Be Nominated for a National Medal for Museum Service

“I got to personally meet with [my Congresswoman and key staff to explain] the importance of continued funding for IMLS as the [Iolani] Palace [has] a Museums for America grant. Then this summer, I received a letter from IMLS indicating that [she] nominated the Palace for the National Medal for Museum Service… I also got to meet [another Congresswoman’s] acting Chief of Staff for the D.C. office. When [the Chief of Staff] flew out to Hawaii a couple of months later, she came for a personal tour of the Palace and saw firsthand some of the tangible results from our IMLS grant. She is also helping with a letter of support… for our [IMLS] National Medal nomination.”

—Kippen de Alba Chu, Former Executive Director, Iolani Palace, Honolulu

Visit and Build Relationships with Local Congressional Offices

“The State of Nevada has had a hard time sending any or many delegates to D.C. for the event. I have gone in person a few times [but then] I decided that it would be better to [visit local Congressional offices]. Directors of the National Atomic Testing Museum and the Las Vegas Natural History Museum joined me for some visits and Trustee [member] of the Discovery Children’s Museum also participated in a visit… As a result, some of our local museums are better connected with [our local Congressional] offices which is a very positive development.”

—Arthur H. Wolf, Principal, WOLF Consulting

Secure an Item for an Exhibit

“I traveled to D.C. with the South Carolina constituency and as a member of the SC History Advocates. After a very successful visit with [my Representative’s office], I extended an invitation to [my Representative] to visit the University of South Carolina’s McKissick Museum. I kept up with my correspondence with his staff, and am happy to say that he did come to visit McKissick…Not only did he tour the museum, he also hand delivered an object from his office which [was] on view at the museum in the student curated exhibition The Ultimate Vacation: Watching Other People Work, of which I was a co-curator. His model BMW X5 [remained] on loan at the museum for the duration of the exhibition. I am positive that we will continue to build our relationship with [this Representative] in the future. I’m looking forward to [the next] Museums Advocacy Day!”

—Caitlin Podas, Public Historian, and Past President, SC History Advocates

Secure Grants

“I attended [a previous] Museum Advocacy Day representing the state of Tennessee and my museum, the Blount Mansion. I paid close attention, took copious notes and followed up on all suggestions made. Wow, did it pay off for my organization and for my career as a museum administrator! The Blount Mansion submitted appropriation requests to our congressmen and senators. In the end, we were awarded a $250k Save America’s Treasures (SAT) grant thanks to the support of our [Tennessee Senator]. It is the second largest SAT grant ever received in our state. Attending the Museum Advocacy Day programs set the stage for this award. I am now moving on to be the Director of the Seward House Museum in Auburn, NY. This is a significant career move which again is a tangible result of having the experience with AAM and advocacy on my resume.”

—Billye J. Chabot

Testify Back Home in Support of Museums

“I have two sisters, and they worked for Congresspeople during their early careers. They [insisted] that I go [to Museums Advocacy Day] because they knew that every voice that goes to Congress… is incredibly important. AAM made it exceptionally easy. [T]hey… train[ed] me [and] set all my appointments so I didn’t have to worry. Talking to members of Congress can be nervewracking, but it was a great experience.

The most interesting part of my day was lunch. I assumed the cafeteria would be filled with staff people and tourists, but the people I was eating lunch with were all [citizen] lobbyists. I met people from the teachers association [and] open space advocates, and I loved them all [and their causes]. I thought, ‘We should have been here before now, because if I like their causes, I bet their Congresspeople do, too!’

While in D.C., a colleague of mine was asked by our local congresswoman to make a presentation [about funding for museums] to her district office and a local council. We put together a group of small museums I’d never contacted before. I said, ‘Your Congresswoman wants to know about you,’ and everybody came. The district office was very nice, the local council was made up of local officials, business leaders, [and] union leaders. They asked good questions and were interested in us. Suddenly Museums Advocacy Day led to federal advocacy and local advocacy.

The local paper even came to cover it, so we all got in the paper, too. Advocacy raised the profile of about a dozen small museums in our district, and now I’m planning on keeping advocacy in my day-to-day schedule.”

