This course introduces archivists to the fundamentals of fundraising, including donor engagement, case-making, and sustainable revenue strategies. Participants will gain practical tools to support their institutions through annual giving, grants, and partnerships while aligning fundraising efforts with mission and impact.
Upon completing this workshop you’ll be able to:
- Explain how fundraising supports an archival institution’s mission, programs, collections, and community impact.
- Identify appropriate fundraising strategies for archives, including annual giving, grants, sponsorships, partnerships, and major gifts.
- Develop a compelling case for support that connects archival needs to donor interests and institutional priorities.
- Create a preliminary fundraising action plan with clear goals, audiences, messages, tactics, and measures of success.
Instructor bio:
Rebekah “Becky” Beaulieu, Ph.D., is the Louise Taft Semple President & CEO of the Taft Museum of Art, where she has served since September 2022. A museum leader and scholar with nearly three decades of experience, she is widely recognized for her expertise in museum management, finance, fundraising, strategic planning, and board relations. Before joining the Taft, she served as director of the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut, and associate director of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick, Maine.
Beaulieu is the author of Financial Fundamentals for Historic House Museums (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) and Endowment Essentials for Museums (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), co-editor of The State of Museums: Voices from the Field (MuseumsEtc., 2018), and a contributor to Financial Management in Museums: Theory, Practice, and Context (Routledge, 2024). Her forthcoming books include The 75 Most Frequently Asked Questions about Museum Finance (Bloomsbury, 2027) and Transforming Museum Workplace Cultures (Bloomsbury, 2027).
In addition to her museum leadership, Beaulieu taught art history, museum studies, and museum administration at Connecticut College and guest lectured at Carnegie Mellon University, the George Washington University, and Harvard University. She recently completed a five-year term on the American Alliance of Museums’ Accreditation Commission and now serves as Treasurer of the American Alliance of Museums Board of Directors. She is the past treasurer of the American Association for State and Local History and serves as editor of the AASLH book series for Bloomsbury. Beaulieu holds master’s degrees in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and in Arts Administration from Columbia University and earned her Ph.D. in American and New England Studies from Boston University. She is also a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors.
She lives in Crestview Hills, Kentucky, with her husband, Patrick Ford, and their three cats.
Registration Fee:
SAA Members: $209
Employees of SAA Member Institutions: $259
Nonmembers: $289