Money may be tight at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives but a series of recent donations has come as a big help.

“We’ve had a lot of quiet, individual donations ... and those ones are the most valuable to us,” said museum manager Karen Byers.

That’s because private donations to the museum are eligible to be matched by the Alberta Community Spirit Program.

“You apply at the end of the year and you tell them how much has been donated privately – it can’t be corporate donations – and they match it,” Byers said. “It literally doubles all of our private donations.”

That has added up to an extra $9,000 or $10,000 in each of the last two years the museum has applied, Byers said, and she expects to receive another grant of about $10,000 under the latest application.

And while they’re not eligible for the same matching grants, recent corporate donations have also given the museum a boost.

Byers said CN kicked in two donations of $1,000 each as part of a program in which the company financially supports organizations for which its employees choose to volunteer.

“We’ve had two CN employees volunteer for us and CN has given us two $1,000 cheques,” Byers said.

A similar program run by ATCO saw the company donate $150 in exchange for one of its employees’ volunteer work.

“That particular employee also matched it with a $150 cheque, which was lovely,” Byers said, noting that the individual’s donation can also be matched by the Community Spirit Program.

And after the museum’s old dishwasher finally gave up the ghost, Byers applied to Servus Credit Union for some help and it came through with $500 to buy a new one.

Put together, Byers said these types of piecemeal donations are essential to the museum’s ongoing operations. While some donations are directed for certain projects and some donors ask that their money be used to buy specific things, she said most of the charitable giving just helps the museum “stay open.”

When it comes to future capital costs, however, big questions remain.

The aging building across from the Jasper Activity Centre is in need of some serious renovations, in particular to the flat roof. The roof alone could cost as much as $100,000, however, and it’s not clear whether that would be feasible.

“We’re looking at having the whole building evaluated just to say ‘Is this worth it?’” Byers said. “And if it’s not, what is the plan B?”

The empty lot next to the current museum belongs to the Jasper-Yellowhead Historical Society, Byers said, and could be a suitable site for a more modern building to house the museum’s exhibits, galleries and archives.

The historical society is working on a long-term sustainability plan at the request of the municipality, which has tied some of its funding to the submission of a plan. Byers said that is still in the works.

Ideally, she said she would like to see the museum and archives housed in a more modern facility.

“I’d like to see a new, environmentally friendly building that has a better furnace, better windows,” Byers said. “This building was the entry way for the Amethyst Motor Lodge. They moved it over here and it became the Elks Lodge and a couple other places for a while. So it’s had a long history.”

In the meantime, the museum will continue to rely on support from the community and Byers said every little donation helps.

“It’s just such a confirmation of support from people when you get those little $75 ones,” she said. 

“They say, ‘I know this isn’t much.’ But it’s fabulous.”