Financial Sustainability

Explore dozens of articles, member resources, and On-Demand Programs on financial sustainability in museums.

Build it and will they come? Co-working considerations for Museums

By Elizabeth Merritt

Tui Te Hau At the [2017] AAM Annual Meeting, I hope to see you at the session I’ll be moderating on the emerging trend of museums running business incubators and co-working spaces (Sunday, May 7, 4 pm). One of the newest of these …
Why Not To Run Your Museum “More Like A Business”

By John Wetenhall

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2017 issue of Museum magazine. Many elements that make businesses successful do not work for museums. First, some relevant credentials. I have been involved in five capital campaigns and cut …
Ask, Don’t Guess: How a visitor-centered business model led to record-breaking attendance for a historic house in Oregon.

By Marta E. Bones

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2017 issue of Museum magazine. Built in 1914 by an influential Portland newspaper publisher, Pittock Mansion has a story similar to that of many other early 20th-century mansions across the …
Effective Altruism

By Elizabeth Merritt

Today’s post by Susie Wilkening is the first in a series profiling sessions I picked for CFM’s annual “Guide to the Future at the Annual Meeting.” I hope these previews help you plan your schedule in St. Louis. Susie will be moderating the …
Monday Musing: Impact Investing

By Elizabeth Merritt

Usually when I attend a conference, I hope to come away with a few good thoughts, maybe a lead on a person or resource I can look up afterwards. Rarely does a conference change the way I see the world. I attended SxSW last month and one …
The Most Important Question to Ask in a Capital Campaign

By Nina Simon

Nina Simon is the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History and author of The Participatory Museum (2010), The Art of Relevance (2016) and the popular Museum 2.0 blog. This article was originally published on Museum …
When Leaders Won’t Lead: Taking Action on Climate Change

By Elizabeth Merritt

Museums can change the world, especially when they recruit their visitors to take action. When the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site speaks out against mass incarceration, the B.B. King Museum fights for childhood health in …
Monday Musing: Travel and Tourism

By Elizabeth Merritt

Among the stories I included in Dispatches from the Future of Museums last week was a piece from Quartz Media speculating that the US could be on the verge of “tourism shock.” I’m worried about the economic impact of such a downturn on …
Painting in Blue

By Elizabeth Merritt

I became interested in Amy Herman’s work for several reasons. She harnesses the power of art to teach empathy, helping people in positions of power—be it medicine or law enforcement—relate more compassionately to the people they serve. Her …
Dream Big: the Alliance in an Age of Scale

By Elizabeth Merritt

I want to share with you the Alliance’s vision for how museums could play a major role in filling the need for high-quality, equitable early childhood education in the US. Back in June I blogged about the MacArthur Foundation’s …