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Christina Armes
Ms. Bradley
ENC2135
3 December 2015
The American Alliance of Museums: Fighting to Fund a Non-Profit
Though often stereotyped as boring and stuffy, museums have gained an important
foothold in society. With over 850 million visits per year, their influence has spread far and wide
throughout the nation and the world (Facts). Museums have been utilizing their influence
effectively by engaging society in every aspect. They provide employment, serve the community,
initiate tourism, enhance education, champion conservation, and preserve that which is
fundamental to our history.
Yet, even with an immensely positive role in society, the threat of financial instability
looms over the heads of museum directors and their staff. As museums began to shift from the
elite private sector to the general public, professionals struggled to find new ways to raise funds
to keep their doors open. This became especially difficult in the Great Depression era, when
raising funds for historic preservation seemed irrelevant to a people who scarcely survived
paycheck to paycheck. In an article entitled From Being About Something to Being For
Somebody, by Stephen Weil, he explains that museums decided to focus more on the public in
order to draw crowds to their empty exhibits (170). As they became more relevant to the public,
ghost town museums suddenly became bursting with visitors. Because this shift in focus was so
successful, museum professionals realized that the key to financial stability is catering to the
publics needs.

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However, even with the museum boom in the Great Depression era that accompanied this
pivotal realization, museums still grapple to keep their doors open to the public. Because of their
status as a nonprofit, museums get income solely through fundraising. Fundraising requires
expert marketing to potential patrons as well as effective lobbying to the United States Congress.
Generous donations from private partners and government funding fuels museum facilities and
their research and preservation efforts. Thus, cuts in funding from either sector have devastating
effects on budget plans. This is where the American Alliance of Museums, also known as the
AAM, plays an important role. In an interview with Dr. Susan Baldino, a current member of this
organization, she explains that the AAM is a professional organization focused on training its
professionals and furthering the museum field. An important part of the AAM supporting the
community consists of raising funds for museums. As a professional organization, the AAMs
interests and influence weigh heavily in Congress. By championing museums before Congress,
the AAM helps obtain the government funds needed to support museums. The AAM also
effectively markets to the private sector to supply the remaining needed funds. Essentially, the
AAMs central issue is raising funds for museums in order to keep their doors open to the public.
The AAM primarily focuses its fundraising efforts towards advocating for museums before
Congress.
Before unveiling how the AAM advocates for museums, it is critical to understand how
museums establish their business model and use their funds. These institutions function as nonprofit organizations. In an article titled Creating a New Business Model by John Falk and
Beverly Sheppard, the authors state that, as a non-profit organization, a museums goal is to
benefit the public, whereas for-profit organizations accumulate revenue for their own personal
gain (380). With an extremely limited budget and no source of extra profit, a successful business

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model and thoughtful implementation of said model are crucial to maintain sustainability. These
institutions must fund various different activities in order to simply keep their doors open. They
must pay to keep their staff; to conduct research on their objects; to preserve objects; to advance
technology; to fundraise; to market to the public; to maintain the buildings facilities; and to
accumulate collections. In an article written by Neil Kotler, he explains that obtaining
government grants to fund these various activities has become extremely competitive. Museums
pour money into these various activities because their success with the general public means
success in obtaining government funding. Simply put, the best museums get the most funds. The
biggest hurdle in the race to be the best museum is achieving this goal while spending the least
amount of money.
The AAM assists museums in this competition for public funds. To be the best museum
to get the best funds, an institution needs the AAM to fight on their behalf. The primary
fundraising that the AAM performs is through advocacy. There are many ways in which the
AAM engages in advocacy. The AAM lobbies the United States Congress for various funds and
endowments so that museums may have the resources they need to serve the community and
sustain themselves financially. The organization also maintains close ties with the Institute of
Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and specifically the Office of Museum Services within
the IMLS, which is a government sponsored organization. This is not a small task; obtaining
government funds is a long and difficult process that does not always come to fruition. In regards
to receiving these funds, The AAM has published an article entitled Issues at a Glance that
provides a summary of their various advocacy issues and agendas.
Museums receive the majority of their funding from the United States federal
government. Before it is dispersed, the money trickles through a hierarchical system of

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departments and offices and undergoes serious evalutation. According to the aforementioned
article published by the AAM, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is the
department responsible for offering various grants to deserving institutions (Issues at a
Glance). Unfortunately, inadequate government funding to the IMLS has restricted the IMLSs
ability to fund deserving institutions. Not only is the IMLS inadequately funded, but the Office
of Museum Services (OMS) within the IMLS receives only a small portion of IMLS funds. In
fact, in 2015, the OMS received only $30.1 million of the $227.9 million that the government
granted to the IMLS. Without adequate funding from the IMLS, and with only a small amount of
those funds being applied to the OMS, museums lose a significant portion of crucial funding.
The AAM is also battling Congress over tax deductions for donations. As stated in an
article published by the AAM entitled Charitable Giving, an important statistic shows that over
thirty percent of a museums funding comes from donations. As federal funds diminish, private
donations become increasingly more important. However, the income from private donations
suffers as the governments eagerness to constantly cut spending and gain more revenue
encroaches into this sector. When a donor gives to a charitable organization, the donation is
eligible for a tax deduction. However, government policies seek to limit the tax deductible status
of donations. This severely hurts museums because patrons are less likely to donate if what they
give is not eligible for tax deductions. In fact, this measure could reduce donations seven to
fourteen percent every year; this calculates to an annual $34 billion loss. With both public and
private funding quickly abating, museums are left scrambling for funds when no other option is
available.
Not only do donors suffer from the measure to limit tax deductions, but artists suffer as
well according to the aforementioned article called Charitable Giving. It is financially

