by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The holidays mean different things to different people and groups.
For the Museum of Science and History, it means it’s the time of year to apply for the next round of state grants from the Division of Cultural Affairs. This month the museum is applying for the Historical Museums Grants-in-Aid Program and a General Operating Support award.
MOSH has shown a profit every year for the past 10, carries no long-term debt and has invested $13 million in improvements to the facility and its core exhibitions.
The largest portion of the museum’s operating revenue, 60 percent on average, is derived from earned income including admissions, program fees and sales. According to the American Association of Museums, that figure is substantially above the national average.
MOSH President and CEO Margo Dundon said the museum also receives funds from local government agencies and she understands the budget challenges facing the City of Jacksonville.
“The fiscal reality is the fiscal reality,” Dundon said. “They have a number of issues. They have a courthouse to build and pensions to fund. All the baby boomers are staring retirement in the face.
“I think it would have been unrealistic not to think that everyone was going to have to tighten their belt this year and the cultural organizations were no exception. There was a small decrease in funding,” she said.
Dundon added that MOSH is in a unique situation, being a museum of science and history rather than science or history.
“There’s an economy here that a lot of communities don’t have,” she said. “A lot of communities will have a science museum and a history museum. Because we’re a multidisciplinary institution, you’ve only got one administration, one gift shop staff, one janitorial staff. It’s very economical for the City of Jacksonville to have an institution like this.”
Dundon also said that the museum’s group of more than 200 volunteers helps keep the budget under control.
“Because of the heavy relationship that the museum has with the schools, the expectation is that our educators are not going to come with six weeks’ training, but with bachelor’s degrees in certain areas. We use our volunteers for a lot of support functions and to help support public programming. For instance, when we’re having camps, our educators are the leaders of the program and our volunteers will help them in those activities — you know, pass out the juice boxes and things like that.”
Dundon said the biggest factor in getting City grants to help fund the museum is the decision-makers’ understanding of the roles cultural institutions play in the community.
“I think we have an enlightened administration and an enlightened City Council,” she said. “They understand that art and culture is critical to what the schools are doing. They also understand that for the tourism economy that does exist in Jacksonville, the arts and cultural organizations really represent the destinations.
“We don’t have a fountain of youth, but we do have a Cummer (Museum) and a JMOMA and a MOSH and a zoo.”