WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 1 00:00:00.060 --> 00:00:03.941 OK, so welcome to our museums for all information webinar. My 2 00:00:03.941 --> 00:00:07.448 name is Helen Wechsler, and on behalf of the Institute of 3 00:00:07.448 --> 00:00:11.455 Museum and Library Services, I'm pleased to welcome you to this 4 00:00:11.455 --> 00:00:14.899 webinar about one of our national initiatives, Museums 5 00:00:14.899 --> 00:00:15.400 for All. 6 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:26.868 You'll hear from three people today. In addition to myself, we 7 00:00:26.868 --> 00:00:30.200 will hear from Brendan Cartwright at the Association of 8 00:00:30.200 --> 00:00:33.056 Children's Museums, who coordinates and manages 9 00:00:33.056 --> 00:00:36.507 everything to do with the Museums for All program and for 10 00:00:36.507 --> 00:00:39.601 a participating museum perspective. We'll also hear 11 00:00:39.601 --> 00:00:43.409 from Tatiana Herrera Schneider, Chief Engagement Officer at the 12 00:00:43.409 --> 00:00:46.741 San Antonio Museum of Art. Thank you guys very much for 13 00:00:46.741 --> 00:00:48.049 participating in this. 14 00:00:52.460 --> 00:00:55.749 To set the stage for more detailed information that we'll 15 00:00:55.749 --> 00:00:59.151 be sharing about the program, I'd like to present just some 16 00:00:59.151 --> 00:01:01.080 general introductory information. 17 00:01:06.010 --> 00:01:10.676 Museums for All is a cooperative venture between the Institute of 18 00:01:10.676 --> 00:01:15.060 Museum and Library Services and the Association of Children's 19 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:19.020 Museums with the goal of expanding access access to the 20 00:01:19.020 --> 00:01:23.262 nation's museums by offering free or reduced admissions for 21 00:01:23.262 --> 00:01:27.646 EBT card holders. That's the Electronic Benefit Transfer card 22 00:01:27.646 --> 00:01:31.817 that those receiving food assistance get their benefits on 23 00:01:31.817 --> 00:01:33.020 EBT card holders. 24 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:38.812 Use this card for access to museums and over the past 8 1/2 25 00:01:38.812 --> 00:01:43.349 years of this initiative, which started in 2014, I am Miles has 26 00:01:43.349 --> 00:01:47.814 been working closely with ACM to recruit museums into the into 27 00:01:47.814 --> 00:01:52.067 the program for participation. One of the strengths of this 28 00:01:52.067 --> 00:01:55.470 nationally branded program is name recognition. 29 00:01:57.230 --> 00:02:01.268 Member museums know that they are part of a larger nationwide 30 00:02:01.268 --> 00:02:04.656 effort. Policymakers are becoming familiar with the 31 00:02:04.656 --> 00:02:08.760 program, and visitors who might not otherwise be able to visit 32 00:02:08.760 --> 00:02:12.408 know that museums for all participation means that they 33 00:02:12.408 --> 00:02:15.925 will be welcomed. Another strength is that the access 34 00:02:15.925 --> 00:02:19.704 provided by the program is not limited to certain days or 35 00:02:19.704 --> 00:02:23.742 specific times. Museums for all participants are dedicated to 36 00:02:23.742 --> 00:02:27.000 providing access to everyone during their normal. 37 00:02:27.090 --> 00:02:31.043 Operating hours every day of the week. We began the program with 38 00:02:31.043 --> 00:02:34.692 a pilot for the children's museum community, but since then 39 00:02:34.692 --> 00:02:38.523 participation has been open to all museums around the country. 40 00:02:38.523 --> 00:02:41.564 We're happy by how much the program has grown and 41 00:02:41.564 --> 00:02:44.909 flourished, and there's always room to double, triple, 42 00:02:44.909 --> 00:02:48.132 quadruple the size of participation, and we hope you 43 00:02:48.132 --> 00:02:51.660 will help us do that. So I'm going to hand it over now to 44 00:02:51.660 --> 00:02:54.761 Brendan to present the initiatives, guidelines and 45 00:02:54.761 --> 00:02:55.369 specifics. 46 00:02:57.770 --> 00:02:58.720 Thank you, Helen. 47 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:04.445 So the goal of Museums for All is to be easy for all museums to 48 00:03:04.445 --> 00:03:09.412 adopt and potentially to adapt as well. We have a set of broad 49 00:03:09.412 --> 00:03:14.221 minimum guidelines that make it an easy to use program ready 50 00:03:14.221 --> 00:03:18.636 out-of-the-box, and those guidelines include offering a 51 00:03:18.636 --> 00:03:23.367 general admission rate of no more than $3 per person for up 52 00:03:23.367 --> 00:03:27.703 to four people when one individual displays a SNAP EBT 53 00:03:27.703 --> 00:03:29.280 card from any state. 54 00:03:30.370 --> 00:03:34.238 This is an easy way to identify a visitor who qualifies as 55 00:03:34.238 --> 00:03:37.780 having a financial need in a minimally intrusive way. 56 00:03:38.720 --> 00:03:42.655 Museums have the freedom to decide what their admission 57 00:03:42.655 --> 00:03:47.012 price will be free, one dollar, $2.00, etcetera, and are only 58 00:03:47.012 --> 00:03:51.300 obligated to offer that price for a basic general admission. 59 00:03:52.040 --> 00:03:55.930 If they're add-on attractions that you're exhibits or your 60 00:03:55.930 --> 00:04:00.282 museums, you're not obligated to include them in your museums for 61 00:04:00.282 --> 00:04:01.140 all offering. 62 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.455 The museums for all rate would be offered during all normal 63 00:04:05.455 --> 00:04:06.780 operating hours though. 