Wisconsin Historical Society

1
Wisconsin Historical Society

• Presentation to Historic Sites Commission
• George L. Vogt
• January 28, 2002

2
Mission

• WHS engages the public with the excitement of
  discovery, inspires people with new perspectives
  on the past, and illuminates the relevance of
  history in our lives today.

3
Guiding Principles

• To reach out and partner with the broadest
  possible public
• To present and promote sound and authentic
  history
• To share our riches of staff, collections, and
  services in ways that captivate and respect our
  many audiences
• To collect and safeguard evidence of our diverse
  heritage according to the highest standards of
  stewardship

4
Organizational Structure
5
About the Society . . .

• The biggest.
• 3.6 million item library
• Genealogy holdings
• World-class archives and manuscripts

• OWWsecond largest in nation
• CWMlargest of its kind anywhere
• Major agricultural collections

6
Societys Budgets

• 20 million per year in State Budget Act (mixture
  of tax dollars and other sources)
• 1.5 million (average) in Building Commission
  monies
• 600,000 for development staff and Society
  support in Wisconsin Historical Foundation budget
• 4.5 million (non-tax dollars) in Circus Worlds
  budget

7
Societys Sources of Dollars (20 Million)
8
Expenditures (20 Million --All Sources)
9
Expenditures (12 Million Tax Dollars Only)
10
Budget Comparison

• Circus World
• 4.5 Million

• Eight WHS-run sites (OWW, Wade House, Bennett
  Studio, Pendarvis, Stonefield, First Capitol,
  Villa Louis, Madeline Island)
• 4.5 Million

11
Special Challenges

• Visibility
• Revenue generation in light of recent budget cuts
• Marketing for attendance
• Stewardship of huge collections

12
Current Fiscal Crisis and Sites

• Budget cuts in regular appropriation (GPR) and in
  earned revenue (PRO)
• Revenue lapses are the most detrimental
• If implemented, would zero all WHS revenue
  accounts
• Total budget impact on sites, pro rata, would be
  approximately 500,000

13
Sites and the Capital Campaign

• Campaign begins this summer
• 40 to 50 million goal
• Marketing funds - 2 million
• Likely sites items
• General sites endowment
• OWW visitor center
• CWM collections support
• Total of approximately 8 to 10 million

14
Governors Charge

• Review the sites business models and make
  recommendations for improvement
• Review the sites interpretational models and
  make recommendations for improvement
• (P.S. Please dont ask for more money.)

15
Need for Rapid, Decisive Action

• Current budget climate
• Trend of declining attendance
• Marketing lead time
• Capital campaign