Module 10

I am going to focus on the Trump presidency/administration, since the policies he enacted the California government would push back. To keep their values intact, the California sanctuary law was the first one that came to my mind. California sanctuary law restricts when and how local law enforcement can cooperate with ICE. The justice department sued California for three state laws it had passed, because it made it impossible for federal immigration officials to do their jobs and deport criminals. This lawsuit was the boldest attack on California, Governor Brown and state attorney general Becerra vowed to preserve progressive values California embodies. This is not the only issue California government has opposed the Trump administration, like, marijuana, environment regulations, and taxes to name a few. The Trump administration threatened cities and states with sanctuary laws to protect undocumented immigrants by pulling away federal grant money. 

Draft for research project:

1)     Introduction & Background:

My Community Partner for this class has played a huge role in this research project. I have always liked museums ever since I was a child, and it is an interest me and my mother share. I was glad to know that my CP was an organization I have an interesting in working with. I am hoping that I can do a master’s degree in either museums studies or public history in the near future. My CP this semester is with The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (TCMU) in Greenville, South Carolina. They are a non-profit museum with programs that target children from the ages of 5-12 years of old. They offer a variety of programs for the children in their local community to learn, especially now during Covid-19 pandemic that has forced many of these children to indoor activities or have class from a computer.

The main issue that The Children’s Museum of the Upstate have faced for the last couple of years is a lack of funding from the local government, and that has been my primary focus in my volunteer work for them. It has been a difficult process, since I don’t know a lot about bonds and who to contact for information on the subject. There has been a lot research put into this with some understanding of how bonds work, but not enough were I could properly explain it to another individual, as that deals with certain laws to make sure everything is legitimate. I have also done research on how to propose a bill that could make sure the TCMU gets funding in the future from either the local government or the federal government. One of the first things that I was assigned to do was find out why/how the Greenville County Museum of Art is getting constant funding from taxpayers, and they got a bond issued in 2019, allowing them to renovate the museum during the Covid-19 pandemic. I was not able to find a proper answer for them, since I could not find a document explaining why the Greenville County Museum of Art is the only museum in the area allowed this funding. This has led me to ask why the local government not doing anything to help TCMU out? It is the 6^th largest museum in the U.S., generates tourism for the county, and it benefits the community it lives in. Why/How local governments have failed to supply funding for local museums in their area? Why is funding decreasing for local museums? This is an issue that affects every local museum in the U.S. as many museums have had to get creative in finding new ways of funding for themselves, as they can’t rely on the local government to provide them with the funding needed to survive and thrive. This issue has been around ever since the 2008 U.S. recession and it has only gotten worse. I am hoping that I can create a survey that asks a group of local museums how they are doing financially, or what strategies have they come up with that has brought them success in generating funding for the museum. Hopefully, other local museums in the country can find this information usual and put it to use so that they can focus on other parts of their museums instead of constantly worrying about finding funding to keep the doors open.

2)     Review of the Literature:

The first piece of literature is from Shuhang He, Responding to Funding Cuts as a Government-funded Museum. “This research study analyzed how US museums survived the loss of government funding during the Great Recession in 2008. The adaptions and strategies that were adopted by museums in response to the Great Recession may offer indication for how museums might prepare for potential government funding shortfalls” (He, pg.ii). “What were the impacts of the reduction in government support to public museums? How did each of the museums respond? How well did the methods and strategies employed by the public museums work and what was the result?” (pg.2). Again, I am not the first person to ask this question, but the areas that this person decided to focus on public museums (government involvement). If public museums are worried about federal support being cut, then local museums must have it worse, since they are not supported by the local government. “‘Proactive’ organizations reacted aggressively toward the economic downturn. This type of museum had planned for the worst-case scenario. They examined the budget carefully to make strategic cuts, and they communicated efficiently with their boards, staff, and important stakeholders” (He,pg.12) . “The ‘Informed’ organizations were focused more on the current or near-term matters. While their budget, expenses and income had been projected and closely examined, and emergency plans had been carried out effectively, this type of museums did not think about long-term impacts. They waited ‘until Spring to see what happens to ticket sales, contributions, touring engagements, and other revenue” (He, pg.12) “The ‘in denial’ organizations chose to operate as usual. It was reported they had not felt the economic downturn yet and were hoping to get the same amount of appropriations as the previous year. Some were too focused on the day-to-day work and had not considered museum operations in the long term (He, pg.12). It is interesting to read how the author separated the museums into three separate categories, and it still applies today, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has slowed the world economy and the U.S. economy, making funding harder for local museums. It makes many non-profit/local museums feel, like they are on their own with no real relationship with the local government.

This sentiment is not something new, this issue or feeling of being on your own has been around for a long time. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2008 recession it appears that local governments and non-profit organizations did not work with one another (local museums). “Others reported little or interaction between governments and nonprofits. Still others described ineffective or even harmful relationships that have detracted from their ability to serve the public” (Sauer, pg.33). “In some places the descriptions varied widely, and it was difficult to realize that government and non-profit organization leaders were speaking about the same relationship” (Sauer, pg.33). This relationship has not improved over time and has been the same for the last two decades, with non-profits feeling that they are on their own in their local county. “People working in local governments and nonprofit organizations often serve the same clients, address the same community problems, and have the potential to support each other” (Sauer, pg.33). “Although the perspectives of the two sectors are frequently different, they are potentially complementary” (Sauer, pg.34). “One county manager explained, ‘The county manager and board of commissioners don’t have enough understanding about what a nonprofit is and how they work” (Sauer, pg.34). “Through their budget allocations, they can direct public funds to particular community needs. Through their authority to pass ordinances, they can regulate and shape behavior in the community” (Sauer, pg.34). “In addition to having expertise and insight gained through focusing on specific client groups or public issues, they frequently can mobilize volunteers and private donation more effectively than government can” (Sauer, pg.34). What these authors are trying to point out is the lack of communication between these two groups in the same community/county, and if they somehow managed to work with one another then the community that it lives in would thrive and benefit from this relationship.  They have their own strengths and weakness on their own, but if the local government and nonprofit organizations decided to work together and communicate with one another, then they could mitigate their individual weakness and more resources available to both parties instead of competing with one another for said resources. The main issue is getting these entities to work with one another, in the article that I am reading it claims that there are four obstacles to effective relationship between local governments and nonprofits. “Different perceptions about the same situation; a lack of understanding of each other’s work; the effects of the economic and cultural base of a community on the style of communication, information sharing, and decision making; and an imbalance of power in relationships” (Sauer, pg.35).

3)     Method:

I am going to use a google survey in order to this contact free and the museums that I am planning on contacting for this paper are in South of the U.S., that way it is convenient for them as they are museum directors to answer my survey questions about funding. What is the most successful practice that have worked in obtaining local funding? How much time do you spend trying to fundraise? Does the amount of time you spent fundraising decrease creativity on your exhibits? Does it affect how you interact with visitors/customers? Do you have a relationship with the local government in their area? If not, have you tried to reach out to them? Do you feel like you are own your own trying to raise funding for your museum? Do you believe there is a lack of communication between your organization and the local government? What resources have did you have to cut due to a lack of funding? If you could get local government funding or help, how would that help your museum? Do you and any another local museum in the same state share tips and hints with one another?

My next step into this survey is finding out who I should contact that could answer these questions and get their contact information, and see if they could help me get other local museums to participate in the survey.

Links to cite work later: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/39757/He_washington_0250O_17393.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1

https://cplg.sog.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/16800/2019/04/Strengthening-Relationships.pdf