Financial Sustainability

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

Research Roundup: SurveyingThe Employment Landscape

By Elizabeth Merritt

With today’s post, ACLS Public Fellow (and CFM Futurist-in-Training) Dr. Nicole Ivy launches a new occasional feature on the blog: a roundup of recent research relevant to her work and (we hope) to yours. As part of my wonderings about …
Tax Exempt Status: Revocations and Reinstatements

By Charlotte A. Montgomery

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

By Elizabeth Merritt

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”

By Elizabeth Merritt

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

By Elizabeth Merritt

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”

By Elizabeth Merritt

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 …
Summer Reading: What’s on my iPad

By Elizabeth Merritt

I never have enough time for long-form reading, but every summer I queue up a few things and make time to dive into them. Preferably sitting on the porch. With lemonade. And cats. Here are the next four on my list—these summaries are based …
The Future of Funding – Revisited

By Elizabeth Merritt

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

By Jessica B. Harris

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 …
Food Forward: Eat and drink trends in museums

By Marika Barranco

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2015 edition of the Museum magazine. Museums today are leveraging eating, drinking and tasting in new ways for visitors. Institutions striving to deliver multisensory experiences can find no …