Nema Mccauley 09

Fundraising SOS

Museums must not be afraid to innovate when crisis strikes
Museums do their best work when they embrace public service as a core mission
Museums have the potential to do even better when they think beyond the current crisis at hand and look into the future

…think beyond the
current crisis at hand
and think into the future

“It is clear that non-profits will, increasingly, leverage the power of relationships (through social media, e-mail, in-person requests, text messaging and more) to spark action around issues using new technologies.”
March 2009
Fundraising Success
Sarah Durham
Think into the future

Twitter and YouTube
Across the board
Facebook
Mid 20’s and up
My Space
Generally for teens and young adults 18-23

“We find that if a donor is engaged in our on-line community, their average gift is 50% higher than a donor who is only responding through direct mail.”
Roy Jones
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA

“As non-profits, museums are built to survive, not to succeed. Unlike startups and rock stars, museums aren’t structured to shoot for the moon and burn up trying.
They’re made to plod along.”
Eric Siegel
New York Hall of Science

“….problems arise when the desire to sustain overcomes the desire to be superlative and more resources go to surviving than succeeding.”

“For some museums,
awesomeness has never
been part of the
mission statement or
core services.”

AWESOMENESS

List your core services that people depend on and need to survive
2. List services you provide that make you awesome. Identify what draws people to your door, gets them excited, and connects them passionately with your content.

“It’s not enough to relegate these grand, heroic goals to mission statements. We have to pursue them – foolishly or rashly or successfully in our activities every day.”

Pursue grand and heroic goals everyday!

Move out of survival mode,
think into the future,
and reach for
1
AWESOMENESS

During the crisis be especially aware that you
preserve the core values
of your museum
2

“Enduring great companies preserve their core values and purpose while their business strategies and operating practices endlessly adapt to a changing world.”

Focus on what you can do better than any other organization
– in other words –
What can we be the most awesomest at?
3

The good to great companies understood that doing what you are good at will only make you good;
focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other organization is the only path to greatness.

Invite your donors
to be part of your
awesomeness
4

“When the economy finally swings upward and more wealth is created, that wealth will go to the relationships created when the economy was down.”

Summary
Move out of survival mode,
think into the future
1

During this crisis be especially aware that you
preserve the core values
of your museum
2

Focus on what you can do
better than any other
organization
3

Invite your donors
to be part of your
awesomeness
4