ADVOCACY MATTERS
Pennsylvania's lawmakers have been focusing on pandemic-related legislation, and reopening counties and businesses has been a point of contention in recent days. Museums are classified under the
Commonwealth's current recovery plans
as
indoor entertainment
along with other types of businesses that can reopen when their counties transition from the Yellow to Green designation. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) has informed us that there will be a resource web page coming soon, and we will share more information as it becomes available. The Pennsylvania budget for FY 2020-2021 has not made progress, and we will continue to look for new developments.
PA Museums' campaign to ask for support for museums is still going on, and we need YOU! Please contact your elected officials in the Pennsylvania House and Senate. You can
find your legislator here
. Please also contact the chairs of the
Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee
and the
Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee
and any members of those committees with whom you have a relationship. Thank them for their past support and ask them to support museums and history organizations in Pennsylvania through the time it will take our industry to recover from setbacks this year.
Here is a sample letter that you may personalize as you see fit:
Dear Representative/Senator xxxxx:
On behalf of _________________ located in _________________, thank you for your support of museums and historical organizations like ours and for providing $2 million in grants to our field through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Cultural and Historical Support program.
Museums and historical organizations face many challenges while we are closed due to the pandemic and prepare to re-open. In a report the Pennsylvania Tourism Office shared, the economic impact to the U.S. travel and tourism industry from COVID-19 will be 7 times that of 9/11. The American Alliance of Museums, the national association, has estimated that as many as 30% of museums in the U.S., mostly in small and rural communities, will not re-open without significant and immediate emergency financial assistance. PA Museums, our statewide association, has estimated museums in Pennsylvania, during this crisis, are losing $1.2 million
daily
.
Last year ______________________ welcomed____#___ school children on field trips and ___#___ visitors in March and April. This activity represented $____ in program and admission revenue. We anticipate our financial losses to exceed $ per month while we are shuttered. We have responded by _____________________ (furloughing staff, reducing staff salaries, cancelling scheduled exhibits and programs, etc.).
We ask that you support funding for Pennsylvania’s museums and historical organizations in this year’s budget by protecting the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s line item for Cultural and Historical Support grants, increasing that allocation if possible, and exploring other ways the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania can provide grants and assistance to our institutions.
Thank you,
(Your name)
(Your title)
(Your Organization)