—Jenny Benjamin, Director of the Museum of Vision, San Francisco

Network with Your Peers and Build Your Business

“I didn’t fully understand the real value of going to Museum Advocacy Day when I registered. However, after hearing from expert speakers and learning about the issues affecting the field, I really got a sense of how the success of our business is directly impacted by the health of the museum industry. We were then able to meet on Capitol Hill with representatives from our own state and talk with them about how money invested in museums not only strengthens the institutions, but also contributes to local businesses and jobs. An added bonus of attending was the formation of several relationships with museum professionals, some of which have already translated into real projects. It was an excellent experience that we plan to attend year after year.”

—Chris Tebbutt, Exhibit Designer & Museum Planner, Boston

Host a Congressional Forum on Autism

“We met with [our senator’s] office during [a previous] Museums Advocacy Day, and told his staff about the Please Touch Museum’s unique Autism Access Program, which provides innovative tools to make a museum visit more comfortable and enjoyable for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. His staff was very interested in this program, which includes accessibility tools, mobile programming and special Autism Access events. Several months later when [the senator] was planning an autism awareness event, his staff remembered our program, contacted us and we were very proud to host and participate in the senator’s Autism Roundtable. The event received extensive media attention, which highlighted the Please Touch Museum’s important community programs for families and children dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The event also helped strengthen our relationship with [the senator’s] office. Our Museums Advocacy Day visits to Capitol Hill made all of this possible.”

—Laura Foster, President and CEO, Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia

Host the Congressional Art Show

“During [a previous] Museums Advocacy Day, I met a staff person of [my Congressman, who was then], a newly elected member of Congress. That conversation led to our hosting the Congressional Art Show for his district. We hosted this at our Dickson Mounds Museum, which is centrally located in his sprawling district. We had no relationship with him prior to the event and he had not visited our facilities. We had an in-depth opportunity to tour him through Dickson Mounds Museum and tell him more about our facilities and programs. His wife is very interested in art, and he has 10 children. We invited the director of our IL Arts Council, which provided additional opportunities for us to talk about the importance of the arts and federal support. [The Congressman] believes in less government, but noted that he doesn’t believe in cutting things out completely.  I believe we made good connections with a new member of Congress, and we discussed ways to improve how we could manage the Congressional Art Show in the future. It is kind of remarkable that he pursued doing the Congressional Art Show as a new member of Congress, with a limited time frame to get this organized. The only reason this came about was due to the connection I made with the Congressman’s staff person at Museums Advocacy Day.”

—Karen Witter, Associate Director, Illinois State Museum, Springfield

Provide Your Museum’s Posters and Brochures for the Congressional Office

“At [a previous] Museum Advocacy Day, I was part of a delegation of Massachusetts museum representatives who visited the office of [a] newly elected [Senator]. In addition to presenting advocacy day issues to the senator’s staff and meeting him briefly, the group learned that the office brochure rack was empty and the walls were largely bare. Encouraged by the staff, Historic New England immediately sent brochures for our Massachusetts museums to be available in the reception room. Historic New England staff then selected three historic images from our collections to represent the Senator’s career, including a historic bicycling scene, a natural scene reflecting environmental interest and a view of the Massachusetts State House where he once served. Framed photos, crediting Historic New England, were sent and now hang in the office reception room where they are viewed by dozens of visitors every day. Thanks to Museum Advocacy Day, Historic New England directly increased its visibility in Washington and before many Massachusetts constituents, and contributed to building visibility for all museums through our Senate office.”

—Carl R. Nold, President and CEO, Historic New England

Build Your Public Speaking Skills

“I attended Museums Advocacy Day as a class assignment in the George Washington University Museum Education Program. I was scheduled to meet Congress Members from Georgia (my home) and Virginia (where I lived during school). As one of only four members of the Georgia delegation, I was nervous to learn I’d be meeting my Representative alone.

My first meeting was with the Senator of Georgia. I [primarily listened] but [shared how] growing up in Georgia museums shaped [my education and career path]. In subsequent meetings with congressional aides, I highlighted how students would be affected by proposed legislation.

[The] Representative ran over from voting to meet with me personally and said I was ‘very professional.’ AAM did an excellent job [outlining key points and training me to build my story around those points]. The advocacy skills I learned [prepared me] for my current job with the Close Up Foundation, where I now facilitate meetings between students and Members. I not only had a great time but also developed [job skills].”

—Jamila Lewis