FUNDRAISING LESSONS FOR THE NON-FUNDRAISER

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

---

In my three years of writing this column, I have mentioned once or twice my belief that as museum professionals we must all understand fundraising in order to understand our institutions. This is true for a number of reasons. Knowing how fundraising works, and how your institution does it, can tell you a great deal about your institution. Knowing who is giving to your institution can tell you much about your audience. In addition to this, and most relevant to us today, is that there are a lot of lessons to take from fundraising which have applications in other areas of museum work. Today I would like to share with you four of the most important pieces of fundraising advice which will help you in other areas of the field.

Bear with me, because I know a lot of people find talking about money gauche. All the same, there's a lot you can learn from your colleagues who talk about it all the time. (Image source.)

Talk so people want to listen.

At the end of the day, we all have to remember that our field requires an audience. Whatever we do and say has to be helpful to them and has to make them want to listen. Now, this isn’t to say that you have to coddle an audience or dilute your message. In fact, I would make the case that fundraisers are some of the most frank, blunt people in the museum world—pandering isn’t actually part of the job. What this does mean, however, is that you have to tell hard truths carefully. Fundraisers are great at this (after all, "I need a substantial amount of your money to keep my institution going" is a big pill to swallow). Chat with them about how to talk about difficult things—I promise they'll have insights into how to make people listen even when you're navigating a complicated exhibition. As the saying goes, if a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound? If an exhibition is put on and nobody came, did it even have a message?


People are complicated.

This one is of particular relevance to me, as my thesis investigates how museums break off relationships with major donors whose ethics are called into question. Simply put, the hyper-wealthy don’t just crack eggs to make omelettes, they then patent the process and sell it. Then they often given some of the profits to museums, to help them continue their important work. Fundraisers have to understand how to let people be flawed and still participate in the museum. They also have to know where the hard lines are drawn that make someone anathema to the institution. As other museum careers deal with problematic artists or dubious artefact sources, they might want to pick a fundraiser’s brain on how to navigate that line.


The museum wants to exist in fifty years.

This is a tricky one. Many people go into the museum field because they love art, history, education, activism, or one of the many other things that museums can embody. It can be hard to acknowledge that museums in Canada are largely underfunded and need to raise capital in order to exist at all. Fundraisers are intimately familiar with this—they’re on the frontline of bringing in a huge part of a museum’s budget. Other museum professionals will see the need to prioritize profit impact their work when they’re asked to change the tone of a label, scrap an exhibition because of the potential bad publicity, or work with an artist who is famous but problematic. The museum is in it for the long haul, and sometimes that means compromise in order to maintain long-term stability. Chat with your fundraiser if you’re worried about a change you’re being forced to make for this reason. They also care about the museum’s mission, have probably had to compromise a number of times, and can relate.


There are a lot of ways to love a museum.

One of the most exciting parts of fundraising is helping people do things that matter. People want to help museums, but with so many different lived experiences out there, it can be tough to find ways for people to participate in the museum in a way that feels authentic for them. Be it a $20 annual donation on a special anniversary, funding a new education program, or a legacy gift (a donation made to an institution in a will), fundraisers are masters at coming up with unique ways for people to be involved in an institution. They are also masters at making people care in the long-term, so they return and contribute over and over again. If you’re looking at increasing engagement or diversifying your education portfolio, talk to a fundraiser. They’re full of ideas on how to help people find joy in being part of your community.


There are of course many more lessons to be taken from fundraising, and fundraisers must also be constantly learning from the other members of the museum. Talk to your fundraisers, find common ground and common learning, and you will see your institution flourish. Plus, I promise we’re friendly, welcoming, open people. It’s literally our job to be.

"ACTIVATING THE PEOPLE WHO CARE THE MOST": IN CONVERSATION WITH FUNDRAISING CONSULTANT CINDY WAGMAN

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

---

Fundraising expert Cindy Wagman is the founder and CEO of The Good Partnership, a fundraising consultancy which helps small non-profits achieve their fundraising goals. She brings a BA in Women's Studies from Queen's University, an MBA from the Rotman School at the University of Toronto, and over fifteen years of fundraising experience to work with her every day.

Cindy has learned that fundraising is all about relationships and collaboration. (Photo source.)

How did you come to start The Good Partnership?

I was approached by an organization to run a capital campaign for them, and was able to negotiate that I could do that role as a consultant rather than as a staff person. That was when I looked at what I wanted and where I was in my career and thought, “Oh, I could start a consulting business!” I was able to negotiate that, and then from there really figured out how to grow the company. I knew I wanted to work with small organizations. I think they’re doing really interesting work, and it evolved quite organically based on our learning and our work with our clients. I didn’t really know where I wanted it to go, but I’m happy with where we are. 

For so many of the people in the program that I’m in, when you talk museum fundraising, people think the ROM, the National Gallery, the big ones. The reality is that the vast majority of museums are small heritage sites. 

That’s where our sweet spot is. No other consultants really serve them in a meaningful way, and the kind of support small organizations need is fundamentally different from what most consultants do. Most consultants give advice and walk away, whereas we specialize in implementation. It’s like having a staff person with you. We work with a lot of arts and cultural based organizations. Some are museums, some are hybrids where they’re site-based and festival-based. There’s so much diversity within the sector. There are 86,000 registered charities in Canada. 80% of them have operating budgets under half a million. Most organizations are small, we just don’t know about them. 

What in your perspective is the biggest misconception non-fundraisers have about fundraisers?

What I hear from non-fundraisers all the time is that fundraising is icky, it’s begging. They have this perception that fundraising is about taking money away from people who don’t want to give it away. That’s the opposite of what fundraising is. Fundraising is really about activating the people who care the most and giving them an opportunity to invest in things that excite them, and to envision the future that they want to build. That’s the biggest misconception, just that people don’t want to give, therefore fundraisers are bad people. People want to give, they want to support, they care about organizations and they want to see them be successful. All of the people who aren’t “chosen fundraisers,” they all say, “I’m not a fundraiser, I don’t know how to fundraise, I’m not a good fundraiser.” Part of it is that money is taboo, we aren’t supposed to talk about it. Mostly it’s because there’s this myth that people don’t want to give, and that’s just not true. People need to hear directly from donors to understand that fundraising is community-building and mobilizing support. If you can do that successfully with volunteers and board members who are non-fundraisers, you can get them much more on board and more excited. I also think part of the problem is that so many small organizations have been unsuccessful with fundraising. Not only do they not want to do it in the first place, but then they try so hard and get no results. It’s a cycle, and part of it is our brain saying, “We’re not good at this, and our results aren’t going to be good.” It’s a cycle I’m on a mission to break, and to get people to feel good about fundraising so it can build and grow on itself. 