64 00:04:08.040 --> 00:04:11.963 As I mentioned, museums can adapt their offerings as well. 65 00:04:11.963 --> 00:04:16.352 They can include WIC or Medicaid or other forms of identification 66 00:04:16.352 --> 00:04:18.880 that they accept for museums for all. 67 00:04:19.870 --> 00:04:23.728 They can include discounts on special exhibits or events, and 68 00:04:23.728 --> 00:04:27.090 some museums choose to offer a discounted membership. 69 00:04:29.700 --> 00:04:34.114 So we've seen some massive success for this program so far. 70 00:04:34.114 --> 00:04:37.719 In its 8 1/2 years, over 1100 museums have begun 71 00:04:37.719 --> 00:04:38.750 participating. 72 00:04:39.400 --> 00:04:42.752 And this includes museums in all 50 states, as well as the 73 00:04:42.752 --> 00:04:45.310 District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. 74 00:04:45.950 --> 00:04:49.902 We piloted the program in children's museums, but now 75 00:04:49.902 --> 00:04:52.610 every type of museum is represented. 76 00:04:53.250 --> 00:04:57.616 We've got history museums, art museums, zoos, aquariums, 77 00:04:57.616 --> 00:05:00.910 multiple presidential libraries and so on. 78 00:05:02.090 --> 00:05:07.160 Museums in cities and rural areas. Large museums and small. 79 00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:13.317 This one's kind of a leftover slide when we didn't have all 50 80 00:05:13.317 --> 00:05:16.721 states, but here is a visual representation of the states 81 00:05:16.721 --> 00:05:20.535 where the museums participating in museums were. All are located 82 00:05:20.535 --> 00:05:21.240 so very red. 83 00:05:22.650 --> 00:05:27.184 And in case you're wondering how your particular region is doing, 84 00:05:27.184 --> 00:05:31.512 we've got it broken down here. New England does look like it's 85 00:05:31.512 --> 00:05:35.977 lagging a little bit, but there are over 30 sites in New England 86 00:05:35.977 --> 00:05:39.893 that are counted under the single banner of historic New 87 00:05:39.893 --> 00:05:44.083 England as well. So that helps even it up a little bit. Many 88 00:05:44.083 --> 00:05:48.411 states are doing quite well, but California, New York, Florida 89 00:05:48.411 --> 00:05:52.740 and Pennsylvania have the most participants in Ohio and Texas. 90 00:05:52.810 --> 00:05:55.240 Have been growing very rapidly recently as well. 91 00:05:58.490 --> 00:06:02.351 As I mentioned, the Museums for All program was piloted in 92 00:06:02.351 --> 00:06:06.475 children's museums and that's one reason that we see the large 93 00:06:06.475 --> 00:06:10.533 number of children's museums that participate. But we've seen 94 00:06:10.533 --> 00:06:14.526 quite a lot of enthusiasm in history museums and art museums 95 00:06:14.526 --> 00:06:15.050 as well. 96 00:06:15.880 --> 00:06:19.790 Some of these museums are free admission anyway, but choose to 97 00:06:19.790 --> 00:06:23.700 participate to really drive home their commitment to extending 98 00:06:23.700 --> 00:06:26.990 the invitation to every member of their communities. 99 00:06:29.570 --> 00:06:33.730 And as you can see, we've had steady growth over time. 100 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:37.601 With our latest round of reporting, we're at nearly 101 00:06:37.601 --> 00:06:41.180 7,000,000 visitors that have used the Museums for All program 102 00:06:41.180 --> 00:06:42.220 to visit a museum. 103 00:06:43.010 --> 00:06:46.543 The visitor numbers took a bit of a bump during the COVID 104 00:06:46.543 --> 00:06:50.077 shutdowns and diminished capacities, but people still use 105 00:06:50.077 --> 00:06:50.870 this program. 106 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:56.062 As you can see, the numbers have rebounded quite well. A similar 107 00:06:56.062 --> 00:07:00.193 program to Museums for All is Blue Star Museums, which some of 108 00:07:00.193 --> 00:07:04.455 you may participate in and that gives free admission to military 109 00:07:04.455 --> 00:07:07.931 members and their families during the summer months. 110 00:07:07.931 --> 00:07:11.472 They're around 2000. Museums that participate in that 111 00:07:11.472 --> 00:07:15.669 program, Museums for All, which runs year round and is aimed at 112 00:07:15.669 --> 00:07:19.669 helping families with financial need, is at more than 50% of 113 00:07:19.669 --> 00:07:22.030 that total. So we're we're excited. 114 00:07:22.590 --> 00:07:25.900 We're looking to catch Blue Star Museums, though. 115 00:07:28.630 --> 00:07:32.175 Phenomenon that we've begun tracking our hub cities or 116 00:07:32.175 --> 00:07:35.978 cities that have three or more museums that participate in 117 00:07:35.978 --> 00:07:37.010 museums for all. 118 00:07:37.750 --> 00:07:42.467 As you can see, many big cities that you might expect like New 119 00:07:42.467 --> 00:07:46.736 York, Houston on the next, actually New York on the next 120 00:07:46.736 --> 00:07:51.378 slide too. But New York, Houston and Chicago are on here. But 121 00:07:51.378 --> 00:07:55.871 there are also places like Greenville, SC, Missoula, Mt and 122 00:07:55.871 --> 00:07:57.070 Springfield, IL. 123 00:07:57.850 --> 00:08:02.203 In a hub city, museums can work together to really strengthen 124 00:08:02.203 --> 00:08:06.486 their museums for all offerings. They can also recruit other 125 00:08:06.486 --> 00:08:10.488 museums to join, or at least demonstrate the benefits of 126 00:08:10.488 --> 00:08:11.050 joining. 127 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:16.323 And we've seen that in places like Richmond, San Antonio, 128 00:08:16.323 --> 00:08:20.710 which we'll hear from later, Pueblo Co and Grand Rapids. 