No Mission, No Money

Abstract

Museum leaders around the country are in the midst of examining and changing their business models in response to new economic realities. Museum educators have an opportunity to play a leading role in this endeavor. To do so educators must understand the relationship between money and mission. For too long there has been a belief that the educators' role was to carry out the mission of serving the public, and that others—the board, the executive director, or the development director—would raise the funds. However, it is a mistake to consider mission work and money work as separate. They should be viewed as intimately related, each depending on the other, existing together within a system of value exchange. This article presents a strategic thinking process that museum educators can use to help their organizations become more financially viable and sustainable.