The number one trait it takes to be a successful fundraiser? According to Cindy, it's curiosity. (Image source.)

What personality traits does it take to be a successful fundraiser?

There’s one thing that makes for an excellent fundraiser: curiosity. What people perceive to be fundraising is pitching. Elevator pitch, corporate pitch, talking at people. Good fundraising is the art of listening. It’s hearing from people why they care, and giving them options to take action on that by supporting the organization. Introvert, extrovert, all of those things don’t matter. People have different styles. Authenticity and curiosity are the two biggest, most important character traits. It’s really about how you uncover what the true opportunities for support are. You also need to be curious about the programs. You need to listen to your curators. Be curious about everyone you’re interacting with, because then you get to see a much bigger picture and you can connect people with what you care about. It’s something every good fundraiser needs to be skilled at. I haven’t come across any evidence to say that it’s something we don’t have innately. What it requires is stepping back from our preconceived notions about pitching and presenting and turning that into listening, and everyone has that capability. 

At the end of the day, fundraising is relationship building, it’s customer service, and being able to say, “What is interesting to this patron? Let’s connect them to the right person,” rather than saying, “Here’s what we’ve got. Donate.” 

There are archetypes of what I call “reluctant fundraisers.” There’s consistency in personality archetypes in these people who say, “I’m not a fundraiser, I can’t fundraise, I don’t want to fundraise.” An example is what I call “The Perfectionist.” Often I see this with programming staff or board members who are saddled with fundraising who are very good at what they do, but don’t want to fundraise. What happens with the perfectionists is they seek more and more information, but they never take action. The best way to learn something is to practice it. What I encourage for those people is not to worry about the end, not to think about the ask. Flex those listening muscles. That’s how you’ll learn and get comfortable talking with donors. From there you can build your capacity to have the conversations, and become a “doer.”

Let’s assume someone is put into a fundraising role, perhaps as a larger role, where can they start? What are those key pieces of information you need before you can get going?

Start by listening to donors. Go through that donor list, reach out to as many of them as you humanly can, and ask for feedback and advice. You want to get to know them. We do that without exception, because I think that’s the number one consideration to having a good fundraising strategy and being successful in fundraising. You have to know your donors and understand who is already at the table. Once you do that, the rest comes. 

Learn more about The Good Partnership by visiting their website, and find out which fundraising archetype you are by taking Cindy's self-evaluation quiz. 

RETRACING FOOTSTEPS AND FINDING FUNDING AT PIER 21

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

---

Pier 21 is a groundbreaking museum located in Halifax which tells the story of Canadian immigration. I sat down with Fiona Valverde, Vice President of Revenue Generation at Pier 21, to talk about fundraising for the museum and how to approach making corporate partnerships when your mission is politicized. 

The Pier 21 Site | Source

What brought you to Pier 21? How did you get to your current role?


So many of us here have a personal connection to the story we tell. In my case, both of my maternal grandparents actually came through Pier 21 in the late 1920s from Poland. My dad immigrated to Canada in the 1960s from his native Spain. He flew, my maternal grandparents came on a boat right through the gateway [at Pier 21]. We tell two stories here at the museum. We tell the story of those who have a direct connection to the immigration at Pier 21, and the other story is the broader story of immigration that represents all Canadian immigration. Working here is coming full circle for me. It feels like home. That drew me here.

It must be incredible to feel so personally connected to your mission here and to work here.


If you want to work in fundraising, you know that passion and having a personal connection is so helpful in the work we do.


Immigration is a hugely politicized issue. Is there ever difficulty trying to find corporate sponsors or grants when you’re telling the story of a topic that’s brought up every election cycle?


That’s actually helpful for us. It adds greater relevance for us when we’re trying to impress upon the importance of why we exist and why it matters to support a Canadian museum of immigration. I think it’s important that when we look at corporate partners we do our research, we look at corporations that align with our values as an organization, values that embrace inclusive and welcoming communities, because a lot of what we talk about is around diversity. As an example, let’s look at TD Bank. They right now are supporting a travelling exhibition of ours that’s called Refuge Canada. It looks at the refugee experience, it looks at dispelling myths about what it means to be a refugee, and it tries to look at things thematically, in terms of humanity and shared points of interest. This idea of looking at things that unite us and bring us together instills an ability to be more empathetic and more understanding. For TD Bank, they’re committed to connecting communities. They wanted to support this project that looks at the refugee journey and what brings people together, and creating this ability to understand and reflect. When we look at corporate sponsors, I think it’s very important that we look for partners that share the same values.

Exhibition Space at Pier 21 | Source

After you’ve identified a partner, how do you steward that relationship? What does contact look like?


It varies. It depends on the type of partner, how big they are, what their expectations are as far as stewardship and recognition. It’s very much peer-to-peer. I would probably have the relationship with the head of corporate giving, and my CEO might have a relationship with the CEO or a board member of our corporate partner. Corporations have clear giving guidelines and processes, so it’s pretty clear early on who your point of contact is, and you maintain a relationship with that individual. It really depends on the size of the corporate donor and what existing relationships are there to begin with, so we maintain them and continue to build them. It is really important that you figure out who these individuals are and what they’re responsible for. You should be very respectful of their process and who you’re meant to contact, and make sure that you work with them directly. While you can have other volunteers involved, it’s really important that you keep that centre person abreast of all the different touch points that are happening, and look to them first for advice. If it’s a major corporation, head office can be in a different area in Canada. They’ll want to know that you connected first with their regional representative before going to someone else in head office. If you’re looking for a major gift, they can often move you in that direction.


Once you’ve connected with an organization or an individual, and you’re getting down to the point of determining how big the logo is going to be on the exhibition poster, how do those decisions get made?