129 00:08:21.430 --> 00:08:25.923 And we'll talk a little bit more about hub cities later. And also 130 00:08:25.923 --> 00:08:28.510 here's some some first hand accounts. 131 00:08:32.940 --> 00:08:36.803 Here the rest of the hub cities, a lot of the cities that I 132 00:08:36.803 --> 00:08:40.666 mentioned are listed there and this is a little out of date 133 00:08:40.666 --> 00:08:44.594 too. I said that we now have 96 hub cities, but after I made 134 00:08:44.594 --> 00:08:48.715 this slide, we're now up to 97. Portsmouth, NH is net the first 135 00:08:48.715 --> 00:08:52.385 one there. So that's our 39th state with a hub city plus 136 00:08:52.385 --> 00:08:56.506 Washington DC that have you know those that many states with at 137 00:08:56.506 --> 00:08:57.730 least one hub city. 138 00:08:59.150 --> 00:09:02.342 Like I said, it used to be 1 slide, but we had to split the 139 00:09:02.342 --> 00:09:05.800 cities up over 2 slides so that they'd be legible. They got very 140 00:09:05.800 --> 00:09:07.130 tiny legalese style text. 141 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:14.670 So registering for museums for all is very easy. We have a 142 00:09:14.670 --> 00:09:18.609 dedicated website at www.museumsforall.org with the 143 00:09:18.609 --> 00:09:22.928 number four, and there's a button to register there. The 144 00:09:22.928 --> 00:09:27.852 actual process should take less than 5 minutes, and it's free to 145 00:09:27.852 --> 00:09:28.352 do. 146 00:09:28.990 --> 00:09:33.222 We provide support materials like access to branded 147 00:09:33.222 --> 00:09:38.349 collateral, group site, virtual Hangouts, webinars like these, 148 00:09:38.349 --> 00:09:43.233 and more. We'll also send you a window claim to use at your 149 00:09:43.233 --> 00:09:43.733 site. 150 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:47.326 There's a searchable map on the website and all the 151 00:09:47.326 --> 00:09:49.640 participating museums are listed there. 152 00:09:54.060 --> 00:09:58.227 That are some of the other resources that we provide 153 00:09:58.227 --> 00:10:03.260 include previous webinars that have been archived, infographics 154 00:10:03.260 --> 00:10:07.899 that you can use on social media, press release templates, 155 00:10:07.899 --> 00:10:12.067 examples of every state EBT card, and staff training 156 00:10:12.067 --> 00:10:17.099 recommendations. We periodically create and add more resources, 157 00:10:17.099 --> 00:10:21.739 so don't be shy and telling us what you'd like to have. We 158 00:10:21.739 --> 00:10:24.569 actually just hired a new training. 159 00:10:24.640 --> 00:10:28.743 And resources specialist. So we're really hoping to, you 160 00:10:28.743 --> 00:10:32.990 know, get more and better resources for you all very soon. 161 00:10:33.990 --> 00:10:34.580 Umm. 162 00:10:35.690 --> 00:10:39.478 And we we have created some resources specifically for those 163 00:10:39.478 --> 00:10:43.143 hub cities that I mentioned, such as sample press releases 164 00:10:43.143 --> 00:10:47.056 and template agendas and slide decks for holding meetings as a 165 00:10:47.056 --> 00:10:47.739 collective. 166 00:10:49.520 --> 00:10:53.235 So now you've seen some of the background of museums for all 167 00:10:53.235 --> 00:10:56.828 and gotten an idea of who's participating and what kind of 168 00:10:56.828 --> 00:11:00.543 support is offered. So now Helen will let you know about why 169 00:11:00.543 --> 00:11:04.319 participating in this program can be valuable to your museum. 170 00:11:11.610 --> 00:11:15.082 Thank you, Brendan. So let's talk about the value of 171 00:11:15.082 --> 00:11:16.000 participating. 172 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:22.470 There are so many reasons to participate. But most 173 00:11:22.470 --> 00:11:25.998 importantly, it affirms that museums are meant for all 174 00:11:25.998 --> 00:11:29.846 members of the community, and the participating museums are 175 00:11:29.846 --> 00:11:33.630 committed to equitably expanding their community outreach. 176 00:11:34.830 --> 00:11:38.805 What's great is that this effort typically fits easily within 177 00:11:38.805 --> 00:11:42.716 museum's mission, vision, and inclusion plans. Also, Museums 178 00:11:42.716 --> 00:11:46.499 for All is yet another way to increase community access to 179 00:11:46.499 --> 00:11:49.961 your research collections, programs and exhibits, and 180 00:11:49.961 --> 00:11:51.180 reducible barriers. 181 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:56.018 Additionally, we make it easy for you to as possible to to 182 00:11:56.018 --> 00:11:59.152 join by providing free customizable collateral as 183 00:11:59.152 --> 00:12:03.163 Brendan mentioned, such as press release templates and branding 184 00:12:03.163 --> 00:12:06.110 opportunities to make it even more successful. 185 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:11.164 Another benefit we're beginning to understand is the power of 186 00:12:11.164 --> 00:12:14.709 participating participation among multiple museums in a 187 00:12:14.709 --> 00:12:18.570 single city. And as Brendan said, we call these huts forming 188 00:12:18.570 --> 00:12:22.431 these hubs that allows museums to market the program jointly 189 00:12:22.431 --> 00:12:25.913 and offer a menu of rich opportunities for families in 190 00:12:25.913 --> 00:12:29.774 their area. Museums and hubs, which can be of course cities, 191 00:12:29.774 --> 00:12:33.508 but also more rural regions, counties and things like that 192 00:12:33.508 --> 00:12:37.243 are working together to build new partnerships with social 193 00:12:37.243 --> 00:12:37.750 service. 