Young Patrons programs at museums and cultural organizations are hard.
Turnover is ever-present, budgets are tight, and attention spans are low.
I hosted a cocktail party in Manhattan on Monday night on behalf of Museum Hack to gather individuals who manage Young Patrons or Young Members programs. The goal is to get together and share ideas so we can all succeed together.
Patron View
This is a 2025 update: I’ve started Patron View to help collect donor and fundraising information online for cultural organizations. You can see member lists for the following organizations here:
- The Apollo Circle at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art
- Young Associates at The Metropolitan Opera
- Young Fellows at The Frick Collection
- Young Fellows at The Morgan Library (Steering Committee)
- Notables at Carnegie Hall
I’ll add a lot more data in the coming months. Email me if you have any questions or suggestions for the project.
Young Patrons Video Testimonial
Watch the video above (or see it here on YouTube) to hear how the event went and see a little behind-the-scenes action.
Attendees
We had attendees from esteemed New York City museums and cultural establishments attend such as:
- Carnegie Hall
- Lincoln Center
- The Frick Collection
- Brooklyn Museum
- Apollo Theater
Attendees had job titles like:
- Development Manager
- Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships
- Manager of Individual Giving
- Senior Manager of Events and Fundraising
- Membership Manager
Event Agenda
Everyone swapped stories and best practices over drinks and icebreakers.
Group Brainstorming Workshop
We did a mini-workshop where we split into teams to discuss two real problems that our colleagues are facing:
- How to deal with membership churn?
- How to propose innovative event ideas when there is internal staff resistance?
More Information
I want to do it again soon! Email me if you know someone we should invite next time.
- Video filmed on my phone during event: Testimonial: Young Patrons Programs in NYC
