The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has urged both Republican and Democratic leadership in the US to support the nonprofit museum sector by providing emergency assistance through June with US$4bn in economic relief legislation.
Also calling for congress to adopt a “universal charitable deduction” to help incentivise charitable giving, AAM estimates the US museum sector will lose a combined minimum of US$33m a day during forced closures, with significant federal support needed to maintain jobs and stop museums going under as a result.
According to AAM estimates, as many as 30 per cent of museums – primarily in small and rural communities – will be forced to close permanently without the emergency funding.
"The related ‘museum economy’ is vast and is facing an existential threat from the closures required to address the COVID-19 pandemic," said the AAM’s letter.
"As we write this letter, museums of all sizes are experiencing closures, attendance free-fall, cancelled events and actual layoffs. Most of these are cash-based businesses; their economic lifeblood is people visiting."
When it comes to earned revenue, science museums account 57 per cent of their income on generated revenue. By contrast, art museum revenue only accounts for 26 per cent of overall funding, however, they have the largest share in donations, with 42 per cent of income coming from philanthropy. In terms of government funding, multi-disciplinary museums receive the most support, with 24 per cent of their revenue coming from national authorities.
AAM has also called upon its members to make their voices heard, urging them to get in direct contact with legislators.
"They need to hear directly from you that they must include museums in COVID-19 relief and economic stimulus," said AAM. "They also need to hear specifically about how COVID-19 is affecting you and your museum and how your museum is helping impacted communities.
"Museums are community anchors, addressing challenges in times of crisis like the one we are currently experiencing. Unfortunately, we expect hardships to be faced by increasing numbers of our member organisations in communities across the country in the months ahead, underscoring the need for museums to be included in any economic stimulus relief now."