Every organization will have some kind of giving guidelines that they will adhere to and follow. It’s important you’re consistent in naming recognition and gift activation, and that you are very clear on the expectations of the corporate partner as well, so you’re comfortable early on that you can deliver on their promise and maintain consistency with your giving guidelines. When it becomes a major gift or a transformational gift, it’s important that you also allow some space to make it tailored and impactful for that donor, beyond that traditional logo recognition. For example, the Sobey Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the museum. As our relationship grew and Sobeys was coming up to their 110th anniversary as a company, and it was also Canada’s 150th, they wanted to look at a partnership that would engage their employees in the story that we tell. They came up with an idea of inviting employees from across the country to share their stories with us. It was a really successful project and partnership, because beyond what one would think of in terms of sponsorship and why a sponsor might get involved with an organization, this was about impact and engagement. I think you’ll find that more and more with corporations, that they really want to find partnerships among the communities that they serve around causes that matter to them.


It does make it sound very similar to major gifts, just identifying those shared concerns and priorities and demonstrating impact. Do you see the two as particularly similar?


As an organization, as far as corporate giving is concerned, we very much approach it as we might approach foundational or individual giving. It is typically from the philanthropic arm of the corporate body. The process is very similar. You do your research, find your points of interest. The recognition and the stewardship is a bit more specific in the corporate world than maybe an individual or foundation’s giving, there might be more reporting involved. In those ways it might be different, but at the end of the day the approach is quite similar.


What is the most exciting thing that has been achieved through fundraising since you joined the team at Pier 21?


My favourite thing working here is when you have that opportunity to just make a really deep emotional connection with someone. One example would be the Saputo family. They made a $1M donation to the museum, which in itself of course is memorable and exciting. The most incredible part of it was when Mirella and Lino Saputo came with their family including all of their grandchildren to the museum for the first time since arriving at Pier 21, and they could show them that moment of first arrival and share that with their family. It’s so intimate, and you’re with them and you can’t help but feel just as emotional as they are when they’re retelling that moment in their lives when everything changed. It’s like, “We made it, we arrived, we’re starting again.” And it happens whether it’s a well-recognized family like the Saputos, or one of the many donors who come here to retrace their footsteps. I feel very privileged when I get to be part of those moments.


I’ll be honest, I teared up hearing you talk about that.


I can’t help it either! It’s a very special place, and a very special organization to work for. We need it now more than ever.

RESPONDING TO COVID AT THE AGO

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

---

When COVID-19 closures began back in March, the GLAM community had to quickly evaluate how it approached philanthropy. With Canadians increasing their giving to front-line workers and directing it away from the arts, GLAM institutions had to put serious thought into what their needs were and how to support their donor community. I sat down with AGO Chief Development Officer Kate Halpenny to learn more about how the AGO acted quickly to address our new normal.

The AGO at dusk. (Source)

I’d love to hear more about how you’ve tackled the pandemic.


It hasn’t been easy, for sure. I think we all feel like this is the great leadership challenge of our careers. Hopefully we’re rising to it. I don’t know how other organizations are tackling it, but right from the get-go the AGO senior leadership team really shifted gears to work very closely together on a daily basis, to tackle every issue coming our way. It’s a very large organization and museums are very complex environments to work in. It’s been really great that the museum sector has a very strong network between the directors of the museums, and they’ve been on regular calls together to figure out strategy. In Toronto there’s been quite a strong connectivity between all the arts organizations, because we’re all facing similar situations.


How has this impacted development, specifically? I imagine there are opportunities and challenges created by this.


Yet to be determined. It’s an evolving question. What we found in the first months of the severe lockdown of the pandemic was that there was a shift amongst philanthropists to the front-line, with incredibly generous support to hospitals, poverty organizations, etc. It was a wonderful thing, and I think in the arts we all recognized early on that was not the point in time to be asking for gifts. It was the time to be there for our donors, be empathetic to their individual circumstances and what they’re going through, because everyone is going through this in a different way. We focussed on connectivity with our donors, so we were not just communicating with them, but engaging them with all that we are as an institution. Interestingly, our fiscal year ends March 31st, so we were pretty concerned that we weren’t going to be able to achieve our goals. We were very, very pleased and grateful that our donors really stuck with us, and everybody that had an outstanding commitment was able to meet that. We’ve done multiple budgeting scenarios. Things change. We found our major corporate partners have been amazing, really supportive. I think that on the corporate side, people are hanging on right now, but given the length of time this is going on there’s a potential for more job loss, potentially companies going bankrupt, they’re very tenuous in terms of future commitments. I wonder if the reverberations of the pandemic will be felt in the next fiscal, even, and not just this fiscal. Time will tell. The other softness will be in our annual giving. Those are gifts where people might be on a tighter budget, versus a major foundation that has to carry on with their giving. It’s changed our perspective on things. Definitely new strategies, and we have some projections but we don’t have a clear sense of whether it’s going to be possible. 

Interior shot of the AGO. (Source.)

And the same issues are playing out at every level in the sector.


We have to be really careful in what we’re asking right now and be super sensitive to the situations people are finding themselves in. We can’t assume that just because someone gave over the past few years they can this year, we need to be having those conversations. We’re just now going out to start doing major gifts requests, we’ve put a pause on them for a while, so it’ll be interesting over the next couple of months to see what happens from there.


This is the time to care, then.


I believe, particularly in the arts, the donor community is a real community. The communities that come together around art forms are really passionate. They’re people who are committed over long periods of time. This is a time to say thank you for all of that long-standing commitment.


You’ve touched on how the goal posts and the plans change every day. Seeing all of this play out, has it impacted or changed how you see or understand development in the sector?


It’s been a bit of a shake-up. I think we’ve had a couple of decades now in Canada where we have been very focused and reliant on major gifts, and really reliant on a very small segment of philanthropists in our city to be giving. I feel like right now we really need to have a more robust strategy. It can’t just be focussed on that. The whole fundraising pyramid, the whole goal has always been to bring people in at the bottom and bring them up, and the resources are focussed on major gifts. We need to look at how to expand our donor bases a lot more. The most interesting aspect of the time we’re in right now is that we have the pandemic, but layered on top of that we have this significant social change that’s happening, and the AGO certainly feels quite connected to that change. That’s begging many questions as well around the way we sustain ourselves through philanthropy. I think we’re all going to be reshaping our business. Like glitzy events. The arts are quite famous for incredible events, but maybe we can have another kind of special event. 

