[BCMA] Paid vs volunteer staff

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

Hello, and happy holidays to everyone,

We have a dilemma here at the HMCS ALBERNI Museum and Memorial (HAMM) regarding paid vs volunteer staff.

Currently, we have three staff, including myself who have always been volunteering our time, our own funds when needed, and a lot of our own time to give to HAMM and the mobile exhibit unit, The Alberni Project.

As happens frequently with small museums, HAMM took on a life of its own and grew in scope which far exceeded the original inspiration stages almost 25 years ago.

We are now at a stage where we must apply for much larger grants to keep our doors open to the public.  The small grants we used to get from businesses, Gaming Grants, and individuals are now not covering the losses we are experiencing with the loss of two major community grants (to the tune of $15,000).  Unfortunately, this means that for us to pay our rent, lights, and insurance our three staff are having to pick up the slack out of our own pockets to get us through to the next Gaming Grant Cycle.

We have applied for several operational and event/exhibit-specific grants through the Federal Government but were turned down because we do not have any paid staff.

Do other museums have this same problem and if so, were you able to overcome this hurdle?  For us, it seems that it is a Catch-22 where we need additional funding to create paid positions, but we can’t get additional funding without paid positions.  

Over the years we have survived moving, evictions, floods, fire, COVID-19, and volunteers from hell.  However, we are now at a turning point in our history that we need to start applying for larger grants to simply replace other grants that have been cut off by our local municipality and large charitable foundations.

I feel awkward writing on this subject in a public forum such as this, but we are at wit's end to see what steps we now need to take so we can make the shift to paid positions just so we can find rent money to keep our doors open.

So I am open to any suggestions that I can take to our board.

We are also in a challenge that doesn’t seem to have any end or solution for the continued service of our museum.  Like many communities, our community is embroiled in a homelessness/drug addiction crisis that is, literally, on our doorstep.  The City installed a homeless drop-in centre and has allowed a camp to be set up directly adjacent to our building.  This has resulted in the public avoiding HAMM due to safety concerns, human waste, and open drug use which is out of our control.  But with limited funding available to us because we are all volunteers, we can not possibly look at relocating a twelfth time.  We’re pulling our hair out.

Maybe I just need to vent to other museum people who have been there, and done that.  We are at a loss of what to do and we’re afraid we might end up flaying our hands in the air for naught but the inevitable.

So, any suggestions of what we now face in our growth process?  
You can write to me directly at mrbarth at alberniproject.org <mailto:mrbarth at alberniproject.org>

Thank you for listening.  It helped to vent a bit here.




at your service,


Lewis Bartholomew
Founder & Executive Director

mrbarth at alberniproject.org

MUSEUM ADDRESS:
HMCS ALBERNI Museum and Memorial
MUSÉE DU NCSM ALBERNI
5-625 Cliffe Avenue
Courtenay BC
250-897-4611


ADMINISTRATION OFFICE:
The Alberni Project Society
TAP Mobile Exhibit Bookings
65 Salsbury Road
Courtenay, BC Canada V9N9L7
250-338-2720
BC Reg Society: S-0062206

HMCS ALBERNI Memorial
www.alberniproject.org
www.facebook.com/thealberniproject
www.twitter.com/AlberniProject
k103museum at alberniproject.org


Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep,
though poppies grow in Flanders Fields. 

 
Email is a non-secure form of communication and clients should not include any sensitive account information in any email to The Alberni Project. Le courriel n'est pas un mode de transmission securise et les clients doivent s'abstenir d'y inclure tout renseignement sensible sur leur compte dans toute communication electronique destinee a projet de Alberni. 


With gratitude, we live and work within the Coast Salish and Salish Sea region - on the unceded traditional territories of K'omoks, ɬaʔamɩn gɩǰɛ (Tla’amin/ Sliammon), Homalco, We Wai Kai and We Wei Kum, and Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group - traditional keepers of these lands. Avec gratitude, nous vivons et travaillons dans la région des Salish de la côte et de la mer des Salish - sur les territoires traditionnels non cédés des K'omoks, ɬaʔamɩn gɩǰɛ (Tla'amin/ Sliammon), Homalco, We Wai Kai et We Wei Kum, et Hul'qumi. 'num Treaty Group - gardiens traditionnels de ces terres.





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