Update Last week, we held a lottery to award 10 more $500 payments from the #MuseumWorkersFund. That brings our total pay out to $65,000 in mutual aid to colleagues who have been adversely affected by museums' responses to a global health and economic crisis. (1)

Who are the applicants? We recently did some analysis of the data generously provided by the over 630 people who applied to the Fund to date. Here are some numbers to chew on: (2)

63% have worked in museums for less the 5 years
40% earn less than $20k a year and 71% earn less than $34k
They come from all departments but over half labored in Visitor Services or Education (3)

Nearly 60% are/were part-time, contract, or seasonal workers
Over half work(ed) in art museums
55% self-identified with a marginalized racial group (4)

We’ll keep saying it until it’s no longer true: museum workers were already in crisis before COVID-19. Institutional responses to this moment merely underscore the inequities that pervade our current systems that rely on the labor of underpaid and undervalued workers. (5)

Please consider donating today if you are able! (6)

https://www.gofundme.com/f/museum-workers-speak-relief-fund

Image Description: Graphic with yellow background in typewritten text reads: Museum workers were already in crisis before COVID-19. Addl text in the bottom left corner reads, "Donate today. #MuseumWorkersFund". The MWS logo with three convo bubbles is in the right corner. (7)