AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS
ACT NOW Museum Advocacy Update

Help Make the Case: Complete the 2009 Museum Financial Information Survey by Dec. 15!

Why Complete the Museum Financial Information (MFI) Survey?

In this economic climate, it is more important than ever to have current and reliable data about the financial health of our nation's museum so we can make our case – to Congress, to funders, and to the public – about how museums are a valuable source of affordable education and entertainment for visitors of all ages.

The data collected in the MFI survey provides a lot of important information, including:

• Where museums get their funding
• How museums use their funding
• How many museums offer reduced or free admission
• The amount of funds dedicated to supporting K-12 education

Policymakers, funders, and the press rely on this survey to help understand museum operations, finances and funding needs, and we can all use the information to help make a stronger case for museums. But the quality and accuracy of the results depend on the participation of as many museums as possible. That’s where we need your help.

If your museum has already completed and returned the survey, we thank you. If not, please urge your museum's CEO/director to complete the survey now (he or she probably learned about the survey last month). Full details are available at http://www.aam-us.org/mfi. Most museums find that it takes less than an hour to complete – a valuable investment toward collecting accurate information about the museum field.

***Please complete the survey by December 15, 2008.***

As a token of our appreciation for your efforts, any museum that submits the survey will receive a 10% discount on the published results and advance access to benchmarking data. All responses will remain completely confidential and anonymous.