194 00:12:37.820 --> 00:12:40.915 Organizations and other community based organizations 195 00:12:40.915 --> 00:12:44.699 and to have a louder and unified voice when approaching municipal 196 00:12:44.699 --> 00:12:47.050 leadership or local funders for support. 197 00:12:52.280 --> 00:12:56.276 So on this slide you'll see a couple of comments from visitors 198 00:12:56.276 --> 00:13:00.145 to participating museums that show the value of the program. 199 00:13:00.145 --> 00:13:03.888 The variety of individuals on food assistance is wide, and 200 00:13:03.888 --> 00:13:07.757 while these quotes illustrate 2 examples, the nature of food 201 00:13:07.757 --> 00:13:11.564 insecurity in this country varies from one community to the 202 00:13:11.564 --> 00:13:15.179 next. Museums in this program serves people who may have 203 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:17.399 experienced changes in their life. 204 00:13:20.400 --> 00:13:24.079 Remember the pandemic, either going on food assistance during 205 00:13:24.079 --> 00:13:27.878 hard times or coming off it when things get better. But be sure 206 00:13:27.878 --> 00:13:31.439 that all those served through museums for all will remember 207 00:13:31.439 --> 00:13:35.000 that museums were there for them when they needed the most. 208 00:13:37.750 --> 00:13:42.091 So now, way better than quotes, reading quotes. We have for you 209 00:13:42.091 --> 00:13:46.094 a real live museum for all Participate participant. So now 210 00:13:46.094 --> 00:13:50.029 I'll turn it over to Tatiana Herrera Schneider of the San 211 00:13:50.029 --> 00:13:54.100 Antonio Museum of Art to talk about the museum's experience 212 00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:57.831 with the program. Great. Thank you so much, Helen. I'm 213 00:13:57.831 --> 00:14:01.834 delighted to be speaking about why Sam is participating in 214 00:14:01.834 --> 00:14:02.920 museums for all. 215 00:14:04.420 --> 00:14:08.730 A little bit about us as an institution. Next slide. 216 00:14:11.870 --> 00:14:16.865 We are housed in the original Lone Star Brewery on that famous 217 00:14:16.865 --> 00:14:21.939 San Antonio River Walk in Texas. We are an encyclopedic museum. 218 00:14:21.939 --> 00:14:26.855 We actually opened in 1981 and annually we're welcoming about 219 00:14:26.855 --> 00:14:31.771 130,000 visitors, give or take. About 60% of our visitors are 220 00:14:31.771 --> 00:14:36.766 local and about 40% of them fit within that tourism or tourist 221 00:14:36.766 --> 00:14:37.479 category. 222 00:14:40.890 --> 00:14:44.671 So when we talk about why we participate in museums for all, 223 00:14:44.671 --> 00:14:48.452 it's important to also look at the landscape in San Antonio. 224 00:14:48.452 --> 00:14:52.110 It's considered to be a city of working poor. It's the 7th 225 00:14:52.110 --> 00:14:55.829 largest city in the United States, but it also ranks number 226 00:14:55.829 --> 00:14:59.921 one of the top 25 most populated metropolitan areas of, you know, 227 00:14:59.921 --> 00:15:03.144 people living in poverty. It's also one of the most 228 00:15:03.144 --> 00:15:06.430 economically segregated cities in the United States. 229 00:15:07.160 --> 00:15:10.515 About 130,000 households currently within Bear County 230 00:15:10.515 --> 00:15:13.932 receive SNAP benefits and over 85% of our students are 231 00:15:13.932 --> 00:15:17.784 economically disadvantaged. The flip side of that coin is our 232 00:15:17.784 --> 00:15:21.636 neighborhood, which is adjacent to downtown, is exploding and 233 00:15:21.636 --> 00:15:25.240 it's getting actually a lot of national coverage with the 234 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:28.657 amount of growth that it's experiencing. But with that 235 00:15:28.657 --> 00:15:32.075 being said, you know, neighborhoods adjacent to us and 236 00:15:32.075 --> 00:15:36.176 within our zip codes are some of the most underserved communities 237 00:15:36.176 --> 00:15:38.039 and neighborhoods in our city. 238 00:15:41.130 --> 00:15:44.824 Next slide. So why do we participate in museums for all 239 00:15:44.824 --> 00:15:48.452 you know with that being said, accessibility is a huge 240 00:15:48.452 --> 00:15:52.541 conversation as I'm sure it is for many of you and has been a 241 00:15:52.541 --> 00:15:56.302 conversation for many years. You know for us it's really 242 00:15:56.302 --> 00:16:00.655 important to broaden our visitor base and reach those underserved 243 00:16:00.655 --> 00:16:04.019 communities, specifically museums for all you know 244 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:07.714 addresses, you know some major barriers for us cost and 245 00:16:07.714 --> 00:16:11.540 accessibility, you know it's it's other piece of our pie. 246 00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:15.942 Currently we have free hours 2 * a week every Sunday and Tuesday 247 00:16:15.942 --> 00:16:20.198 for Bear County residents, and we're also free for those 12 and 248 00:16:20.198 --> 00:16:24.254 under always. And one of our big goals is to aim to to serve 249 00:16:24.254 --> 00:16:28.311 multigenerational family units. So this is of a piece of how 250 00:16:28.311 --> 00:16:32.500 we're addressing some of those costs and accessibility issues. 