Advocacy Alert - January 6, 2020

A New Year and A New Congress

As we enter a new year, we also begin working with a new Congress and a new administration. While there is much to be hopeful about, there is a lot of work to do in the year ahead. Museums Advocacy Day 2021, taking place virtually Feb. 22-23, is a unique and powerful opportunity for you to connect with fellow museum advocates and professionals across the country, dive into legislative issues affecting our future, and hone your own advocacy skills to exercise our influence with Congress. Following the elections and with the convening of the 117th Congress, it is critical that all museum advocates join forces to make our voices heard in February.

We can't wait to see you online for Museums Advocacy Day 2021. Reserve your spot and register today!

The start of a new session of Congress is an important time to reach out to your new and returning legislators. Check out our brand new "AAM Guide to Working with a New Congress" for all the tools and resources you need to connect with your legislators today. As always, we will continue to share robust and updated advocacy resources and policy information in the weeks and months to come, including additional details on relief funding for museums. 

A Look Back on a Year of Tireless Museums Advocacy Work

At this time last year we never could have imagined what the remaining months of 2020 would bring. Following Museums Advocacy Day 2020, our lives transitioned in many unforeseen ways. Despite the hardships faced by so many museums and individuals, you heeded the calls to advocate and showed up - speaking up for museums in several powerful ways:

• You sent nearly 60,000 messages (!) to Congress, sharing your stories with legislators over AAM's online action center.
• You called, emailed, faxed, and Zoomed with legislators to learn about about their priorities and make the critical case for museums.
• You connected with AAM, the press, and each other throughout the year, sharing information about the essential ways museums continue to serve their communities and using your voices to help legislators and the media understand the dire needs of museums.

And our tireless efforts paid off! Museums scored major victories in 2020 end-of-year legislation. The Alliance will be providing additional details on relief funding for museums in the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned for future Alliance Advocacy Alerts and follow our social media to stay up to date. 

P.S. If you're able, you can help support this critical advocacy work in 2021, empowering museum professionals and supporters with continued access to year-round advocacy tools and policy information so they can effectively make the case for museums with Congress, state, and local elected officials.