Interior shot of the AGO staircase. (Source.)

The AGO is coming out with endless social media materials, which have been really impressive.


That was a seismic shift, moving online that quickly. We really went for it. We wanted to shower people with content and to carry people through that time when everyone was at home and couldn’t go anywhere. As we look forward to the rest of this fiscal [year], the online piece is going to be much more significant than the in-person piece. I think we will always now have an online component to our work that engages people. We want them to come to the museum, but they can also engage from home.


What’s your favourite thing that has been achieved through your work at the AGO?


The AGO is an incredibly dynamic organization. There’s so much Toronto art history at the AGO, but it’s also so forward-thinking and progressive. We have a vision right now that’s all about opening up our doors and being as relevant to the Toronto that is now and will be in the future and everybody who lives here. Also, trying to lead more global conversations that can happen through art. That’s powerful. For me, as a development person, I’m most attracted to a really strong vision. There are so many brilliant people who are doing fascinating things at the AGO. To have so many voices at the table all the time to figure out what we’re doing is pretty rich. For all the people on our fundraising team, they would probably say the same thing. There’s never a dull moment, and we feel like we’re fundraising for exhibitions, for collections, for programming, but really? We’re fundraising for our art to be the voice of our time and to be this central meeting ground for people to be inspired by the power of art, but also to dialogue with each other and to figure out our world and how we’re going to respond to it. What better case for support can you have as a fundraiser? I get to think about that every day.

DO WHAT YOU'RE AWESOME AT: IN CONVERSATION WITH FUNDRAISING MASTER HEATHER NELSON

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

---

Heather Nelson is an expert fundraiser, with over a decade of experience in the field and millions of dollars raised for important causes. In 2016 she founded Bridgeraise, a consultancy firm which helps nonprofits manage relationships with corporate partners and sponsors. We sat down to talk about the difference between fundraising in the arts and fundraising for social services, the reputation fundraising has in the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) sector, and how small museums can compete with the ROM.

There seems to be this disconnect between the field of fundraising, and the field of arts and culture fundraising. A lot of arts fundraisers seem to get into it from other places in the sector, from education or curation, whereas in the development world it seems like most professional development people don’t work a lot with the arts and culture sector.


Fundraising traditionally has been connected to organizations that have a social service or social justice direction, where the need is to save lives. Fundraisers are generally raising money off of a story of impact on the individual or on society, and I don’t think arts organizations have done particularly well at positioning themselves in that place. 

A lot of fundraising activities are actually just relationship-building. (Image source.)

One of the tough things about fundraising in the arts is the “ask,” because art isn’t strictly a requirement for survival and therefore attracts fewer donations. It’s so much easier to say, “We need X amount of money to buy a CAT scan to help a sick child,” versus, “We need X amount of money to buy this really cool painting.”


Arts organizations have a history of having another way [of supporting themselves]. Entry fees and government have always been the way they pay for themselves, and maybe a few corporate sponsors. They’re selling a product [access to art and history], either to corporate sponsors or to individuals. You don’t need fundraisers for that. A fundraiser’s skills are in telling the story of the gap, the cause, the need. If your financial model doesn’t require that, then why would you hire someone whose skill it is? But now the government isn’t covering costs, and there is a need for the skills of a professional fundraiser. That’s not where the arts community has built up a lot of people.


What do you think are the key things non-fundraising fundraisers, people in arts organizations who are in a semi-fundraising role but don’t have the training or that skill set, need to be learning?


One of the things you need to do is think about what your money story is. You’re going to be talking about money, and you need to think that through. Are you uncomfortable asking for money? Do you not like saying "money" out loud? Do you not like even talking to your family about money? You need to work through that. The second thing I’d say is focus on the fact that most of fundraising is relationship building. Forget about the money for a while. Now that you’ve thought it through, put it aside and spend your energy building relationships. That is the core of fundraising. At some point you will have to ask for money, but you can spend quite a bit of time bringing [people] closer to your organization and not thinking about the fundraising part at all. Third is keep it simple. One of the things that sometimes happens is you don’t want to ask for money so you build this elaborate event or activity, and all this time is spent on creating materials to put as many layers of buffer between you and the actual asking of the money. Really what that does is just suck tons of time and money that is not actually raising more for the organization. At the end of the day, it really is a waste of money. You don’t need ambitious galas or fancy decks and proposals and all kinds of things to raise money. Put less there, keep that simple, and put more energy into getting to know people.

Working with databases and spreadsheets is another major component of fundraising. (Image source.)

I see people in my faculty often not thinking about fundraising, whereas I take the position that everyone in a museum is involved in fundraising. I see people not realizing it’s going to be a major part of their professional lives. Educators give tours, and curators create exhibitions that bring in potential new donors. Everyone is connected to it.


And they’re connected to it because it pays their salaries. If your fundraiser isn’t effective, you lose your job. A good organization has everyone working together, and those other players have to understand how big a part they are in this fundraising ecosystem.


And most people don’t realize that most fundraising isn’t chatting up billionaires. Most fundraising is annual giving, memberships, and so forth.


That isn’t the bulk of what is publicized, however. These big individual gifts and corporate gifts that get such big profiles are good because they provide credibility and help build trust and show what is possible. However, they sometimes set up unreasonable expectations about what is possible. All these small gifts are the engine that drives most fundraising for these big ones to pop up here and there.


It probably makes it much more intimidating for non-fundraising fundraisers, too. I imagine it’s scary to go into a role thinking that you’re expected to become best friends with the Westons.


Because I’m a corporate fundraiser, people think I introduce myself going, “Hi, can I have a million dollars?” The percentage of time I’ve spent actually asking for money is tiny. Most of the time I’m trying to figure out what the partnership looks like that I’m working on, thinking about messaging, looking at how a person is going to be thanked. Many people who are involved in the fundraising sector are never at the point where they’re asking for money. They’re building messaging, writing letters, and those things. In the fundraising sector, as a whole, only a fraction of them ask for money. It’s about more than that. The arts sector is positioned on this challenging side, where it doesn’t have a strong social need. What it does have that’s the envy of everyone else is Patron’s Circles, special events, all these things that you can get access to that others don’t have. Arts organizations have a real advantage. They have physical things, or a tangible experience they can offer. Those benefits are very valuable to the people to whom they’re very valuable. One of the mistakes is trying to sell to people who don’t care.


