Monday Musing: Prequel to a Museum
Monday musings are my way of sharing “brain blorts”: brief, off-the-cuff thoughts about something I have read recently, both to help clarify my thinking an in the hopes of generating discussion and response. I give myself 15 …
Tax Exempt Status: Revocations and Reinstatements
The vast majority of tax-exempt status revocations happened after enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Prior to this new act, there was no filing requirement for organizations with gross receipts under $25,000. The Internal …
Revisiting the Future of Museums in the New Gilded Age
I recently reread a 2011 post by my former colleague Erik Ledbetter on the effect the “New Gilded Age” may have on museums. He wrote “The decline of the middle class and the reemergence of a true American plutocracy will …
Futurist Friday: Economic “Ifs”
The Economist just released the 2015 edition of “The World If“– a companion to their annual compilation of predictions. I’m working through it today, and you can, too.The editors pose one of my favorite questions: …
Futurist Friday: The Flood Next Time
Bjarke Ingels BIG architects in Copenhagen, won a federal competition to design storm protection for New York City. In this article he speaks about how his work in geoengineering is inspired by science fiction–specifically Kim …
The Sustainability “Myth”
Here’s something I’ve been wondering about: are social service and cultural nonprofits really the same species? Sure, we’re united by our 501(c)3 tax-exempt status, but beyond that, what’s our family resemblance, and is it …
The Future of Funding – Revisited
One of the best things about attending the annual AAM meeting is the serendipitous networking that takes place 24/7. For example, as I ran from event to event one evening, I connected for just a nanosecond with Carl Hamm, deputy director …
Cafeteria Connections: Some food for thought and thought for food
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2015 edition of the Museum magazine. We have become a nation of food-obsessed individuals. A glance at television’s offerings reveals that we revel in watching food competitions where …