251 00:16:32.500 --> 00:16:36.490 Because you know, as Helen mentioned earlier, an individual 252 00:16:36.490 --> 00:16:40.746 can come at any time, it doesn't necessarily have to fit within 253 00:16:40.746 --> 00:16:42.010 our our free hours. 254 00:16:42.130 --> 00:16:44.924 They can come when it suits them or when it fits within their 255 00:16:44.924 --> 00:16:45.424 schedule. 256 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:53.868 Specific to SAMA, we adopted the program in January of 2020 and 257 00:16:53.868 --> 00:16:58.795 had grand plans for a press conference that marched with our 258 00:16:58.795 --> 00:17:02.752 mayor and several other institutions. As Brendan 259 00:17:02.752 --> 00:17:07.598 mentioned, we are considered to be a hub city. We have a $3 260 00:17:07.598 --> 00:17:12.767 ticket price and for us it does include special exhibitions. We 261 00:17:12.767 --> 00:17:17.855 do sell our tickets online and in person, and as of January of 262 00:17:17.855 --> 00:17:19.389 2020, we've served. 263 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:22.794 Almost 5000 individuals, you know when we talk about it also 264 00:17:22.794 --> 00:17:26.183 it's important to address this is of a piece of that pie that 265 00:17:26.183 --> 00:17:29.353 is helpful for when you're applying for grants or talking 266 00:17:29.353 --> 00:17:32.797 with funders about how you are reaching different communities. 267 00:17:32.797 --> 00:17:35.639 It's helpful to mention but there's also that human 268 00:17:35.639 --> 00:17:38.919 component you know the quotes that were just shown. But for 269 00:17:38.919 --> 00:17:42.418 us, my visitor services manager just told me a couple weeks ago 270 00:17:42.418 --> 00:17:46.025 there was actually a family that came and celebrated one of their 271 00:17:46.025 --> 00:17:49.414 family members Quinceanera here at the museum and and use the 272 00:17:49.414 --> 00:17:50.179 SNAP benefits. 273 00:17:50.250 --> 00:17:52.810 For admission. So, you know, there's that, that wonderful 274 00:17:52.810 --> 00:17:55.150 component it's, you know, the human element as well. 275 00:17:56.710 --> 00:17:57.320 Next slide. 276 00:17:58.970 --> 00:18:03.167 So just a couple of other small noise notes, I think it's really 277 00:18:03.167 --> 00:18:06.976 helpful to join forces with other institutions for greater 278 00:18:06.976 --> 00:18:11.109 impact and awareness. You know when you come together it really 279 00:18:11.109 --> 00:18:14.919 can amplify your message. And then I would also suggest if 280 00:18:14.919 --> 00:18:18.858 your city or region has you know SNAP benefits available via 281 00:18:18.858 --> 00:18:22.667 public transportation, our best system VIA does offer SNAP 282 00:18:22.667 --> 00:18:26.090 discounts. So you know continuing that conversation, 283 00:18:26.090 --> 00:18:29.900 transportation obviously is another one of those barriers. 284 00:18:30.010 --> 00:18:33.208 So if you can make that connection of how they can use 285 00:18:33.208 --> 00:18:36.988 the SNAP benefits both to get to your destination, that's always 286 00:18:36.988 --> 00:18:40.826 helpful And and for us it's been really easy, you know we've it's 287 00:18:40.826 --> 00:18:43.791 been really simple. The reporting is takes minimal 288 00:18:43.791 --> 00:18:47.455 amount of times and there's lots of resources available to you 289 00:18:47.455 --> 00:18:50.769 when you you launch your program. But you know certainly 290 00:18:50.769 --> 00:18:54.084 if you have questions or if you want to talk further and 291 00:18:54.084 --> 00:18:57.515 specifically I'm always happy to put you in touch with our 292 00:18:57.515 --> 00:19:00.830 visitor services team or answer any questions as I know. 293 00:19:00.910 --> 00:19:04.047 Museums for All team is a great resource to ask questions as 294 00:19:04.047 --> 00:19:07.340 well. So with that being said, thank you so much for your time. 295 00:19:11.280 --> 00:19:13.270 OK. Yeah. Thank you, Tatiana. 296 00:19:15.470 --> 00:19:19.976 So following that with the riveting topic of COVID, you 297 00:19:19.976 --> 00:19:24.403 know, as you all well know, museums were affected very 298 00:19:24.403 --> 00:19:29.312 greatly by COVID-19. Then you know even now some museums are 299 00:19:29.312 --> 00:19:33.980 still operating at reduced capacity or have at least seen 300 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:37.200 staffing reductions as part of it, but. 301 00:19:38.580 --> 00:19:42.625 And something of a surprise, we still saw about 8 museums a 302 00:19:42.625 --> 00:19:46.872 month, continued to register for museums for all, even if they 303 00:19:46.872 --> 00:19:50.850 were closed at the time during the height of the pandemic. 304 00:19:51.870 --> 00:19:55.356 We increased the number of participating museums during 305 00:19:55.356 --> 00:19:58.220 that main period of the pandemic by over 400. 306 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:02.422 And it proves the continuing necessity of the programs 307 00:20:02.422 --> 00:20:05.676 mission. So you know, unfortunately it has been the 308 00:20:05.676 --> 00:20:09.244 case that some of the museums that were participating in 309 00:20:09.244 --> 00:20:13.062 museums for all have had to close permanently. But you know, 310 00:20:13.062 --> 00:20:17.130 with one exception, every other museum has kept their commitment 311 00:20:17.130 --> 00:20:20.823 to offering museums for all rates to its visitors. And the 312 00:20:20.823 --> 00:20:24.077 one museum that stopped eventually started offering 313 00:20:24.077 --> 00:20:25.830 museums for all rates again. 