The vast majority of arts and culture institutions are small local heritage houses or galleries, but the majority of fundraising most people see are nationwide campaigns by the ROM and the like. If that’s all someone is familiar with when they go to work at a small institution, they’re set up to fail.


I see lots of envy. Like, “I’m not the ROM, but I’ll try to do what they do but not as well,” as opposed to saying, “This is who I am, and this is what’s awesome about who I am.” If what you’re awesome at is bringing a heritage organization to a community that has no other heritage organization, do that. Use that. Focus on what makes you special—you’re special to the community you’re in. You have special benefits you can give people, so what does that look like? Do they get special seats or a special tour? You can do all those things and they’re in your control. You don’t have to ask 2000 people like you do when you try to do something at the ROM. There are three people that work at your organization. You can get together and say, “Hey, two weeks from Friday, we’re going to have people over for coffee in the afternoon,” or, “The curator of this particular thing is going to get on a Zoom call with whoever wants to join.” And even if there are only four people that want to join, who cares? That’s four people who get to know you better, and eventually might send some money. When you’re smaller, embrace that and focus on the relationships you have access to.

CLOUT-Y WITH A CHANCE OF MET BALLS: FASHION AND FUNDRAISING’S BIGGEST NIGHT

Sew What | Chloé Houde

---

I might be late in realizing this, but I only recently found out that the Met Ball is an annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and not just a fancy red carpet night for designers and celebrities to show off beautiful, over-the-top, statement-making outfits. The Met Ball, also known as the Met Gala or the Costume Institute Benefit, is an annual themed event held on the first Monday of May to raise funds for the Met's Costume Institute and to kick off its annual exhibition. The event raises enormous amounts of money annually, which goes towards funding exhibitions, acquisitions, and capital improvements for the Institute. The Gala raised $US12 million in 2014 and over US$13 million in 2019. The Costume Institute is also the Met's only curatorial department that is responsible for its own fundraising, presumably due to the Gala's success. I was struck by the contrast between what I thought a fundraising event looked like and what the Costume Institute hosts every year. How did a museum fundraiser become one of the most mainstream, exclusive, and anticipated global fashion events of the year while also becoming ubiquitous in popular culture?

Gown by Chinese designer Guo Pei in the "China: Through the Looking Glass" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2015 | Source

The Costume Institute, originally the Museum of Costume Art, joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1946. At the time, charity events were hugely popular with New York socialites, who used philanthropic events to elevate their social status and retain relevance in high society. From its first iteration in 1948 as a benefit party, the Costume Institute's annual fundraiser remained an attractive socialite-centered event for decades. From 1972 to 1989, Diana Vreeland, special consultant to the Institute, greatly elevated the event. She transformed the benefit supper into a theme party linked to the theme of the Institute's yearly exhibition. The event garnered more notoriety and excitement throughout Vreeland's time at the Met, as both an art and social affair that became more international and open to celebrity. When Anna Wintour became the co-chair of the Met Gala in 1995, and took over leadership in 1999, the event veered its trajectory towards what we know it to be today. Anna Wintour has been the editor in chief of Vogue Magazine since 1988 and the artistic director of Condé Nast since 2013. Wintour wields an undeniable grip on the world of fashion through these positions, and the Met Gala is no exception. 

The Costume Institute's website | Source

Under Wintour's direction, the event has become much more exclusive. Over the years, Wintour has implemented a strict dress code, banned personal photography during the event (although some celebs sneak selfies in the bathroom), has made ticket and table prices more expensive (individual tickets jumped from US$15,000 to US$25,000 in 2014, up to US$30,000 in 2018, and tables went for US$275,000 in 2019), and she personally approves every single guest that attends (there are between 600-700 guests annually). Wintour is also responsible for making the event celebrity-focused, in a stark departure from the socialite event it had previously been (which some have lamented). It is now virtually impossible to buy individual tickets to the Gala, since companies and designers will buy tables and invite Wintour-approved celebrities to the event to model their creations. Wintour exerts immense control over the Gala, which has received criticism over the years.

The Met Gala is now inextricably tied to the contemporary world of fashion and design, more than it had ever previously been. Being seen at this event has long carried a heavy social importance for individuals, but nowadays, having a presence at the fashion event of the year is an unmissable marketing opportunity for designers, brands, and companies. It also carries much significance in determining a celebrity's relevance at a particular moment. The Met Gala is closely followed by millions of spectators, and has resulted in unforgettable and iconic moments for many celebrities that persist in popular memory.

Recent tweets highlighting Met Gala outfits worn by Kacey Musgraves, Zendaya, and Emily Ratajkowski from the past few years | Source, Source, Source

It is easy to miss the fact that the Met Gala is a museum fundraiser when there is so much notoriety, popularity, celebrity, and exclusivity tied to the event. Nicknamed "the Oscars of the East Coast," the Costume Institute Benefit is now considered part of the roster of yearly red carpet events, where famous people parade designer clothing. Anna Wintour's control looms large over the event, which has had the effect of closely associating the Met Gala with Vogue Magazine. Wintour has employed similar strategies for popularizing the Met Gala and Vogue; she was one of the first fashion magazine editors to have celebrities on cover pages, rather than models, and was the one who made the Gala the celebrity-saturated affair it is today. This association to celebrity has had the effect of bringing these cultural products out of their respective niches and into popular culture. It seems to be a symbiotic relationship masterminded by Anna Wintour; Vogue benefits from being associated with the enormously high profile Met Gala, celebrities add notoriety while adding to their own relevance, and the Costume Institute reaps the funding and exposure generated by this ever-prominent event. The Gala and the corresponding exhibition are so reliant on big corporate sponsorships that Wintour is consulted and signs off on the theme of the Costume Institute's yearly exhibition so that she can find appropriate sponsors. Her impact is present at every level. This degree of commercialism and control isn't without criticism, however.

