Fundraising SOS

1. Museums must not be afraid to innovate

when crisis strikes

2. Museums do their best work when they

embrace public service as a core mission

3. 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

• 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.”

1. 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.”

Move out of survival mode,

think into the future,

and reach for

1

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