Museums and Other Nonprofits in the Current Recession

Abstract

This article presents the results of a nationwide survey conducted in the spring of 2009 that examined the impacts of the current recession on nonprofit organizations, including museums. The survey identified a host of negative effects that nonprofits have been experiencing as a result of the recession, including reduced organizational revenues, increased costs, and increased demand. However, the survey also demonstrated that nonprofits, including museums, are exhibiting enormous resilience, responding to the increased fiscal stress by initiating a range of fundraising, belt-tightening, and entrepreneurial strategies. The article highlights key results for the nonprofit sector as a whole and indicates when and how the museum field diverges from these averages. It concludes with some advice for museum educators to help them not only support their organizations through these troubling times but also emerge as even stronger institutions.