Advocacy Alert – August 8, 2025
In this Alliance Advocacy Alert:
- Take Action: Tell Congress to Protect Museum Funding
- Hone Your Skills: Year-Round Advocacy
- Invite Congress is Underway
- Advocacy Tip of the Month: All Politics is Local
Take Action: Tell Congress to Protect Museum Funding
Congress has been moving forward on FY26 funding for the federal government.
In July, the Senate released its version of the bill that contains funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The Senate proposes funding the Office of Museum Services at IMLS at $51.25 million, a $4 million decrease from current levels. The House was originally scheduled to introduce their version of the bill in July. However, it has been pushed back to September, which is when we expect to get our first look at the House proposed funding level.
It is crucial that the museum community continue to push Congress to fund IMLS and the Office of Museum Services. Use our template email to contact your legislators, but make it personal. Your stories matter. Members of Congress want to hear how policies affect their local communities.
Also in July, both the House and Senate released their versions of the bill that contains funding for the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH). The House bill proposed a devastating 35% cut for both NEA and NEH, while the Senate version proposed maintaining the current funding level. Contact Congress to encourage them to support the Senate’s funding levels for NEA and NEH.
And don’t forget, personalized messages have the greatest impact!
Note: There is still a long way to go to finalize the bills to fund the government. The House and Senate must pass their versions of the bills, negotiate the differences between the two versions, pass the negotiated version through both chambers, and have it signed into law by the President.
AAM signed onto a Call to Action with several other organizations in support of funding IMLS, NEA, and NEH agencies.
Hone Your Skills: Year-Round Advocacy Webinar
If you missed the webinar on Year-Round Advocacy: Being an Effective Advocate, it is now available on demand.
Effective advocacy is not a “one and done” activity. It is a continuous process, rather than something you do only when an issue is urgent. Learn more about year-round advocacy, building relationships with your lawmakers and their staff, and how to be a more effective advocate. This webinar featured Brandy Dillingham, AAM’s Director of Advocacy, and Alexandra Coon, Executive Director of the Massillon Museum.
Invite Congress is Underway
Invite Congress month is underway. Museums are hosting members of Congress or their staff during the month of August. Even if you did not sign up to be an Invite Congress participating museum, but you hosted members of Congress or their staff at your museum sometime during the year, we encourage you to let AAM know how the visit went. It is helpful for AAM to know which members of Congress have been engaged with their local museums.
Advocacy Tip of the Month: All Politics is Local
Lawmakers care about the opinions of the people they represent. They do not have a job without the support of at least the majority of the voters in their districts. This is why it is so important for museum professionals, leaders, board members, volunteers, and community members to contact their lawmakers on topics that impact local museums. Lawmakers do not know the impact of the policies if you don’t tell them. When communicating with your lawmakers, be sure to include as much local impact information as possible. The more they hear from people in their districts/states about a topic, the more they take notice.
