The financial picture for the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives appears to be headed in the right direction thanks in large part to $49,000 in municipal funding.
Council unanimously approved supporting the museum on Aug. 15 a week after Warren Waxer, president of the Yellowhead Historical Society, told council that it would likely post a modest deficit of $4,000 in 2017 if council approved its funding request.
The change in fortunes is a drastic improvement compared to last year when the museum received a similar amount of money from the municipality, but still recorded a $39,000 deficit.
“At present, seven months into the year we’re at a deficit of about $33,000, however we had budgeted for approximately $28,000 from the municipality by this point in the year so if you take that into consideration, all things being equal, it leaves us about $6,000 below our projected budget surplus of $2,200 by the end of the year,” said Waxer.
He credited the smaller projected deficit for 2017 to a 25 per cent increase in admissions so far this year and better than expected fundraising and donations.
He also expected personnel costs to be slightly lower than expected, despite hiring a full time manger in the spring. Originally the museum had intended to save money by creating a three-quarter position, but decided it was worth the extra money to offer a full-time position to hire the right candidate for the job.
To offset the costs the museum has eliminated a part-time position that had historically been funded by grant money.
Waxer attributed some of the museum’s financial hardships over the past few years on missed government grants, such as $20,000 from the Alberta Museum Association (AMA) in 2016.
“The AMA grant was something that we were getting pretty well every year and was funding our exhibits coordinator position,” said Waxer. “Two years in a row we haven’t got it and it could have been a few bad lines on the grant application, but from what we’ve heard it’s basically a tightening of their funding.”
Despite missing out on that much needed funding, he said he’s confident the museum has a chance to receive several government grants again in the future.
In the meantime, to try and diversify its revenue he said the museum is actively seeking out corporate sponsorships.
According to Waxer, the museum has been hosting a historical pop-up presentation twice a week at Maligne Lake and hopes to continue to work with the hospitality industry to host similar events and presentations in the future.
Several councillors congratulated the museum for turning its finances around during the council meeting on Aug. 15.
“I think these were the best financials we’ve received from them,” said Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey. “I think they’re trying really hard to get on the road as a profitable society.”
Paul Clarke