314 00:20:27.320 --> 00:20:30.288 And in fact, a couple compensated for their reduced 315 00:20:30.288 --> 00:20:33.713 capacities by offering their museums for all rates to every 316 00:20:33.713 --> 00:20:34.213 visitor. 317 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:41.399 But yeah, the fact that you know, during this time of of 318 00:20:41.399 --> 00:20:43.010 extreme hardship. 319 00:20:43.830 --> 00:20:47.426 Everybody chose to keep. It really speaks volumes to mean 320 00:20:47.426 --> 00:20:47.926 anyway. 321 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:52.983 There were operational changes that were made during the 322 00:20:52.983 --> 00:20:57.165 pandemic and to ensure reduced capacities most museums require 323 00:20:57.165 --> 00:21:00.749 guests to buy their tickets online or at least to pre 324 00:21:00.749 --> 00:21:04.997 register and many have kept this system or something like it in 325 00:21:04.997 --> 00:21:08.714 place, you know. Tatiana mentioned that they sell their 326 00:21:08.714 --> 00:21:12.099 tickets both in person and online. It's a bit of a 327 00:21:12.099 --> 00:21:16.148 challenge to museums for all visitors who merely had to show 328 00:21:16.148 --> 00:21:19.600 their snap EBT cards at the admissions desk before. 329 00:21:19.770 --> 00:21:23.454 So you know, when you're building out these new admission 330 00:21:23.454 --> 00:21:27.519 systems, it's very important to keep in mind how your museum is 331 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:31.203 still going to accommodate museums for all visitors. Will 332 00:21:31.203 --> 00:21:34.570 you have an option at that ticket price on the menu? 333 00:21:35.390 --> 00:21:39.072 Will folks have to present their snappy WVT card in person when 334 00:21:39.072 --> 00:21:39.820 they show up? 335 00:21:40.530 --> 00:21:44.814 Will you just direct museums for all visitors to buy tickets in 336 00:21:44.814 --> 00:21:48.830 person? Yeah, there's no right answer to this, but whatever 337 00:21:48.830 --> 00:21:52.981 your museum chooses, it should be explicit and easy to follow 338 00:21:52.981 --> 00:21:56.729 on your website so folks know how to get their tickets. 339 00:21:57.410 --> 00:22:01.504 And when you're allotting the tickets by time, make sure that 340 00:22:01.504 --> 00:22:05.598 there are enough for museums for all visitors. So on average, 341 00:22:05.598 --> 00:22:08.965 about 3% of the museum's attendance is coming from 342 00:22:08.965 --> 00:22:13.059 museums for all visitors. That does vary a little bit by type 343 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:16.823 of museum. It's a bit higher for children's museums, for 344 00:22:16.823 --> 00:22:21.050 instance, and, you know, lower for art museums. Sorry, Tatiana. 345 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.000 You guys are doing well anyway. 346 00:22:26.560 --> 00:22:30.959 One other thing that museums did during the pandemic, while they 347 00:22:30.959 --> 00:22:35.292 were closed or unable to welcome as many guests as they'd like, 348 00:22:35.292 --> 00:22:39.421 was to really increase their community outreach. And whether 349 00:22:39.421 --> 00:22:43.144 that's offering virtual museum tours and activities or 350 00:22:43.144 --> 00:22:46.799 distributing STEM kits to schools, the museums really 351 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:50.657 embraced their roles as community pillars and made these 352 00:22:50.657 --> 00:22:54.786 active overtures towards their communities. And at its core, 353 00:22:54.786 --> 00:22:57.629 that's what museums For All is all about. 354 00:22:57.790 --> 00:23:01.662 It's extending that active invitation to everyone, making 355 00:23:01.662 --> 00:23:05.735 sure they know that the museum is for them and that it wants 356 00:23:05.735 --> 00:23:06.470 them there. 357 00:23:08.550 --> 00:23:09.050 And. 358 00:23:09.650 --> 00:23:14.254 Museums recognize that access and inclusivity are important 359 00:23:14.254 --> 00:23:19.011 bedrock organizational values, and Museums for All is one way 360 00:23:19.011 --> 00:23:20.929 to help with Dai efforts. 361 00:23:23.390 --> 00:23:27.437 So an organization's commitment to inclusivity usually extends 362 00:23:27.437 --> 00:23:31.550 beyond just museums for all, and in fact, museums for all works 363 00:23:31.550 --> 00:23:35.405 best when it's part of a suite of offerings. Again, Tatiana 364 00:23:35.405 --> 00:23:39.003 mentioned that they have their free days for the county 365 00:23:39.003 --> 00:23:40.159 residents as well. 366 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:47.124 And you know, many museums offer some sort of, you know, monthly 367 00:23:47.124 --> 00:23:52.317 free day or at least reduced admission for seniors, children, 368 00:23:52.317 --> 00:23:54.830 perhaps educators or military. 