Another important factor in the Met Gala's popularity is its relationship to fashion, which, as a topic of interest, is popular, visually engaging, and accessible to wide audiences. Fashion affects us whether we realize it or not, which the fictional Miranda Priestly (based on the real life Anna Wintour) reminds us of in the famous "Blue Sweater" scene from the movie The Devil Wears Prada. Fashion is ubiquitous in celebrity culture as well, and seeing both come together so obviously and opulently at the Met Gala makes for a blockbuster affair. Every year (except this year, for obvious reasons), on the first Monday of May, the world watches as the Costume Institute Benefit congregates a themed flurry of celebrities, artists, high-powered individuals, designers, brands, outfits, works of art, innovations, and lots and lots of money to create a monumental spectacle. Hard to believe it all started as a benefit supper, right? 

I may be wrong, but I (sadly) can't imagine a fundraiser for any other museum generating a cultural impact (or as much money) as the Met Gala.

Viral tweets about the Met Gala from 2018-2019 | Source, Source, Source

THE UNCONVENTIONAL FUNDRAISER

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

---

Well, Musers and shakers, I come to you today hat in hand. Between work, school, and finding an internship, I did not have time to interview anybody this month for (Fun)draising. Fear not, however; as the wisdom goes, whenever you don’t have an article ready, write a listicle. It is in this spirit of last-minuteness (hello, midterms) that I humbly present The Unconventional Fundraiser.

I am often asked how I see my degree in museum studies being practical in a fundraising scenario, especially considering there are degrees and programs specifically designed to prepare people for a career in fundraising. I usually respond by saying that museum studies is about learning to tell a story that matters in a way that makes sense, and what is fundraising if not telling a story that matters in a way that makes sense to a potential donor? Rarely, however, do I hear my fellow museum studies colleagues (and professors) asking about the relationship between fundraising and their future museum careers. It is uncommon in this program to turn the popular understanding that fundraising supports museums on its head, and to ask instead how museums can support fundraising. Enter: this month’s column.

I have written before of my view that the Master of Museum Studies program doesn’t give enough attention to fundraising and development. Despite the fact that development initiatives will impact nearly every student who leaves this program and gets work in the field, many students are left unaware of their relationship to this facet of museum operations. But folks, one day you will all have to fundraise, whether it’s in your job description or not. Just as it isn’t just the collection manager who is interested in preventing items from breaking, maintaining the financial stability of an institution is (directly or otherwise) everyone’s business.

Unconvinced? Or perhaps sick at the thought? I present to you this quick and dirty guide illustrating the relationship between fundraising and nine popular museum careers, to demonstrate that you, too, are a development professional.

This is what administration looks like in action. (Source.)

Administration
How fundraising impacts you: Lots of your work includes processing donations, creating documents and contracts for donors, and arranging events to celebrate donors.
How you fundraise: You provide the foundation on which fundraising happens, and do lots of the technical work (room bookings, contract creation, tax receipt issuing) which allows your institution to process donations. Also, many institutions will house their development team within the administration.

Archivist/Librarian
How fundraising impacts you: Donors are sources of support for your archive or library, and in some cases may even give you material to add to your collection. As archives and libraries are often small in museum institutions and largely underfunded, you rely on donors for a good deal of your budget.
How you fundraise: Fundraising campaigns will often turn to institutional archives and libraries to find information and images for use in campaign materials, which you supply. Furthermore, you may be asked to show donors or potential donors around your workspace, to show them items from the archive, or to work with them in donating their own archival material when relevant.

Collections Manager
How fundraising impacts you: Fundraising helps support building operations, which impact your ability to care for your collection. Furthermore, donors may gift objects to your institution, increasing the size of your collection.
How you fundraise: As collections manager you work with material donors frequently, meaning that you already have established relationships with individuals who are invested in supporting your institution. It isn’t uncommon for that interest to be translated into a financial investment, so maintaining those relationships even after an individual material donation is key.

Welcome to communications. You live on your phone. (Source.)

Communications Manager
How fundraising impacts you: Fundraising is central to your role. Reaching out to new communities and communicating messages about events and promotions is all part of fundraising.
How you fundraise: Every new person and community you reach means a pool of new potential donors. Furthermore, lots of the messages you circulate will be very literally to do with fundraising through the advertising of things like donor drives.

Conservator
How fundraising impacts you: Not only does donor money help you get all the materials and equipment you need to conserve the items you work with, once in a while you might get a massive donation of conservation materials from a donor (as was the case for the John M. Kelly Library conservation studio last year, when I worked there and a local bookbinder donated literally all of his bookbinding materials to the studio).
How you fundraise: Keeping artifacts looking their best makes the institution look its best, which will help attract donors. More science-inclined donors may also want a chance to visit your lab, which will mean meeting with them and showing them around.

Curator
How fundraising impacts you: Your exhibitions are often supported with funding from corporate sponsors, if not individual donors. Without this financial support your exhibition team would be smaller and you would have a smaller budget for loans and acquisitions in support of your latest exhibition.
How you fundraise: You may be required to provide personal guided experiences of your exhibitions for donors and potential donors will be attracted to your dynamic, engaging exhibitions. Every single person who steps into your exhibition space is a potential donor, and your exhibition can make or break their decision to support your institution.

In education, you will spend a lot of time with tour groups (like this one!). (Source.)

Education
How fundraising impacts you: Donor financing is behind a lot of the programs you run, and if you feel like thinking a bit more abstractly, all those volunteers you manage are donating the value of their time.
How you fundraise: Your programs speak to the priorities of the institution, giving potential donors an idea of how their own priorities might fit into your institution’s vision. You might be asked to arrange tours, workshops, and talks for donors.

Front of House
How fundraising impacts you: You staff fundraising events, and have to know all about what is happening at the museum at all times to ensure a smooth visitor experience.
How you fundraise: From helping people sign up for memberships and patron programs to operating the gift shop, every interaction you have with visitors is an opportunity to increase income.

Management
How fundraising impacts you: Donors are a major part of your community, with many of them sitting on the Board with which you work. A solid portion (approximately ⅓ in a standard Ontario museum) of your operating budget comes from donors.
How you fundraise: A good chunk of your work involves meeting and developing relationships with important donors and sponsors. This ranges from inviting them to events to inviting them for private dinners with members of your staff whose work is of interest to the donor.

