Michigan Museums Association - History & Mission

Our Mission

A catalyst for advancing Michigan’s museum community through shared learning, advocacy and collaboration.

MMA has been supporting the work of Michigan museums for over 60 years. Our members include the institutions, professionals and volunteers of the Michigan museum community who believe that strong museums help us better understand ourselves and our world.

Every type of museum is represented and welcomed, including art, history, science, military and maritime, and youth museums, as well as aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens, arboretums, historic sites, and science and technology centers.

Thriving museums. Vibrant communities.

Professional Development Goals and Objectives

Values

Joy:

We encourage playfulness, pride, and celebration in the collective and individual work of Michigan's museums. Joy is the energy source that drives our comportment as we serve, support, and interact with the Michigan museum community.

Integrity:

We build trust with our members through open dialogue, transparency, and reflectiveness around our operations and decision-making.

Agility:

Our operations leave space for incremental shifts and responsive actions that help Michigan museums evolve in the immediate and long-term.

Belonging:

We proactively foster an environment where multifaceted personal and professional identities are welcomed, accepted, and affirmed.

Empowerment:

We are person-centered. We create opportunities that help the individuals who make up Michigan's museums grow their skillsets, regardless of their role or position within their organization.

Strategic Plan

Michigan Museums Association
Strategic Plan 2023-2025

Strategic Priorities

Expertise: MMA will share resources and opportunities to help museums achieve their mission and strive for best practice

Annual Conference: By the end of 2025, the MMA annual conference will have a stable format and planning structure.
Online Programs: By the end of 2025, MMA will have an established online professional development program that includes goals and objectives and established formats and processes.
Explore Expertise: By the end of 2025, MMA will have a strategic and focused understanding of goals and opportunities related to professional development activities around Leadership, DEAI, and member-driven content.

Engagement: MMA will bring the Michigan museum community together to learn from and inspire each other.

In-Person Events: By the end of 2025, MMA will have an established program of in-person engagement opportunities for members and the Michigan museum community.
Member Communities: By the end of 2025, MMA will support a well-defined and established program to bring together members around professional development and engagement goals.
Member Communications: By the end of 2025, MMA will have well defined and established communications systems to engage with our members and the Michigan museum community.

Advocacy: MMA will empower the Michigan museums community to be advocates and will serve as an amplifier of the collective voice of the MI museum community and advocate for their support.

Statewide Arts and Culture Advocacy: By the end of 2025, MMA will have established goals and objectives for our advocacy related to state level legislation for the arts and culture community in Michigan.
Federal Museum Advocacy: By the end of 2025, MMA will have established goals and objectives for our advocacy in federal legislation related to museums.
Tourism Industry: By the end of 2025, MMA will have clearly defined goals and objectives in place for advocacy within the tourism community.

Capacity: MMA will build the capacity and ensure the sustainability of the Michigan Museums Association to better serve the Michigan museums community.

Funding: By the end of 2025, MMA will have at least four stable areas of funding for the association.
MMA Leadership: By the end of 2025, MMA will have a stable and effective organizational structure that addresses both board and staff operations and leadership.

Selected Policies

Advocacy (07/16/21)

Asset Management (11/19/21)

Communications (09/17/21)

Conflict of Interest (05/20/21)

Grant Support Policy (11/16/18)

Personnel Policy (03/17/22)

Whistleblower (3/25/21)

MMA Bylaws (9/28/12)

Document Destruction (7/13/15)

990s

Coming Soon

History of MMA

Over the fifty-year history of MMA, the Board of Directors has played a key role. Almost two hundred individuals have served on the MMA Board over the years! Some of the details of the board's function and activities have changed over time as MMA matured and adapted to various challenges. One thing has stayed the same: the board has always been comprised of committed volunteers from across the state.

In the beginning, the Board *was* MMA. The founding of MMA can be traced back to the decision by a group of dedicated volunteers to establish an organization in 1971 (photo right). While their immediate goal was to ensure an annual conference opportunity for Michigan museum people, these founders decided that a formal organization—with a constitution, by-laws, and a Board of Directors—was the way to achieve that goal and more. The Board included representatives from different museum types across Michigan's geography. Initially, with no paid staff, the Board filled all organizational roles—finances, programming, conference planning, and advocacy.

The Board's commitment to MMA was impressive, but sustaining that level of activity by volunteers who had full-time roles elsewhere was difficult. The Board looked for ways to build capacity, including the ability to hire paid staff members and maintain a dedicated office space. Over time, MMA used a variety of strategies to support paid staff, including grant funding, financial and in-kind support from Michigan museums, donations from the Board, and membership. MMA hired its first executive director in 1979, but challenging economic conditions during much of the 1980s and 1990s meant that MMA could no longer support paid staff, and the Board again resumed full responsibility for MMA operations. The structure of the Board reflected this reality, with numerous committees and officer positions devoted to specific functions. Continued...

The Michigan Museums Association is supported in part by an award from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Thank you to our Partners!

Michigan Museums Association 313-334-7643 PO Box 5246, Cheboygan, MI 49721 director@michiganmuseums.org