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impractical for artists to donate their artwork to museums because their pieces are not considered
tax deductible. Because museums are not able to buy these works, the pieces go into private
hands and do not make it into the public eye. Smaller museums often have to rely upon these
donations from artists to accumulate items for their collection. With an extremely small pool of
donated works to choose from, start-up museums have small chances of becoming successful. By
lobbying for more flexibility with tax deductions for artwork and deductions, the AAM helps
raise funds for museums in two different ways. First, the AAM protects the private donations
income for museums, which is a critical portion of their income. Second, artwork donations
allow museums to save money, which is important for a nonprofit organization that receives little
public funding and is struggle to receive private donations.
Even the museums that manage to remain open experience other serious difficulties. In an
article published by the American Alliance of Museums, it is stated that museum attendance
continues to increase in spite of decreased funding (IMLS Office of). As crowds throng to
these institutions, needs to improve technology and resources in order to accommodate larger
audiences rises. Additionally, employees need training to better preserve and interpret the various
collections as well as training to use advanced technology. With inadequate funding, museums
cannot progress. Instead, they maintain a static condition. The AAM is limited in its ability to
further the museum community if the institutions are not provided with the adequate monetary
resources to improve themselves.
The AAM not only lobbies Congress to increase funds for the OMS specifically, but it
also lobbies Congress to increase the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. These
endowments are public funds that provide grants to organizations within the respective areas of
either the Arts or the Humanities. The National Endowment for the Humanities awards museums

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and other institutions funds for research, education, and preservation. The National Endowment
for the Arts awards funds to museums and other institutions to give underprivileged communities
access to the arts. These two endowments are critical for museums because they provide
museums with the resources needed to reach out to the community (Issues at a Glance). If the
museum cannot personally connect with the community, it becomes irrelevant. The AAMs push
for the government to sponsor these endowments more benefits a museums budget in two ways:
by allowing museums to conduct research and the resulting crowd that flows from an enhanced
museum. The endowments allow museums to better the museums exhibits and collections.
When a museum produces a better product, it will be in higher demand. The equation follows
this way: with more money for research and outreach comes more money from visitors.
One reason why the AAM is tenacious with its advocacy is that they recognize how
important museums are to the economy. According to the aforementioned Issues at a Glance
article, museums comprise of $21 billion of the U.S. economy and provide more than 400,000
jobs. Museums also contribute greatly to the tourism industry. Though the government pours
money into funding museums and private donors do the same, it is important that museums
generate revenue to sustain their basic functions and therefore produce a better product for the
community. Additionally, museums provide jobs that benefit a struggling economy and that
lower the unemployment rate. The AAM is currently championing these important points to
defend the Illinois State Museum. Due to budget discrepancies and disagreements, the Illinois
state government shut down and the museum was forced to close its doors. Because the budget
has not been completed, the shutdown has continues for over four weeks and the museum risks
losing its accreditation. If the museum loses its accreditation, it may be forced to close. This
particular institution, which was first accredited in 1972 and has received four accreditations

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since then, exhibits the highest quality a museum can achieve through its credentials. However,
the 40,000 Illinois students who utilize its resources may no longer benefit from this institution.
Along with devastating the educational community, this threatened museum closure could
eliminate the $31 million of economic activity that the museum brings to the Illinois economy
(American Alliance of Museums). This situation is a specific example of how the AAM attempts
to raise funds for museums. Since the shutdown, the AAM has been raising awareness for this
particular museum so that it may obtain the funds needed to keep its doors open.
Museums are accountable for how they spend their donations and public funds. If the
general public funds museums through tax dollars as well as through charitable contributions,
then the general public expects a good outcome from their money; the same applies for the
government. If the government allocates funds to an organization, they expect to see a profitable
return for their money. In both cases, the profitable return is the benefit of the public. In an
article by Broadsource, director Lisa Battalia emphasizes the importance of a museums
accountability in regards to budgeting (476). Failure to closely monitor financial statements can
result in devastating consequences for the institution. If dishonesty, theft, and manipulation are
discovered in a nonprofits financial statement, the results could spell loss of donations, tax-free
status, and their reputation. A worst case scenario could end in a museum being forced to shut its
doors. For an institution that relies on outside sources for income, reputation is important. The
federal government will not allow a nonprofit institution to evade taxes if the nonprofit is
embroiled in scandal instead of focused on producing public good. As one studies financial
duties and responsibilities for nonprofits such as museums, one can uncover the correlation
between the increase in funds and increase in patron interest. Consequently, there is an increase

