Advocate Handbook February 22–23, 2021 • Virtual Thank You for Taking Part in Our First Ever Virtual Museums Advocacy Day
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Total for this piece is $270 (4.5 hours). Advocate Handbook February 22–23, 2021 • Virtual Thank you for taking part in our first ever virtual Museums Advocacy Day. Now, it’s critical to keep advocating for museums year-round. VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO: We need your support to continue advocating for museums. Check out dozens of additional resources. How Tos | Videos | Best Practices | Toolkits | Ideas Get familiar with—and share—critical data reports. Museums & Public Opinion | Museums as Economic Engines Find and contact your legislators at any time. Templates | Directories | Step-by-Step Guides Share your stories. Advocacy Media Kits | Submit to our Blog Watch and share inspirational videos! Make a tax deductible “Using Our Voices” | “Telling Our Powerful Stories” donation today. Visit: Speak up, and engage your legislators, on social! bit.ly/support-aam-advocacy Join the #museumsadvocacy conversation on social media. A heartfelt thank you to the supporters Supporters of Museums Advocacy Day 2021! CORPORATE SPONSOR CONTRIBUTORS AAM Member Mountain-Plains Museums Association American Institute for Conservation National Association for Interpretation Association for Living History, Farm and North Carolina Museums Council Agricultural Museums Oklahoma Museums Association Association of Art Museum Curators South Carolina Federation of Museums Federation of State Humanities Councils Southeastern Museums Conference CO-CONVENOR Michigan Museums Association Western Museums Association SUPPORTERS Americans for the Arts Museums Alaska Dr. Gail S. Aronow New Jersey Association of Museums Coalition of State Museum Associations New York City Museum Educators LEADERS Historic Naval Ships Association Roundtable (NYCMER) Idaho Association of Museums NEDCC | Northeast Document Conservation Center Iowa Museum Association Ohio Museums Association Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums PA Museums Missouri Association for Museums and Archives Texas Association of Museums Museum Association of Arizona University of San Francisco Museum Studies MA Program Museum Computer Network Virginia Association of Museums Museum Education Roundtable HONOR ROLL American Association for Museum Volunteers PARTNERS Mike Crocker Jill Hartz Ron Kagan Lara Litchfield-Kimber Janice Lyle Nancy Mantell William Pretzer Graig Shaak Table of Contents Welcome Letter 1 From Laura Lott TIP: Your digital Advocate Handbook is interactive! Click the page numbers on this Schedule and Recordings Table of Contents to easily navigate to them. 3 Monday Program Throughout the handbook, click links that 5 Tuesday Virtual Congressional Meetings look like this, or buttons that look like this: 6 Pre-Event Recordings Legislative Agenda 7 Issues At a Glance 13 Museums and the COVID-19 Pandemic 17 IMLS Office of Museum Services Funding 25 Tax Policy 27 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 29 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) February 22–23, 2021 • Virtual 31 Elementary and Secondary Education Congressional Contact Information 33 Higher Education 61 House of Representatives 35 Lifelong STEM Engagement 83 Senate 39 Historic Preservation 41 Shutdown Prevention and Economic Impact Key Congressional Committees 2021 89 Senate Committee on Appropriations Museums: Did You Know? 90 Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 43 Museum Facts: At A Glance and Pensions 45 Museum Facts: Details 91 Senate Committee on Finance 49 Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion 92 Senate Committee on Small Business and 51 Environmental Sustainability and Museums Entrepreneurship 53 Ethics and Best Practices in Museums 93 House Committee on Appropriations 94 House Committee on Education & Labor Logistics & General Information 95 House Committee on Ways & Means 55 The Virtual Museums Advocacy Day Platform 96 House Committee on Small Business 56 AAM Museums Advocacy Day Contacts 57 Ten Rules for Engagement About the Alliance 58 Tips for Meeting with Elected Officials 97 Programs, Initiatives, and Resources 59 AAM Nonprofit Voter Resources Guide 99 Join us for #AAM2021 From top left, clockwise: A first-time advocate from Pennsylvania during a policy briefing; two advocates chatting at Museums Advocacy Day 2020; advocates making the case for museums during Congressional visits. 