City of Kitchener approves three-year funding deal for THEMUSEUM

THEMUSEUM is getting another funding lifeline from the City of Kitchener.

Last May, THEMUSEUM made a plea for a grant of $300,000 as it was concerned about being able to operate past June 2024.

The grant was approved by Kitchener council and over the last year, city staff worked with THEMUSEUM to analyze different operating models. A report was ultimately brought back to council Monday night, along with another funding ask of $300,000 annually over the next three years.

That led to some questions from councillors over what will be done differently this time to change the course and attract new visitors.

“If I may, I don’t think our programming model is broken. We do believe it’s a revenue issue,” said David Marskell, CEO of THEMUSEUM. “Research has shown over and over we don’t have enough marketing dollars. We’ve invested half-a-million dollars of our own money, $35,000 from the City, to create EYEPOOL — and we don’t have enough money to market it.”

Marskell added that receiving more prolonged funding can help them look farther ahead too.

“If we can plan out two years, we can bring in exhibits that we couldn’t normally afford and be able to secure sponsors as well.”

THEMUSEUM says it was attracting 100,000 visitors annually before COVID-19. These days, they’re seeing annual numbers closer to the 80,000 mark and 30 per cent are from outside the Region of Waterloo.

The pitch to council included a goal of returning to 100,000-person attendance, which would increase foot traffic and tourism spending in the struggling downtown core.

“THEMUSEUM is more critical than ever in terms of the downtown’s well-being, both from an economic point of view — but also from the perspective of attracting and retaining talent,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.

Vrbanovic said young families that want to come to K-W are looking for amenities like THEMUSEUM, and called it a resilient organization.

Kitchener council ultimately approved a conditional funding agreement, “allocating up to $300,000 for the next three fiscal years (from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028). This agreement includes financial and operational conditions and is contingent on approval from both the THEMUSEUM Board and the City.”

City staff said supporting THEMUSEUM over the next three years will, in turn, support downtown, a major cultural institution, and local tourism.