Creating Old World Wisconsin: The Struggle to Build an Outdoor History Museum of Ethnic Architecture

Chapter Five. Fund-Raisers

107 chap ฀ ter฀fi ve h Fund-Raisers If one phrase can capture the Society’s struggles, it is Mark Twain’s twist on a biblical concept: “The lack of money is the root of all evil.” A lack of money thwarted the Society’s efforts to build the museum in a number of ways. If, for example, the Society could have purchased its 500 acres in the mid-1960s, creation of the site would have taken a very different course. It did not, and this left the Society dependent on other agencies. The Society never intended to fund its museum from its budget or through extraordinary appropriations from the state legislature. From the beginning, the Society assumed that it (eventually) would be able to raise sufficient funds, a goal that proved fanciful. This chapter examines the ways that the Society approached funding and publicity in the context of its budgetary challenges and assesses the degree to which it succeeded. It analyzes efforts to recruit money from the private sector, state and federal grants, and in-kind contributions in forms other than money (e.g., equipment and labor). Surviving three crises between late 1969 and late 1974 furthered, but did not assure, the 1976 opening. As the Society approached the construction stage, it faced its most severe crisis. This elephant in the room, the obvious element that had to be confronted, became more obvious: how would the Society fund its ambitious project? This question was ubiquitous and was much discussed in the decade before 1971. In 108 H fund-raisers their first exploratory conversation, Fishel and Perrin discussed the need for outside funds to build the museum and sustain it through the difficult first years. The scope of the project was magnificent to behold. Curator Howard Mead “trembled at the size of the undertaking” and feared the “Society was talking about years of activity and millions of dollars.” Curator Axtell felt that the Society’s annual meeting in La Crosse in June 1971 was a critical turning point for the museum project, and he left with “a certain feeling of euphoria.”1 At some point, though, words had to be converted to deeds. Decisive actions had to overcome fears and doubts. Intertwined with fund-raising was another issue that was critical for success. Planners had to fire the imaginations of the public and possible donors through a marketing and publicity campaign. Erney raised another important financial issue in his October 6, 1969, memo. How will the projected museum affect other Society divisions and programs? All roads led to funding. Finding a method for funding its outdoor museum severely tested the Society and the curators. To build the site, they needed to find extraordinary revenue sources to supplement the budget and offset the ever-higher start-up costs that grew exponentially as the opening deadline approached. Three potential sources of revenue existed. The first was public: the state, the federal government, and possibly foreign governments that had ethnic ties to Wisconsin. Private resources, the second source, included contributions from corporations, large foundations, and private individuals. Finally, planners looked to revenue streams generated on-site from attendance and sales.2 The myth that money generated by attendance and sales of merchandise would make historic sites largely self-sufficient lingered far too long. Less than two weeks before the grand opening, the Executive Committee considered the already growing cash shortage for operations. Curators faced the stark reality of a $273,000 operating shortfall for 1976–77 and similar projections for the following two years. One member, Milwaukee businessman John Geilfuss, asked if the Society assumed the site would be self-sustaining. Smith responded that the 1968 feasibility study suggested that OWW would break even after five years. The report had been based on certain assumptions that were problematic. For example, it assumed fifty-three personnel, while the new site director estimated that he needed 110. More important, the report projected a yearly attendance of 350,000 (a daily average of 1,902). Later estimates vacillated between 150,000 and 250,000. Some questioned these attendance assumptions. One staff member opined that no outdoor museum can support itself fund-raisers h 109 solely by admissions and sales. These museums are supported variously by state subsidies, gifts, or endowments. Regardless of the number, outside money was critical, and Smith noted that even the most stable history museum, Colonial Williamsburg, had recently resorted to...