Perhaps you're wondering why I keep posting this tiny message at the bottom of my posts:
100% of the SBD rewards from this #explore1918 post will support the Philadelphia History Initiative @phillyhistory. This crypto-experiment conducted by graduate courses at Temple University's Center for Public History and MLA Program, is exploring history and empowering education. Click here to learn more.
As a public history student at Temple University, I have to enroll in a Nonprofit Management course in the final semester of my graduate degree, and aside from being a place for me to explore the music of 1918, this is also the blog for that particular class. Public Historians wear many hats and as an aspiring museum educator, I'm assuming that I will consistently be juggling outreach efforts, student programming, fundraising initiatives, and administrative tasks for the rest of my working life. In our quest to understand management this semester, we'll all be posting about the changes in both content and capital that we want to affect within the Philadelphia cultural world. 77% of the city's nonprofit institutions have weak and often insustainable capital structures, and for those of us who wish to remain here, we should realize that these issues will not remedy themselves within the next three months to graduation.
Full disclosure, I'm not the correct person to be explaining the capital weaknesses of Philadelphia's cultural sector. Financial literacy has never and maybe will never be my strong suit, but I do know that 77% is definitely too many. And through Steem, we have a chance to experiment with how we might change that.
So, where should be put our limited resources?
I (surprisingly!) think that education and outreach departments are historically underfunded. In my opinion, every faction of an institution should attach outreach to their title in order to revitalize themselves in both capital and relevance. Outreach shouldn't be relegated to one department, but rather become an institution wide mission to affect the community in which it resides positively and in the long term. Philadelphia currently attracts many one time visitors, but lacks the ability to inspire large numbers of local continued audience attendance. In order to attract repeat visitors, conduct meaningful audience studies to generate sustainable programming, and to diversify audiences in an attempt to stabilize long term giving, I feel that more funding should be directed outside of the museum rather than within it. This also falls in line with a common theme throughout the museum world: lack of communication.
As I discuss these things I hardly understand, I want to present a list of things I need to know before deciding where to invest our Steem capital at the end of the semester:
- Which proposed projects most align with an institution's mission?
- Which institution demonstrates the most willingness and, more importantly, ability, to diversify audiences and expand outreach with this Steem allotment?
- Will we be able to consult with all members of an institution or just one department? Is this suitable for our purposes?
- Does the chosen institution need this money more than a fledgling or fringe investment? Are they regularly funded by other foundations?
What else do we need to know before investing our Steem in a Philadelphia history project?