THEMUSEUM seeking one-time grant to stay afloat

As financial woes take a toll on the THEMUSEUM in downtown Kitchener, the city is looking at throwing the organization a lifeline.

The art and technology museum has made a request to the City of Kitchener asking for a $300,000 one-time grant to be dispersed over the next four months.

David Marskell, CEO of THEMUSEUM, said the organization has faced a myriad of financial issues for years and is seeking this grant now due to an inherited and outdated financial model from the previous Children’s Museum.

“The Waterloo Region Children’s Museum, before my time opened with a flawed financial model. It should have never opened with the financial model it did, and what we’ve inherited we’ve been saddled with underfunding ever since,” he said.

Marskell added that the number of visitors to THEMUSEUM is not related to the current financial situation and numbers have actually been returning to pre-pandemic levels.

“We had almost 100,000 people pre-COVID and our numbers are growing back to that. Our camps are full, we routinely house hundreds of people in the evenings, ours is one of being underfunded,” he said.

In a letter to the city, THEMUSEUM said that money will, at least in part be used to handle increased expenses and additional staff between May and August.

The city looks to be interested in meeting that need on the condition THEMUSEUM enters into negotiations on June 1.

Those talks with Kitchener would discuss fundamentally changing the organization’s business model with the goal of maintaining a sustainable financial future.

Marskell said he wholeheartedly agrees with reevaluating the business model and shared some of the changes he’d like to see.

“I think in part the financial model needs to be addressed and the name THEMUSEUM needs to be revisited in terms of a rebrand. New people to the community don’t understand the history and where we came from,” he said.

If the money is approved Monday night THEMUSEUM will also have to limit any discretionary spending and ensure all community commitments such as summer camps and venue rentals are honoured.

Marskell said he’s confident the vote will go in the THEMUSEUM’s favour, but in the event it doesn’t, the organization might have to close or move to another location.

The council meeting gets underway at 5 p.m. Monday night. Further details on the staff report to council can be found here.