Merri, not only is the job market tough, but those of
us who should be able to do more at this point are
taking a real killing in the stock market.  Those
assets we squirreled away years ago, even when
diversified, have tanked.  The residual income that
should be there for philanthrophy has gone up in a
puff of smoke!

I diversified my investments quite a bit.  But the
stock market has gone down so low in the last year,
that the last statement I received (about a week and a
half ago) is simply sitting there, unopened.  There's
nothing I can do about it at this point.  No sense
worrying about that which you cannot fix.

I say this to say that I am not alone in this regard.
Giving, in general, is down.  Corporations don't have
the money for funding, foundations don't have it, and
individual donors (the regular Mom and Pop givers)
don't have the money to give right now.

I can agree with you 100% about why it's important to
foster the interest in young people.  From my heart, I
agree with you 150%.  But I'm pragmatist enough to
know that good intentions are not going to sustain the
museums and the staff to support them right now.  It
takes cold hard dollars.  Museums, like any other
function with an operating expense, are a business.

As I suspected from the tone of some of your other
notes, this is becoming personal.  That wasn't my
intention.  In fact, it was my intention to steer away
from the caustics and to participate at a more
intellectual, less personal attack/emotional basis.
Your comments concerning "snotty" don't engender an
open dialogue.

A very wise old supervisor used to say to me when I
was about where you are candle-wise in life and I
repeated to her some of the same zeal good things you
are now sharing here that "Things aren't always as
they should be.  They are as they are!"

That's a tough one.  I want to believe that people
will be philanthrophic.  I want to believe that they
will give to all the good causes, and they will
sustain us.  I want to believe that goodness and light
and that very subjective term, "right", will prevail.
But life has taught me otherwise.  It has neither made
me cynical nor snotty but more practical.

It was Dale Carnegie Leadership training that helped
to prepare me for the way times are today.  What's the
worst possible thing that could happen?  ACCEPT the
fact that it could happen.  Now start working on
making it better.

For me, making it better is donating about 25 or more
hours a week to the museums community on the other
lists.  For me, it's helping those of you with the
right credentials to do the kinds of things I want to
see done (have museums survive with curators, exhibits
specialists, archivists, and such) be able to find and
secure a job in the field, know what's ongoing, find
sources of funding, and such.  I don't have the
charitable dollars to sustain all the world's museums,
but my time is my contribution to the cause--but I do
know how to raise money and increase volunteerism
since I have done both a good deal of my life.

A lot can be done with volunteer labor.  Every hour
contributed by talented individuals capable of doing
the tasks is an hour an insitution doesn't have to pay
for and hopefully helps to sustain the institutions we
both cherish.  I certainly hope there are plenty here
who are willing to volunteer their time until the
economy again rights itself.  They, in turn, may gain
valuable skills that can be used for the benefit of
museums in the future.

Do you have thoughts on how we can recruit more
qualified volunteers?






> I recognize the harshness of today's economy. I also
> know the importance of
> investing in the future. I also know that if a
> school or museum invest as
> much as possible in programs and activities to help
> children, then there will
> be benefits. The National Gallery of Art has a
> program right called the High
> School Institute. This program brings in these kids
> to the museum to learn
> about the different occupations of the museums. This
> program not only have
> sparked their interest in museum careers, but some
> of the comments from these
> children already expressed future support.
>
SNIP
> I myself may not have the money to give to help
> museums now, but if I see
> them really take great interests with children, they
> will sure have support
> when I do get the money. The economy is a
> rollecoaster, good days and bad,
> but it will return to those
> good days, and I hope that the general public
> recognize the importance of the
> museum...if not then maybe we should stop looking at
> the government and the
> audience and look in the mirror at ourselves.
SNIP

> When I made my last statement about doing more
> outreach to children, I should
> not
> have to expect questions and comments on " Are you
> cognizant of the volume of
> NPOs that are looking for support from individuals?
> "  or haven't I read
> philanthropic materials.. that same attitude is why
> people still have that
> negative perception of us and why not many newcomers
> to this list feel
> comfortable asking questions and making comments. In
> fact I spoke to some
> very nice and educated people about my conversation
> on this subject and they
> all agreed that there is still that snotty-like
> stereotype.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Merri.
>
>
>
>
> M erri C .Pemberton
>
>
>
> M erri C .Pemberton
>
>
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=====
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