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Ember Farber

1. Download and share the freshly-updated Museums Facts Infographic;
2. Invite your legislators to meet locally with our step-by-step guide and Contact Congress to tell your legislators the story of your museum;
3. Learn about the Policy Issues affecting museums and get the 2019 Advocate Materials;
4. Access critical, groundbreaking data showing the value of museums to their communities (Museums as Economic Engines and Museums & Public Opinion); and
5. Speak Up for Museums on social media with #museumsadvocacy and #museumsadvocacy2019. Check out the Museums Advocacy Day 2019 Social Media Information for social media posts, links and images.

While we’re talking about how to get involved, you might be wondering…

Why have an advocacy day and get involved in speaking up for museums?

There are arts, humanities, historic preservation, library and other advocacy days and legislators wouldn’t know the unique value of museums if we don’t also take our message directly to Capitol Hill. It’s not often that museum professionals, museum supporters, independent professionals who work for and with museums and museums of all different types are gathered in one place to meet with legislators’ offices together. It’s also a unique opportunity for museum professionals and supporters to network with peers from across their state and region, get insights directly from federal agency leaders and Congressional staff and increase their own core advocacy skills. Participants note that the experience isn’t just informative and educational, but empowering and transformational.

You can add to the impact of your fellow museum advocates’ efforts at Museums Advocacy Day by joining the cause and advocating from home.

What are some results museums have seen from their advocacy efforts?

Engaging your legislators during Museums Advocacy Day can have several positive and unexpected results. After you make the connection, your legislators and staff may ask to visit and tour your museum, invite representatives of the museum to join local commissions and discussions on emerging community issues, offer to provide a recommendation for federal grant applications, inquire about using your space for additional community events or ask how in-progress legislation might affect the museum. See additional examples here.

What are we, as a field, working to accomplish with our advocacy efforts?

Participating in advocacy for museums during Museums Advocacy Day, and throughout the year, maximizes museums’ visibility for legislators as they consider funding and policy issues throughout the year. It’s all of our job to educate and engage the new Congress and help ensure that new and returning members of Congress understand the unique value of the museums they represent. We can do this by sharing museums’ economic and educational impact in our communities and making them aware of the legislative issues that affect museums—and the positive impact that federal support of museums has in the communities they represent. Protecting the programs that support the positive work of museums is especially important at a time when there have been repeated proposals to eliminate the federal agencies that support museums.

Who am I joining with by participating and Advocating from Anywhere?

Approximately 300 museum advocates in Washington, DC and many more around the country and beyond! Wherever you are, you can use the Alliance’s online advocacy tools to communicate with your legislators, introduce your museum to your legislators, make arrangements to meet with district legislative staff locally, and plan to share the key legislative information with that staff.

Your voice and your story matters. Please visit www.aam-us.org/programs/advocacy to learn more about AAM’s advocacy for museums.

Ember Farber