Still unconvinced? Or did I miss your future career, and you want to know how it fits into fundraising? Drop me a line @medievalist_sam on Twitter and let’s chat.

PASSION, MEET PROFIT

(Fun)draising | Samantha Summers

---

The Textile Museum of Canada is having an exciting year. With two new endowment funds being established, a thriving volunteer community, and exhibit after exhibit earning rave reviews, Executive Director Emma Quin sees no sign of the museum slowing down. We sat down during the Textile Museum’s Beads, they’re sewn so tight exhibit to talk about fundraising and the importance of having a close-knit community.

A quote adorns the wall of the Textile Museum's collection space. "Who is worthy of memory?" -Desmond Miller.
Photo courtesy of Samantha Summers.

Would you mind giving me a brief overview of what the Textile Museum’s mission is?

Ultimately we’re here to create an understanding of the human experience through textiles. We’re looking to ignite creativity and to spark wonder, conversation, and learning through textiles.

How does fundraising fit into this picture?

It’s significant, as it would be with any cultural institution or museum. We have a development department, and fundraising is one of the key places that we generate revenue to support the programming that we do. We’re looking to bring in revenue through membership, donations, patron relations, individual giving, and corporate and foundation sponsorships. It’s quite a wide spectrum, and it’s about one third of our budget that we’re bringing in through fundraising. So I’d say it’s pretty important.

Jean Marshall, Ring of Fire (2015), 2015. Photo courtesy of Samantha Summers.

Could you give me a rough breakdown of where your finances are coming from?
Sure. An ideal model is to have one third - one third - one third; one third through earned revenues, one third through the private sector, and one third through the public sector. We’re close to that. Membership, admissions, our retail store, and ticketed events are on the earned revenue side. Publicly we are funded by three levels of government - municipal, provincial and federal. On the private side, in addition to the way we fundraise that I mentioned before, we also have a volunteer committee and the volunteers actively fundraise for us. They do a textile bazaar and a number of sales through the year, and we’re really fortunate that they drive a lot of activity and funding to us. They bring $40-$45 000 a year into the operations of the museum.

That’s impressive.

It’s very impressive. We run an annual campaign from the fall to the winter, an appeal to support the mandate and the mission of the museum. When we’re doing something like that we try to make it as personal as possible; we want the ask to come from somebody who has passion for the institution. Our membership is generous, people donate on top of their annual membership on an ongoing basis, so there’s a consistent stream of ongoing donations.

Katie Longboat, Kokum's Flowers, 2018. Photo courtesy of Samantha Summers.

Once someone is a member or has donated, how do you keep them involved in the museum?

I think engagement is really critical. For membership we’re sitting in the realm of 800 members. There are different levels of membership, so there are slightly different levels of engagement across all those areas. They’re supposed to be well-connected to us and therefore we want to keep them apprised with what’s going on. We open approximately five exhibitions per year and each are layered with public programs. Independent of those exhibitions, our education department programs numerous activities monthly. Making sure the membership is invited to all of those [is important]. We are actually actively working to improve how we communicate and connect with our membership. We’re thinking quite deeply on how we can make our connection much more meaningful. I think that’s an ongoing commitment, because how people want to engage changes and evolves, and we have to change with it.

What do you look for in a corporate partnership?

Our largest corporate sponsor is BMO Financial Group. I think we align to their philanthropic goals and what they’re looking to support. They’re advocates of our programs, and they’re advocates of the mandate and mission of the organization. In this past fiscal year they have been our [primary] exhibition sponsor. I think the most important thing is aligning with their philanthropic goal and their organizational beliefs. The primary piece that we’re looking for is how do we tell a story about what it is that we’re doing that really aligns with the mandate of that corporate institution.

Bev Koski, (from left to right), Toronto #1 (2013), Banff #4 (2012), Toronto #2 (2015). Photo courtesy of Samantha Summers.

What is the most exciting thing that has been achieved through fundraising since you joined the Textile Museum?

Can I say two things?

Absolutely.

One that’s just quite recent is we’ve established the curatorial endowment fund. One of our senior curators retired, and to celebrate her accomplishments along with our long standing commitment to curatorial excellence we launched this new fund. The fund will inspire ongoing and future curatorial excellence at the museum, providing our curators with dedicated resources to realize their curatorial visions, support their research on our collections, and provide essential funding for the development of special exhibitions that further advance the museum’s curatorial reputation.

We were delighted that one of our long-standing supporters, Shirley Beatty, decided to make a leading gift that started the fund off with a $50,000 donation, and we look forward to continuing to grow it. We also established a Future Fund for the museum, recognizing that we have to think about innovative ways to move the museum forward and require access to a pocket of money to do that as those decisions come about. We were able to establish that Future Fund with another leading donation that we received from Kathy Paterson, one of our volunteers, for $100 000. I think with having those two pieces it just helps us think strategically toward the future and what we can do.

It must be so exciting to play such a big role in this institution that so many people care about.

There is a deep passion for this institution. The museum gets called a “hidden” gem, and it is a gem, it’s really beautiful. The people that walk through our doors leave with a deep emotional connection to it. We see that over and over and over again.

Olivia Whetung, #35, 2015. Photo courtesy of Samantha Summers.

Visit the Textile Museum website for visiting information, and check out these upcoming events: Textile Teach-In: Spinning Workshop, Art Chat: Cape Dorset Printed Textiles, Textile Teach-In: Rug Hooking.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

SECOND YEAR KNOWLEDGE PART TWO

Museum (Studies) Mondays | Katlyn Wooder

---

October has come and gone, it went by so fast. But that is because around week 6 is when school starts to get really busy.

Source.

_________________________________________________

Exhibition Class

This month is where you to start planning your exhibit project in earnest.

The most important part of the assignment is to figure out your scope. It’s something I have trouble doing.

As a masters student, I want my exhibit to be amazing. To be frank, sometimes it's hard to know what parts of the project are the most important to prioritize. You need to concentrate on these details to ensure that you're not wasting time. No one, and I mean no one, wants to waste time when you're in graduate school. Eventually your friends and family will storm the gates, and demand attention.

Source.

If you can narrow down your scope at the beginning, it will save time and effort, and help you succeed at 'The Pitch'.

