Let& #39;s say museum has $2M budget w/$5M endowment. In a stable market, that endowment adds $200K/year for operations. If the museum takes 250K out to pay salaries/benefits for 3 months w/tanking market, it& #39;s actually cut $ for future use on hopes things will improve in a year. 1/3

But let& #39;s say, the museum furloughs staff now when there& #39;s more gov& #39;t support. This retains staff for longer term and endowment. It allows more time for thoughtful planning for employee and museum... or it could be kicking the can further along. 2/3

The problem w/both scenarios is we have no clue what it will look like on the other side of this. Is the market responding & correcting? Will visitors still come when health concerns persist? Will be ppl be willing to discretionary spend when they& #39;ve lost jobs? We don& #39;t know. 3/3

PS. I& #39;m simply thinking out loud. Each org needs to assess what& #39;s best for them. I& #39;m trying to lay bare the issues our field faces. I& #39;m also weary of talking about the behemoth orgs which are a tiny % of how most of us work. Even in this example, this is the upper 60% of museums.