Museums: Engagement for Fundraising

By Paul Born, President, Tamarack,  An Institute for Community Engagement

A museum is a valuable community asset and deserves financial support. Good engagement strategies can make fundraising far more effective.

Example: 

Molly led a small regional museum promoting local history. The majority of her staff were volunteers. Molly raised most of their funds through applying for small grants and through special events fundraising like bake sales and their annual Mardi Gras night.

After taking a fundraising seminar Molly came to understand the process of identifying her prospects, engaging potential major donors, building relationships, and gradually building a case to support her position. It took some time but Molly slowly started to research the people already involved in her organization, and garnered the courage to ask them to identify others who might be interested in supporting their work. The volunteers were especially useful.

Molly had a big breakthrough when a regular museum visitor heard from one of the volunteers that they were raising money. After several visits together this person donated $10,000 to their campaign. It was a fine start and lifted the confidence of everyone involved.

Changing How We Work: The AMA Community Engagement Initiative and Cross Sector Engagement

By Jennifer Forsyth, Advancement Lead, Alberta Museums Association

For nearly three years, the Alberta Museums Association (AMA) has been undertaking an initiative focussed around community engagement. The Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) grew out of many conversations between the AMA and its stakeholders, the engaging work AMA members are doing within their communities, and an understanding about the importance of creating meaningful connections. Firmly rooted in the AMA’s Strategic Framework, this initiative was comprised of three goals: to foster a true understanding of community engagement; to build capacity for leadership opportunities; and to provide tools, resources, and connections to assist members in undertaking related projects.

As we set out to undertake the Community Engagement Initiative, the AMA connected with Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement’s  President, Paul Born. Paul’s work does not focus specifically on museums; his work is with organizations and communities. He guides groups in creating meaningful connections, so they may better address community issues. Through Paul’s mentorship, we began to develop a theory of change. We asked ourselves:

Who are we now?
What is our current state?
What kind of change do we want to happen?
How do we want that change to occur?

Future Coalition Summit Program Now Available

Program details for the Future Coalition Summit happening February 7, 2015 at Grant MacEwan University are now available at www.museums.ab.ca.  

Social Responsibility and Cross Sector Engagement

The Alberta Museums Association was pleased to have Doug Worts, Culture and Sustainability Specialist, WorldViews Consulting; Peter Faid, Principal, Community Services Consulting Ltd.; and Leah Best, Executive Director, Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History as panel speakers at AMA Conference 2014: Accelerating Museum Impact. Click below to view recordings.

Social Responsibility and Cross Sector Engagement: Part 1 of 3

Doug Worts

Social Responsibility and Cross Sector Engagement: Part 2 of 3
Peter Faid

Social Responsibility and Cross Sector Engagement: Part 3 of 3
Leah Best

Presented at the Alberta Museums Association 2014 Conference: Accelerating Museum Impact, Calgary, AB, September 12, 2014.

Future Coalition Summit Registration Open

Rising to the Challenge: Museums in the 'Age of Participation'

We are witnessing a complete renovation of our cultural infrastructure. Those 'bricks and mortar' culture houses, citadels of experience, towers of inspiration, that for so long have stood steadfast as symbols of cultural continuity and comfort, while the streets around them have whizzed and clattered to multiple disruptive transformation, are being turned inside out... this wholesale renovation is born out of an urgent requirement to change or die, and it is just beginning.

Tom Fleming, 2009

The Alberta Museums Association was pleased to have Graham Black, Professor of Museum Management and Interpretation, Nottingham Trent University, as the keynote speaker at the AMA Conference 2014: Accelerating Museum Impact. Black delivered an exciting presentation that was not only thought-provoking, but inspirational and relatable.

Rising to the Challenge: Museums in the 'Age of Participation'

Modelling What Works

Over the last several years, Fort Whoop Up National Historic Site has been active in engaging the Blackfoot community, particularly the Blood and the Peigan tribes that are close to Lethbridge, to develop a mutually beneficial relationship based on traditional practices.

Today, the Blackfoot Confederacy presence has returned full circle: society members and Elders hold ceremonies at the Fort; full trading has resumed with traditional and ceremonial supplies in stock at fair prices at the museum store; Blackfoot staff and board members are an integral part of our staffing and governance; and Elders are regularly engaged in providing interpretation to visitors in a Blackfoot lodge setting.