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EO Impacts and the Next Era of Museum Funding Part 3: Charitable Contributions and Investment Income
Welcome to part three of my exploration of the current and potential future impacts of presidential orders and actions on museums’ income streams and business models. If you’re joining midstream, you may want to pause and read the first … -
What’s your wish for U.S.? turns history museums into future-imagining incubators
In 2021, history museums across the nation, working in collaboration with one another and with Gen Z-ers through Made By Us, generated an idea to link together Juneteenth and the Fourth of July in a new tradition – Civic Season. Civic … -
EO Impacts and the Next Era of Museum Funding Part 2: Earned Income
This is the second installment in a series of essays exploring the impact of executive orders and actions on museum income streams. It summarizes what we know about the immediate, accumulating effect of these actions, as well as offering … -
Staying True to Mission: Why JANM Spoke Out
As my colleagues and I catalogue the damage being done to our sector, we take heart from a small but growing cadre of museums taking principled positions in the face of attacks on their institutions and the communities they serve. In 2019, … -
EO Impacts and the Next Era of Museum Funding: Part One
Earlier this month I gave a talk at the AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo on the impact presidential executive orders are having on our sector, and the implications for museum business models. Short version: not pretty, some bright … -
Sharing Snippets from AAM 2025
It was lovely to see over 4,000 of you in Los Angeles last week! I hope those of you who did attend share what you learned through conversation, social media, blog posts, presentations to colleagues, etc. etc. You can search #AAM2025 on … -
Join Us, LIVE FROM LA!
The recent wave of grant cancellations and other funding disruptions mean that some museum people have had to cancel their plans to attend the AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo this week. And I know that, even in the best in the best of … -
Cultivating Optimism: Signals of Hope
I’ve been on a deep dive into the world of optimism lately, looking for inspiration I might share to bolster our collective mental resilience in the face of massive disruptions. As I suspected, research shows that cultivating optimism … -
Revisiting Wild Times: The Loss of Nonprofit Status
In 2018 I published a scenario titled “Wild Times” set in a version of 2040 in which museums lost their nonprofit status due to a combination of political attacks, economic stress, and a global pandemic. At the time, I emphasized its … -
Your Guide to the Future at AAM 2025
AAM’s annual meeting is a gigantic buffet of content, and I know from experience that navigating the offerings can be somewhat overwhelming. In this post I offer one specialized menu of sessions related to issues I’m watching with a …
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Upcoming Events
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Museums & Healthcare Partnerships: Starting the Conversation
Event Date:Presented by: American Alliance of Museums -
Preparing for the US 250th at History Organizations
Event Date:Presented by: American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) -
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Latest Stories from AAM
Trust and Community Responsibility, Part One: A 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story
Category:
Alliance Blog
This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, …
January Advocacy Alert: Last Chance to Register for Museums Advocacy Day, NEA and NEH Funding Bill Approaches the Finish Line, and more
Category:
Advocacy Alert
Advocacy Alert – January 9, 2026 In this Alliance Advocacy Alert: Last Chance to …
Welcome to TrendsWatch: Questioning Assumptions
Category:
Museum Magazine
“The problem with assumptions is that we believe they are the truth.” — Miguel Angel …