1 MUSEUMS ADVOCACY DAY 2021 ADVOCATE HANDBOOK 2 A Welcome Letter from Laura Lott Dear Museum Advocate: Welcome and thank you for participating in the 13th • Telling your stories about how your museums are suffering from the impacts of the pandemic, annual, and first-ever virtual, Museums Advocacy Day! yet continue to meet the needs of your communities—from providing spaces for remote and virtual classrooms to providing lesson plans, online learning opportunities, and drop-off Today, you join a collective movement of thousands of museum advocates who come together learning kits to teachers and families. each year to assert the critical value of museums. Together, we have defeated multiple attempts • And most importantly, making the case that museums are essential to our nation’s economy, to eliminate IMLS, NEA, and NEH, and have fought for and won increased funding for these education, and vibrancy; and showing legislators that museums will be critical to the recovery critical agencies. In addition, you sent nearly 60,000 letters to your legislators in the past year of our communities—big and small, urban and rural—across the country. to communicate the dire impacts the pandemic is having on your museums; and you were heard when Congress passed two COVID-19 relief bills that included funding for museums Please help me thank our allies in this important work, including national affiliate organizations; and a $2 million increase for the Office of Museum Services (OMS) in IMLS. regional and state museum associations; and corporate partners who shared their wisdom, enthusiasm, and financial support to make Museums Advocacy Day a success. In addition, the With a new Congress, new administration, and so many museums still in dire situations, AAM board of directors and incredible staff have worked hard for the last year to make this event— now is a critical time to tell the stories of museums. Museums foster education, empathy, and our year-round advocacy efforts—possible. connection, and community while simultaneously acting as a significant economic boon for the United States. They are critical to society, to healing our divided nation, and to our Finally, thank you for your participation—and your ongoing efforts to advocate on the federal, collective recovery from the pandemic. They deserve Congressional support. Together, along state, and local levels throughout the year. There is no Alliance—or Museums Advocacy Day— with thousands of museum supporters across the country, we will help our elected leaders without you! recognize the value of museums by: • Making the case that museums across the country are struggling with the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including that one-third of museums may permanently With gratitude, shutter without immediate support resulting in the loss of 12,000 museums and 124,000 jobs. • Helping legislators understand that museums need additional COVID-19 relief aid, expanded charitable giving tax incentives, and substantial funding increases for our federal cultural agencies—including the IMLS Office of Museum Services—and that 95% Laura Lott of voters would approve of lawmakers who acted to support museums and 96% want President and CEO federal funding for museums to be maintained or increased. American Alliance of Museums Monday, February 22 (continued) Monday Program 2:25 – 2:40 p.m. ET Break 2:40 – 3:25 p.m. ET Preparing for Capitol Hill – Key Issues and Asks All Monday sessions and events take place in WebEx and accessed via the virtual Museums Advocacy Day platform. All times listed are in Eastern Time. Get the latest developments on the key policy issues facing museums, including what we are asking for and how to frame the issues. This session is essential for everyone making the case on Capitol Hill, so we Monday, February 22 can all speak with an informed, unified voice. Barry Szczesny, Director, Government Relations and Public Policy, 11 – 11:15 a.m. ET Welcome American Alliance of Museums Andy Finch, Director of Policy, Association of Art Museum Directors Barry Szczesny, Director, Government Relations and Public Policy, American Alliance of Museums 3:25 – 3:40 p.m. ET Break Dale Strange, President & General Manager, Arts & Cultural Solutions, Blackbaud Crosby Kemper, Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services 3:40 – 3:50 p.m. ET Priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration Courtney Chapin, Executive Director, The Better Angels Society 11:15 – 11:25 a.m. ET Why We’re Here and What’s at Stake in 2021 AAM President and CEO Laura Lott welcomes advocates from 3:50 – 5:25 p.m. ET Public Policy Briefings around the nation. Not every policy issue affects every museum, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t vital to our cause. Get all the details on these additional issues that may be of particular interest to you or your museum. Learn what’s 11:25 – 11:40 a.m. ET Break going on and how to best make your case. 11:40 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. ET Advocacy Essentials The National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities Get expert advice on being your best advocate for museums from the Alexandra Klein, Communications Manager, National Humanities Alliance Advocacy Guru Stephanie Vance of Advocacy Associates. This session will prepare you to be successful in meeting with congressional offices