The Financial Integration and Resilience Model: Building the Museum Financial Ecosystem

Over the past several years, the global pandemic, environmental events and changing economic conditions, such as rising inflation and market volatility, have created unprecedented financial uncertainty in even well-resourced institutions. Museums face mounting challenges to sustain their operations as costs continue to rise and fundraising becomes more competitive. The financial operations of a Museum can no longer be viewed as a support function that merely processes revenue and pays bills. A strong financial foundation must be elevated to a strategic priority alongside the highest order mission and values of an institution. This book will explore how to create a Financial Integration & Resilience Model (FIRM), based on best practices and innovative approaches (including the use of Artificial Intelligence) for any Museum. The FIRM approach is unique because it leverages best practices in both the non-profit and Federal and state government sectors. The FIRM has been developed to break down organizational silos by using a strategic and risk-based approach; it ensures that all Museum offices participate in the model to ensure fundraising, strategic priorities and the budgeting are not segregated processes but a connected ecosystem. This connectivity creates a shared goal of resilience across the institution, and does not replace individual program goals or mission objectives. Financial resilience cannot exist without integration, and these two powerful forces together will generate positive reverberations across the institution. No matter the size of a museum, financial resilience is now a core value. This book will provide institutions with strategies and best practices for financial resilience and a blueprint to overcome gaps in financial integration that are essential to any Museum’s future.