The Pitch is where your group gives a three minute presentation on your exhibit project, and a panel of professionals will decide if you receive some of the $10 000 class budget. You are supposed to cover what you are doing (the big idea), how you are doing it (such as the design, the budget and schedule), and what you need to succeed.

It’s not the easiest thing to do, but it's good practice for later in life when you have to convince your superiors of your projects' worth.

Source

_________________________________________________

Museum Planning and Management: Projects and Fundraising

There were two distinct parts of class this month. The first part was guest lectures, and the second part was the Charter Project.

Our class had the pleasure of having a guest lecturer Katherine Molineux, Principal Consultant, Lord Cultural Resources. She shared with us her experience of working as a project manager on multiple projects. She went over all the tools needed for success. Molineux really stressed the importance of communication. If you do not communicate, the people involved in the project waste time, and feel unimportant and demoralized. The second guest speaker was Maria Piacente, Vice President, Exhibitions, Events, and Project Management, Lord Cultural Resources, who covered what happens when things go wrong. These two experienced museum professionals shared their experience, knowledge, and problem-solving skills.

The Project Charter was an interesting project. We separated into about ten groups and were assigned situations. My team was given a fictional ROM project where we had to plan a permanent exhibit about bugs. Other groups needed to plan a new lobby at the AGO, or a membership drive at the Science Centre.

We all drafted Charters, where we figured out the goals, outcomes, schedule, risks… of the different projects, and then in class presented the work we’ve done. One of the things I learned was that people responded very well to colour and charts. A pie graph with the budget made some swoon, but not as much as the extensive RACI chart. They help to establish authority, and give the air of competence to your project.

Source

We’ve had our final class on Project Management tools; six weeks is an intensive period to soak it all up, but there are Certificate programs out there if you're interested in this part of the museum world.

The second half of this course will concentrate on economics. Yay.

Source

_________________________________________________

A piece of advice from a Second Year: there’s a lot of team work in the second year. Figure out who you work well with, and who you don’t. It will help save headaches later on. Don't feel bad if people spontaneously start to cry, people are just very stressed.

All the best,

Katlyn Wooder

Write to you in a month.

SECOND YEAR KNOWLEDGE PART 1

Museum Mondays | Katlyn Wooder

---

Source.

Hello and greetings.

While this column is called Museum Mondays it will neither be about Museums or Mondays... although it will be posted on Mondays... what a happy coincidence ;). Now it will be known as Museum (Studies) Mondays.

This column will be a monthly explanation of what the University of Toronto is teaching us the Museum Studies’ Students.

This year this I'm going to conduct a Musings’ experiment. My premise is that part of Musings audience is current or future students who would find it helpful to be given an outline of what to expect in the second year mandatory classes. The two mandatory second year classes for Fall 2018 are MSL4000 Exhibitions Project and MSL2350 Museum Planning and Fundraising and Human Resources.

Of course, that excludes those interested in the thesis option rather than the exhibitions option. I don’t have a lot of useful personal information on that stream, except if you want to do a thesis these are the things you should do to prepare for the first week of school: look at what topic you would like to explore, and then find someone you want to learn from at the University of Toronto, and contact them to see if they would be willing to be your supervisor (don’t be too scared, most of the professors are human, and quite supportive if you come prepared).

If you are not a student, don’t exit the page. This is a great way of learning what our faculty found so vitally important that they argued and worked, and submitted and reviewed, and worked some more to get the courses up and running. They felt strongly that museum professionals needed to know these lessons.

If this article is successful people will be as happy and prepared for a successful experience, if not…

Source. 

I hope a first-year student next year will share their experience in the mandatory first-year courses.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exhibition class, taught by Prof. Matthew Brower, to manage and execute a successful museum project. Before the course even started, he did some heavy-lifting and found 20+ institutions with the desire to partner with UofT students to work on an exhibition project.

Those sponsors then propose the exhibit projects in class on week two. The presentations share the BIG idea: what the exhibit topic is about, who you are working with, what your resources are, or if you have resources.

Source.

Some students create their own projects. These enterprising souls started their own project by using their work, connections, mentors, internships, took opportunity by the (censored) and ran. One student is reorganizing a Gallery’s Map collection and updating their catalogue system.

There are students who choose their project because it’s fully funded. Some people will choose the project based on the museum’s topic. The historic heritage crowd would rather chew off their arm than work with art... for the most part. There is a myriad of different priorities to manage, and it will help you to have a list of priorities you think are important, or knowledge of what skills you want to have after this.

There really isn’t a wrong choice. There are just different things you are going to learn.

By the end of this course, you are going to have a basic understanding of how to complete a museum project. The course is designed to teach you the different steps week-by-week. Last week, we learnt about budgeting and the different knowledge that is needed to create a budget. The major tip I learnt is never underestimate the amount of money you need; we are creating a professional exhibit and the budget should match.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Museum Planning and Management: Projects and Fundraising, commonly called the Project Management course by the students.

This year the course is taught by Judith Koke. “The objective of this course is to offer students applied knowledge of core concepts for planning and managing projects in museums, as well as of revenues, grant making and fundraising in the museum environment” (excerpt from the course syllabus). This course is the backbone of the Master program. It will give you knowledge on how to manage the business aspects of your career in the cultural heritage sector.

Some of the practical tools I have learnt of the last month include:
1) RACI Chart
2) GANTT Chart
3) Project Charter

This course will ground you. It will make a template for your professional career.

One of the projects it will force you to complete is a journal. You will document the readings (which will force you to do the readings), you will write the course notes, and you will document your thoughts. The professor understands the only way to get an overworked graduate student to spend the time necessary to read around a hundred pages a week, and to reflect on them, is too make it part of the grade.

But it will be worth it. Other courses will teach you the theory. This course will give you the practical tools to complete a project.

Such as a Project Charter. The charter is the backbone of your project. It should be the document that you look to, to mire your thinking in. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed when you’re working on a project. To think everything is important. All the knowledge, all those resources, all your opinions will be important. The charter should be the thing that helps you cut. It will help you question if that thing you just need to include is important or necessary.

This course gives you the foundations to be successful.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A piece of advice from a second year: Whenever you are given a project think: How many hours am I dedicating to the project? How important is this project? Should I be ultra-controlling or go with the flow? Is stress  acne worth it?

All the best,

Katlyn Wooder

Write to you in a month