369 00:23:55.470 --> 00:23:55.970 You know. 370 00:23:56.680 --> 00:23:57.250 Umm. 371 00:23:58.460 --> 00:24:02.073 Some even have free memberships that can be checked out of the 372 00:24:02.073 --> 00:24:04.310 library by anyone with a library card. 373 00:24:05.070 --> 00:24:08.949 And all of those are wonderful, and museums for all supplements 374 00:24:08.949 --> 00:24:11.980 them rather than taking the place of any of them. 375 00:24:12.700 --> 00:24:16.844 And while the only requirement to participate in museums for 376 00:24:16.844 --> 00:24:21.328 all is to accept SNAP EBT cards, I mentioned earlier that several 377 00:24:21.328 --> 00:24:25.473 of the participants do also accept WIC. Some accept Medicaid 378 00:24:25.473 --> 00:24:29.278 as well. The Madison Children's Museum has 21 different 379 00:24:29.278 --> 00:24:33.490 identifications that it will accept for their $1.00 admission 380 00:24:33.490 --> 00:24:37.839 fee. You don't need to go that far, but if you want to, you are 381 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:39.130 empowered to do it. 382 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:45.164 About 10% of the participating museums also offer some sort of 383 00:24:45.164 --> 00:24:49.308 reduced membership program as well. So they're taking that 384 00:24:49.308 --> 00:24:53.804 next step of getting people in the door on daily admissions and 385 00:24:53.804 --> 00:24:58.018 then turning them into members with more solid museum going 386 00:24:58.018 --> 00:24:58.518 habits. 387 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:03.209 Some of them are also using the opportunity to catch visitors 388 00:25:03.209 --> 00:25:07.284 that museums for all might be letting fall through the cracks. 389 00:25:07.284 --> 00:25:11.423 At the Omaha Children's Museum, for instance, they're expanding 390 00:25:11.423 --> 00:25:15.368 their reduced memberships to include families they qualified 391 00:25:15.368 --> 00:25:19.572 for reduced school lunch, rather than just the free school lunch 392 00:25:19.572 --> 00:25:23.387 program. And there are families that might just exceed the 393 00:25:23.387 --> 00:25:27.656 threshold of qualifying for food assistance, but still could find 394 00:25:27.656 --> 00:25:30.890 that visiting a museum could be cost prohibitive. 395 00:25:31.570 --> 00:25:35.087 So these museums are stepping up and supplementing museums for 396 00:25:35.087 --> 00:25:38.549 all and other ways to try and catch as many of those families 397 00:25:38.549 --> 00:25:39.220 as possible. 398 00:25:40.150 --> 00:25:44.223 Yeah, that's a nice thing about the program is that it has kind 399 00:25:44.223 --> 00:25:47.914 of basic guidelines and then allows you to build on it in 400 00:25:47.914 --> 00:25:51.160 ways that suit your institution in your community. 401 00:25:52.510 --> 00:25:56.593 So one part of joining museums for all is broadening your 402 00:25:56.593 --> 00:26:00.887 visitor base, but another part is taking the time to work on 403 00:26:00.887 --> 00:26:04.900 assumptions and biases that exist within your own staff. 404 00:26:05.520 --> 00:26:09.758 So one participating museum that was located in a college town 405 00:26:09.758 --> 00:26:13.997 was surprised to see how many grad students were using museums 406 00:26:13.997 --> 00:26:18.236 for all to visit. They hadn't expected that many to be on food 407 00:26:18.236 --> 00:26:22.138 assistance, and there are some wonderful resources around 408 00:26:22.138 --> 00:26:25.569 diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion on 409 00:26:25.569 --> 00:26:29.808 the AM website. And the Cultural Competence Learning Institute 410 00:26:29.808 --> 00:26:34.181 CLI is another fantastic way of museums looking to improve their 411 00:26:34.181 --> 00:26:36.200 own approaches to inclusivity. 412 00:26:37.460 --> 00:26:41.046 You know, one complaint that does come up is why people on 413 00:26:41.046 --> 00:26:44.693 SNAP assistance deserve this admission discount. Or rather, 414 00:26:44.693 --> 00:26:48.340 why can't someone not on food assistance get the same rate? 415 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:53.201 So for our purposes, you know a cut off had to exist somewhere 416 00:26:53.201 --> 00:26:57.138 and we felt that a government issued card would work well and 417 00:26:57.138 --> 00:27:00.631 be the least intrusive way to demonstrate the need for 418 00:27:00.631 --> 00:27:01.140 someone. 419 00:27:03.830 --> 00:27:07.545 Someone have the need for some help in removing a financial 420 00:27:07.545 --> 00:27:11.198 barrier, but one of the reasons you know why we think that 421 00:27:11.198 --> 00:27:15.099 museums for all works best as part of a suite of options is so 422 00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:19.062 that those who don't have snappy TV's, you know some other kind 423 00:27:19.062 --> 00:27:21.230 of appropriate price can be found. 424 00:27:29.780 --> 00:27:34.234 Alright, flipping back to me. Thanks Brendan. So now we're 425 00:27:34.234 --> 00:27:38.991 going to talk about leveraging participation. And so sometimes 426 00:27:38.991 --> 00:27:43.747 museums or their boards can be wary of joining museums for all 427 00:27:43.747 --> 00:27:48.277 they see that it calls for deep admission discounts in some 428 00:27:48.277 --> 00:27:52.430 cases and worry that it will be a hit to their budget. 429 00:27:52.900 --> 00:27:56.990 But we took a look at this and found that it is in fact not the 430 00:27:56.990 --> 00:27:57.490 case. 431 00:28:00.250 --> 00:28:03.802 In 2018, we engaged Aurora Consulting to do an evaluation 432 00:28:03.802 --> 00:28:07.294 of museums for all and the experience that participating 433 00:28:07.294 --> 00:28:11.092 museums were having with the program. The complete results of 434 00:28:11.092 --> 00:28:15.013 the evaluation are available on the website that you see on the 435 00:28:15.013 --> 00:28:18.260 screen, but here are some of our pertinent findings. 436 00:28:20.320 --> 00:28:24.335 Most museums reported no change in ticket sales, but over a 437 00:28:24.335 --> 00:28:28.284 third of the respondents said that they saw an increase in 438 00:28:28.284 --> 00:28:32.635 ticket sales and attendance. 