I had no idea yesterday, when I posted about the campaign by the Worcester Art Museum to open its Salisbury Street doors, that the goal was so close to being met.
But just now, I received an email from the museum that the $60,000 goal was not only attained but exceeded. Here’s what the museum wrote:
With the Salisbury doors having been closed for the past several years (other than on weekends and for special events), the museum initiated a grassroots campaign to raise the $60,000 necessary to re-open the entrance to the public on a full-time basis for at least the next two years. In fact, the Museum exceeded this goal raising a total of $94,113 with a total of 321 gifts ranging from less than $25-$500. [Boldface mine.]
This shows several things.
- Directors can galvanize giving, even in small amounts, by finding and defining a cause. It’s a lot easier to do that when people know exactly where their money is going and agree with the goal.
- Direct appeals by the director, getting upclose and personal, succeed.
- Worcester director Matthias Waschek knows how to create excitement. Today, the museum staged a ceremonial reopening of the doors in presence of officials and community leaders “including: Senator Harriette Chandler; Malcolm Rogers – Director, Museum of Fine Arts Boston; Anita Walker – Executive Director, Massachusetts Cultural Coalition;  Lisa Simmons – Director of PR, MA Office of Travel and Tourism; Councilor Konnie Lukes, and Erin Williams, Cultural Development Officer, City of Worcester.” Pretty good turnout.
- The museum knows how to pay it back: Waschek announced “that admission to the museum will be free to the public through the end of August.” Â It’s usually $14.
- AND: “To celebrate the announcement, the museum will host a free summer kick-off celebration on Saturday, June 23 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with live entertainment, food and art activities from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.”
Other museums: there’s a lesson here, more than one, actually.
Coverage in the Boston Globe is here, and in the Worcester Telegram, it’s here.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Worcester Telegram