“No matter their size, for nearly every nonprofit museum, revenue comes through fundraising, charitable donations, and earned revenue, which includes revenue from museum exhibitions, educational programs, retail sales, and venue rentals. [2] Without patronage, the earned revenue stream has evaporated virtually overnight[…]Due to the nature of the nonprofit industry, many of these museums do not have the savings necessary to survive such a hit.”

Joining Representatives Maloney and Nadler in this request are Representatives Nydia M. Velázquez, Yvette D. Clarke, Grace Meng, Gregory W. Meeks, Adriano Espaillat, Eliot L. Engel, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Hakeem S. Jeffries.

As you know, Americans across the nation are undertaking unprecedented measures in order to minimize the transmission of COVID-19. On March 15, 2020, the CDC urged that any gathering of 50 or more people be canceled or postponed for the next 8 weeks. The following day the president recommended that gatherings of 10 or more people be avoided. In response to these concerns, museums and cultural institutions around New York announced on March 12 they would voluntary close their doors in order to slow the spread of the virus. [3] Nonprofit museums across the country followed suit and closed indefinitely, even though roughly 65 percent of their income comes directly from patrons.[4]

These decisions are saving American lives and are unequivocally the right choices. However, the economic ramifications of these decisions are devastating to the nonprofit museum community, and to their local economies. Museums in New York State support 61,000 jobs and generate $5.4 billion annually in revenue. [5] New York City is home to some of the most prestigious, innovative, and diverse museums in the world, including major art museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA, and the Whitney; cultural and historical museums like the Museum of Chinese in America and the City Museum of New York; and international landmarks like the American Museum of Natural History. 

No matter their size, for nearly every nonprofit museum, revenue comes through fundraising, charitable donations, and earned revenue, which includes revenue from museum exhibitions, educational programs, retail sales, and venue rentals. [6] Without patronage, the earned revenue stream has evaporated virtually overnight. Museums cannot hold fundraising events for fear of transmitting the virus, and donors are understandably more hesitant to make charitable contributions given the economic uncertainty they face. The Metropolitan Museum of Art projects that it will lose close to $100 million in the coming months because of the shutdowns, while the American Museum of Natural History estimates it will lose $60 million by June. [7]

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