Description

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFAB), is in urgent need of funds at this moment of continued, severe earned-income loss associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. MFAB has requested an emergency grant of $250,000 to support key Learning and Community Engagement, Conservation, and Curatorial positions for the remainder of the FY21 year. The American Art Program (AAP) wholeheartedly recommends approval of the proposed emergency grant, to be drawn from the AAP’s 2021 allocation. The Foundation’s support of MFAB through this grant is a rapid and effective way to sustain a reduced staff and their efforts to serve their communities and collections through the coming year of ongoing challenges to their operations.
The AAP last supported MFAB with a 2019 discretionary grant for the exhibition catalogue Hyman Bloom: Matters of Life and Death. It should be noted that, in April 2020, the Foundation granted the MFAB permission to reallocate $150,000 of the Luce Foundation’s 2016 grant of $825,000 (for a pilot project of collection-based exhibitions and curatorial apprenticeships) in order to address COVID-19-related shortfalls in the area of salary support for the staff of the Arts of the Americas department. 
Financial Status:
MFAB inaugurated the celebration of its 150 th in February 2020, only to face unprecedented challenges in the year that has followed. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, MFAB closed to the public on March 12, 2020, and since then has only been able to re-open between September 23 and December 17, and at 25% capacity in accordance with state guidelines. During this period, MFAB impressively attracted 35,000 visitors, with many days and almost all weekends at capacity. (MFAB has reopened since submitting their proposal.) With the halt of all visitor-driven revenues, MFAB’s leadership undertook a Trustee-led fundraising response to stabilize its operations and has secured $40M in commitments for an unrestricted operating endowment. COVID-associated revenue shortfalls will nevertheless total $55-60M through June 2022, as a result the pandemic’s impacts on memberships, ticket sales, in person events, and other visitor generated revenues. Estimated lost revenues between March and December 2020 are $29M, with the drop in revenues remaining a threat to the MFA’s finances (specific revenue losses are provided in the proposal).
In addition to robust fundraising efforts, the Museum implemented cost containment measures including furloughing 300 permanent staff eligible for unemployment insurance and supplemental income under the terms of the CARES Act, and voluntary temporary cuts to Leadership Team compensation (including a 30% cut by Director Matthew Teitelbaum). In August, 56 staff accepted Voluntary Early Retirement Packages, and an additional 57 staff were laid off. The cuts impacted all areas of the Museum and are indicative of the seriousness with which the MFAB Leadership continues view the budget challenges for the year ahead.
Work Strategies:
Through the MFA’s closures, essential staff members have remained on-site to safeguard the collection and prepare forthcoming installations. Curatorial, education, and communications teams have worked to expand and enhance online access to the collections and programs, and have created new virtual learning materials for students in Boston and beyond. Online versions of programs across the museum departments–including donor events, children’s art making, concerts, community celebrations, and artist talk–have been launched, with all publicly available events offered free of charge. Staff working remotely have continued the preparation of exhibitions, publications, and in-person programs that will drive the full return of audiences to the museum.
Funding Needs:
Before the substantial return of earned-revenue streams—most recently delayed by the re-closure of Boston museums in November and December–museum staff positions will continue to be at risk through the end of FY21. The proposed emergency grant would support a set of these positions: Senior Director of Belonging and Inclusion, Learning and Community Engagement; Head of Paper Conservation; Head of Textile Conservation; Paintings Curator, Art of Europe; Curatorial Research Fellow, Decorative Arts and Sculpture, Art of Europe.