to close. They call it a great asset to the community. But they say donors are likely to be much more critical, and that could mean fewer contributions to their museums in the future.

  ‘‘Some people might be more tightfisted, and you have to work extra hard to get those dollars,’’ said Gail Naughton, president and CEO of the National Czech & Slovak Museum.

  Science Station officials Wednesday issued a formal plea to the community for funding to erase $1.3 million in debt. Without those funds, Science Station officials said, they will close the 20-year-old nonprofit facility Nov. 15.

  Earlier this year, The Carl and Mary Koehler History Center, 615 First Ave. SE, was closed temporarily after it accumulated $170,000 in debt. The History Center faced foreclosure in 2003 but was saved after city and county government, local donors and banks donated $1.4 million to retire the museum’s mortgage.

  The center is now staffed by volunteers and is open 12 hours a week.

  Tom Hauer, president of The History Center’s board, said problems The History Center went through should be a lesson for all non-profit organizations.

  ‘‘There is no value for someone to open up a checkbook and cover past sins if its operations can’t be sustained,’’ he said.

  The History Center’s bailout also led to a substantial decrease in donations and lack of trust, he said.

  The Science Station’s situation already has prompted discussions around town about how best to support the city’s cultural attractions through public money and private donations. Lee Clancey, president of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, said the community needs to place more emphasis on operations when attractions like the IMAX theater are built.

  ‘‘We have built these wonderful cultural institutions, but we have not built into them a method to help sustain them operationally,’’ she said.

  Most of the fundraising for such attractions is for bricks and mortar, she said. But nearly none of it is given to create an endowment that could help pay for ongoing operations, such as supplies or utilities, she said.

  Baldwin said he hoped people aren’t starting to think the community doesn’t have the capacity to support all arts and cultural attractions in the Cedar Rapids area. The community has deep and generous pockets, he said, but a solid business plan and trust fuels the giving.

  ‘‘We certainly have had the capacity to build these places, so I think there is the capacity to sustain them,’’ he said.

  While many businesses and individuals have voiced their support for the Science Station, a hands-on science and technology center for children and families, no one has pledged financial support in response to the latest plea.

  ‘‘What matters is what this community wants and it does seem as there is some uncertainty,’’ said Joe Hastings, the Science Station’s executive director. ‘‘There seems to be this disconnect between saying and doing.’’ Baldwin suspects many people are willing to financially support the Science Station, but they are waiting for someone else to make the first move.

  ‘‘The first domino has not fallen,’’ Baldwin said.