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in the severity of the public backlash if money is not spent according to the donors intent. Thus,
it is in the museums best interest to spend their donors money well.
In order to prevent budget mismanagement and other scandals, the AAM enforces
different sets of rules and regulations in order to maintain the museum communitys credibility.
According to an article titled Museum Accountability written by Willard Boyd, he states how
accreditation helps the public gage a museums authenticity (69). These accreditation standards
apply to a museums mission and goals, interpretive materials, financial status, and much more.
Unfortunately, these rules were formulated because throughout museum history, some curators
and staff have lost sight of the museums mission and used the museums connections and
resources for their own personal gain. As previously mentioned, exposed misconduct has
devastating effects for museums. This set of checks and balances prevents staff from potential
misconduct. Though not directly involved in advocacy, accreditation is an important part of how
the AAM raises funds for their museums in two different ways. First, the standards prevent
museums from embroiling themselves in scandal and losing all of their funding. Second, the
standards encourage institutions to achieve a level of excellence worthy of public funding. These
rules ensure that the government receives that food return for their funding; they are a guarantee
of a good investment.
However, the government must weigh many different situations when considering
delegating funds to a particular establishment. If the government funds an agency that is later
revealed to be embroiled in scandal, American citizens outrage over how their taxpayer dollars
are being spent. While the respective organization will be under much scrutiny, the government
must also answer to an angry public. Additionally, not only are museums financially strapped,
but the government also has to juggle sharing wealth among the various different departments

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and organizations while also managing to keep the economy afloat. Where the AAM and the U.
S. government disagree is what each considers a priority. The AAM places museums as first
priority because of their important role in the community. Museums inspire social change,
provide jobs, offer knowledge and enrichment, and give visitors an opportunity to experience
different cultures and different ages. However, in light of the pressing financial situation of the
country, the U.S. government does not consider museums a fundamental item in keeping our
country stable. The AAM seeks to fill in the governments information gaps about museums
through publications and presentations before Congress.
Essentially, he AAMs passion for advocacy stems from its intense passion to use
museums as tools for social change. Without the necessary funds, museums cannot fully assume
their role as centers for engagement and cultural embracement. Various government policies and
regulations have severely diminished museum budgets, which gives the AAM increasing
responsibility as a fundraiser. As the federal government dismisses various proposals from the
AAM, the organization attempts to use different means and measures in order to achieve the
same goal of raising money for their institutions. Both sides heavily weigh each decision. The
AAM conducts much research on the museums role in society and presents this information to
Congress. Congress must weigh the AAMs case for funds against thousands of other pleas for
federal funds. As a professional organization, the AAMs case is very strong. At times, their
power has positively influenced Congress and the results were in favor of the museum
community. At other times, the outcome has not been so favorable. As museums continue to see
attendance numbers climb while their budget numbers drop, perhaps it is time that the
government recognize the true value of these institutions. When the AAM and the government
can compromise, the product is not simply better museums, but it is a better public good.

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Works Cited
American Alliance of Museums. American Alliance of Museums, 2013. Web. 12 October 2015.
Boyd, Willard L. Museum Accountability. Reinventing the Museum: The Evolving
Conversation on the Paradigm Shift. Ed. Gail Anderson. New York: Altamira Press,
2012. 170-188. Print.
Broadsource. On the Job: For Nonprofits, Final Accountability Rests in the Boards Hands.
Reinventing the Museum: The Evolving Conversation on the Paradigm Shift. Ed. Gail
Anderson. New York: Altamira Press, 2012. 476-485. Print.
Facts. American Alliance of Museums. American Alliance of Museums: 2013.
Web. 6 October 2015.
Falk, John and Beverly Sheppard Creating a New Business Model. Reinventing the Museum:
The Evolving Conversation on the Paradigm Shift. Ed. Gail Anderson. New York:
Altamira Press, 2012. 379-385. Print.
Fundraising at Art Museums. The Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution:
Kotler, Neil. New Ways of Experiencing Culture: The Role of Museums and Marketing
Implications. Reinventing the Museum: The Evolving Conversation on the Paradigm
Shift. Ed. Gail Anderson. New York: Altamira Press, 2012. 476-485. Print.
Issues at a Glance. American Alliance of Museums. American Alliance of Museums: 2013.
Web. 3 October 2015.

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IMLS Office of Museum Services American Alliance of Museums. American Alliance of

Museums: 2013. Web. 28 October 2015.
Susan Baldino, interview by Christina Armes, October 7, 2015.
Weil, Stephen E. From Being About Something to Being For Somebody. Reinventing
the Museum: The Evolving Conversation on the Paradigm Shift. Ed. Gail Anderson. New
York: Altamira Press, 2012. 170-188. Print.