20 Four 5% of museums saw increases 439 00:28:32.635 --> 00:28:36.450 in development revenue and membership and program sales. 440 00:28:37.180 --> 00:28:40.645 Only one of the museums that responded to the evaluation 441 00:28:40.645 --> 00:28:44.292 reported a decline in their revenue. Since implementing the 442 00:28:44.292 --> 00:28:47.878 program, Museums for All is a great opportunity to add new 443 00:28:47.878 --> 00:28:51.587 development streams, either soliciting funding that directly 444 00:28:51.587 --> 00:28:55.295 pays for the program or finding grants and sponsorships that 445 00:28:55.295 --> 00:28:59.246 will help. It's a great program that helps the entire community, 446 00:28:59.246 --> 00:29:03.137 and there are often foundations or banks or other local funders 447 00:29:03.137 --> 00:29:04.899 that want to be a part of it. 448 00:29:10.910 --> 00:29:15.198 As I mentioned before, we're connecting multiple museums and 449 00:29:15.198 --> 00:29:19.698 and Brendan talked about it too in who are participating in one 450 00:29:19.698 --> 00:29:24.057 region or city. And we found that museums can do really great 451 00:29:24.057 --> 00:29:28.276 things when they collaborate in this way to promote the the 452 00:29:28.276 --> 00:29:32.424 program in their community. In December of 2018, which now 453 00:29:32.424 --> 00:29:36.361 seems like so long ago, we invited representatives from 454 00:29:36.361 --> 00:29:40.580 eight of these hubs in San Diego, Chicago, Akron, Missoula. 455 00:29:40.650 --> 00:29:44.353 Chattanooga, Worcester and Grand Rapids to attend a convening so 456 00:29:44.353 --> 00:29:47.828 that we could determine how museums were working together to 457 00:29:47.828 --> 00:29:50.620 get the most out of the Museums for All program. 458 00:29:53.180 --> 00:29:56.580 We found that several opportunities for cooperation 459 00:29:56.580 --> 00:30:00.372 exist, and not just between museums. Hubs can use museums 460 00:30:00.372 --> 00:30:04.360 for all as an entry point to establish or deepen connections 461 00:30:04.360 --> 00:30:08.414 with local food banks or transit authorities. I think Tatiana 462 00:30:08.414 --> 00:30:12.272 talked about that in ways that can overcome other barriers 463 00:30:12.272 --> 00:30:15.999 potential visitors face in making it to the museum, like 464 00:30:15.999 --> 00:30:16.980 transportation. 465 00:30:17.850 --> 00:30:21.662 These actions build trust between community organizations, 466 00:30:21.662 --> 00:30:25.475 museums included, as well as with their visitors. It shows 467 00:30:25.475 --> 00:30:29.417 that the museums are serious about having everyone visit the 468 00:30:29.417 --> 00:30:33.229 complete report from the Hub Convening is available on the 469 00:30:33.229 --> 00:30:37.430 Museums for All website as well, so you can take a look at that. 470 00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:42.481 Last year, we repeated this effort and convened another 471 00:30:42.481 --> 00:30:46.597 group of hubs for a listening session. Cities like Richmond 472 00:30:46.597 --> 00:30:50.439 and Cincinnati, Providence, Tulsa, San Antonio, and San 473 00:30:50.439 --> 00:30:54.555 Diego were involved, and we wanted to know what better ways 474 00:30:54.555 --> 00:30:58.671 we could support them, what resources they needed. So based 475 00:30:58.671 --> 00:31:02.924 on those sessions, we created some new resources specifically 476 00:31:02.924 --> 00:31:06.080 for these groups of museums working together. 477 00:31:07.030 --> 00:31:11.060 Including special press release templates, a flyer for 478 00:31:11.060 --> 00:31:15.091 distributing around the community, A1 pager to give to 479 00:31:15.091 --> 00:31:19.634 the local SNAP offices, sample meeting agendas for recruiting 480 00:31:19.634 --> 00:31:24.031 other museums or potential partners, and the slide deck for 481 00:31:24.031 --> 00:31:28.355 use in those meetings. And these are all available for all 482 00:31:28.355 --> 00:31:32.020 museums and and hub cities to use on our website. 483 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:41.666 So if this all sounds great and fun and intriguing and perfect 484 00:31:41.666 --> 00:31:46.440 for you, just a reminder that it's super easy and free to 485 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:50.721 register on the Museums for All website. Just go to 486 00:31:50.721 --> 00:31:53.520 www.museumsletternonumber4all.org. 487 00:31:56.430 --> 00:32:01.328 And if you have questions, your Museums for All family is eager 488 00:32:01.328 --> 00:32:05.921 to answer your questions. So here are our contacts. Brendan 489 00:32:05.921 --> 00:32:10.820 is the is the number one go to guy. I'm always happy to help if 490 00:32:10.820 --> 00:32:11.320 I can. 491 00:32:12.550 --> 00:32:16.820 And I'm sure Tatiana would be happy to talk about her 492 00:32:16.820 --> 00:32:21.643 experience too. So please feel free to to reach out and also 493 00:32:21.643 --> 00:32:26.546 know that we have, let's see that we also encourage you to to 494 00:32:26.546 --> 00:32:31.449 share the news via Twitter, our handle. And I looked at this, 495 00:32:31.449 --> 00:32:36.273 Brendan, it's at museums, not the number four. It's FOR all. 496 00:32:36.273 --> 00:32:38.249 So that's confusing, huh? 497 00:32:39.750 --> 00:32:42.110 That was available, but the URL wasn't. 498 00:32:45.280 --> 00:32:48.708 All right. So thank you guys very much for participating. 499 00:32:48.708 --> 00:32:51.250 We'll stop now and then move to questions.