2020 Annual Report

Table of Contents CMA at a Glance ..........................................................................................1 Year in Review ....................................................................................................2 Letter from the President .................................................................................................................................6 Letter from the Executive Director and CEO ......................................................................................................................................7 Progress on Our Strategic Goals ...............................................................................................9 Goal 1: Bring people and organizations together in support of the field and society at-large .......................................................................10 Goal 2: Effectively support and further broaden the CMA’s membership ...................................................18 Goal 3: Revitalizing and strengthening the CMA’s capacity ......................................................................20 Finances .................................................................................................................................21 Acknowledgements .............................................................23 CMA at a Glance OUR VISION The Canadian Museum Association (CMA) is the voice Stronger museums. Engaged for Canada’s vibrant museum citizens. A better Canada. community — from small, volunteer‑driven organizations OUR MISSION to cherished national institutions We champion, support, — and for the millions connect and elevate the of Canadians whose lives are museum sector. enriched by museums. We advocate for public policies OUR VALUES and support, we build skills across Collaboration & community the profession, and we establish Boldness & courage and inspire connections to Accountability & strengthen and sustain museums. professionalism Diversity, inclusiveness & social responsibility Excellence & creativity 1 Year in Review 2 Year in Review HELPED SECURE DELIVERED $53 $9.8 MILLION MILLION in emergency funding for to museums and museums and heritage heritage organizations organizations to weather the pandemic and effectively to support their advocated for capacity through INCREASED ACCESS Young Canada Works for small museums with lower operating budgets, bringing the minimum threshold down to $2,000 annually CREATED a new ESTABLISHED STRATEGIC PLAN MULTI-YEAR following CONTRACT significant member engagement for Young Canada Works program EXTENSIVE RECONCILIATION CONSULTATIONS PROGRAM THROUGH CONDUCTED ROUNDTABLES A NATIONAL AND MEETINGS, SURVEY both with Minister Guilbeault of museums with and the arts and Indigenous collections and heritage community reset the outreach plan and conducted online consultations 3 Year in Review UPDATED CELEBRATED OUR BYLAWS CMA AWARD to increase WINNERS Board size to ensure greater diversityand through unique representation print and digital content, including seven feature videos filmed at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection IMPLEMENTED TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS RECEIVED AND for greater efficiency RESPONDED to 22 media requests SIMPLIFIED OVERHAULED MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES JOBS IN HERITAGE BOARD making it easier for with new features people to understand designed to suit the membership and join specific needs of the CMA Canada’s arts and culture sector 4 Year in Review RELEASED Value Study of GLAMs in Canada CREATED TOOLKIT to help professionals and institutions make best use of the findings and amplify the results with stakeholders IMPROVED THE ONLINE VERSION OF MUSE MAGAZINE AND ITS CONTENT QUALITY HOSTED THREE VIRTUAL EVENTS that brought museum professionals together to learn and explore 5 Letter from the Executive Director and CEO anada’s museum community will mark 2020 vision, mission and mandate. This annual report Cfor years to come. Together we confronted is structured to reflect our progress toward the the challenges of a once-in-a-century pandemic, strategic plan’s three goals: while setting out on an ambitious journey to a place where a reimagined, more vibrant museum • Bring people and organizations together in sector engages citizens and helps drive a modern, support of the field and society at-large inclusive Canada. • Effectively support and further broaden the The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated our CMA’s membership community’s need for greater resilience by laying bare many organizations’ funding gaps and • Revitalize and strengthen the CMA’s precarious financial foundations. International internal capacity studies suggest at least one-eighth of museums may close permanently, with many more Thanks to the Museum Assistance program, experiencing long-term impacts. we were able to deliver and enhance important resources to our community including Muse Museums laid off staff. Many closed and could not magazine, daily press clippings, a bi-weekly reopen. Decreased visitors, reduced tourism, less newsletter, new web tools and resources, bursaries fundraising, fewer events and the implementation and other professional development support and of costly health and safety measures represent a opportunities. Through the Young Canada Works new normal. program, which we deliver on behalf of the Despite all this, museums have shown an incredible Government of Canada, we created thousands of dedication to serving their communities, and jobs in heritage and offered millions of dollars to the pandemic brought us together in new ways. institutions to bolster their capacity. Parents, educators and children were engaged The CMA’s advocacy for an update to Canada’s online and in outside settings. Some museums lack 30-year-old national museum policy is directly the capacity or the resources to deliver these online connected to our strategic goals. The CMA has programs, but the pandemic has accelerated our been clear that Canada’s 2,700 museums need collective awareness of the limitless technological a national museum policy that truly reflects possibilities to enhance the visitor experience. contemporary Canada. As the world changed, the CMA had to advance and kept its focus on developing and executing its new strategic plan and embracing new ways of doing business. We increased our advocacy and digital efforts, modernized our work and offerings, The CMA has been clear that broadened our collaborations and focused on strengthening membership services — all in an effort Canada’s 2,700 museums need a to deliver superior value to our members. A broad national museum policy that truly array of voices shared their views with the CMA reflects contemporary Canada. on how we can strengthen the museum community. Our collective efforts resulted in the CMA’s multi- year, evergreen strategic plan, including an updated 7 Progress on Our Strategic Goals 9 Progress on Our Strategic Goals Goal 1: HELPED SECURE Bring people and organizations together in support of the field and society at-large $53 The CMA serves as a key node in a network of organizations to MILLION advance issues of common concern and national importance, in emergency funding for such as a national museum policy and Reconciliation. museums and heritage organizations to weather Passionately advocating for the pandemic and effectively museums in tough times advocated for At the CMA, we do everything we can to keep museums’ INCREASED ACCESS issues top of mind with the federal government. This entails for small museums with lower writing letters, briefs, statements and submissions; meeting operating budgets, bringing the with key officials — specifically building a strong relationship minimum threshold down to with the Minister of Canadian Heritage — and getting our $2,000 annually messages out through traditional and social media. In March 2020, as COVID-19 closures threatened institutions dependent on visitors for revenue, the CMA sprang into Funding has always been a struggle for the museum sector, action. We issued a public letter to the government calling and the pandemic further underscored the need for an updated for a dedicated relief fund for museums forced to close and national museum policy that would in part ensure more appealed for new funding to support smaller museums with adequate and stable funding. The CMA has been consistent in digital activities. We also highlighted the risks that closures our calls for renewal of the policy, additional pandemic relief, present to artifacts and collections, from lack of security to more federal funding to museums and greater recognition of harmful environmental conditions. The government responded the tremendous economic and social benefits of museums. with an emergency fund of $500 million dedicated to culture, Speaking with government and the media, we made the case heritage and sport — $53 million of which went to museums that museums would be in a better position to survive the and heritage organizations. We worked with the government to pandemic with a more modern policy and adequate funding ensure the greatest possible access to this funding for museums levels. Although a proposed review of the policy took a of all sizes, and we used all available channels to help get backseat to the pandemic, we were assured by the Minister the word out. While this funding was greatly appreciated, of Canadian Heritage that it remains a priority for the much more is needed to keep our sector afloat, and we have government. The CMA has emphasized that an updated policy continued to

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