Our vision

To be a global leader among museums.

Our mission

The Cleveland Museum of Art creates transformative experiences through art, for the benefit of all the people forever.

Our promise

The Cleveland Museum of Art offers dynamic experiences that illuminate the power and enduring relevance of art in today’s global society. The museum builds, preserves, studies, and shares its outstanding collections of art from all periods and parts of the world, generating new scholarship and understanding, while serving as a social and intellectual hub for its community.

The mission, values, and goals of the museum will be at the forefront of all our decisions and will be the guidepost for allocating our resources.

• Be a community anchor and a beacon for the visual arts.
• Build an audience-centered culture.
• Seek knowledge and generate new scholarship in the service of humanity.
• Recognize and celebrate the value of diversity.
• Be a strong and reliable partner, and cultivate collaborative relationships.
• Embrace thoughtful risk-taking and experimentation.
• Communicate openly and hold ourselves accountable to one another, our supporters, and all our audiences.

• We will lead by example and always be guided by the museum’s mission.
• Lead with courage tempered by humility.
• Be responsive, and listen and communicate clearly and consistently.
• Be transparent about our decisions and committed to fairness and accountability.
• Value constructive inquiry and embrace diversity of thought.
• Honor dedication and diverse expertise, and value collaboration.
• Encourage innovation and make room for risk-taking.

The museum brings together art, place, and audience to create engagement and inspire wonder. The goals of the plan are designed to activate each of these three essential components of the museum experience, as well as to strengthen the financial underpinnings and organizational culture of our institution.

By 2027 . . .

Art Acquisition

Augment the collection with the purchase, gift, and bequest of works of art valued at $1 billion within the next ten years

Place

Within five years, maintain four active sites: the museum, Fine Arts Garden, Community Arts Center, and Transformer Station

Within ten years, create a fifth: a dynamic new educational facility operated jointly with CWRU

Audience and Engagement

Increase number of on-site visits from 630,000 to 1 million annually, of which 300,000 will be to special exhibitions

Increase number of virtual visits from 1.5 million to 5 million annually

Ensure at least 90% of all visitors are satisfied or very satisfied with the overall museum experience

Revenue

Increase endowment to $1.25 billion

Double annual contributed revenue from $7.5 million to $15 million

Double annual earned revenue from $1.2 million to $2.4 million

Organizational Culture

Improve employee satisfaction to 90%, becoming one of Northeast Ohio’s Top Workplaces

Guided by the museum’s long-standing commitment to artistic excellence, we will amplify the impact of our permanent collection and create new models for the acquisition, exhibition, and interpretation of outstanding works of art.

1. The Collection

   The collection is our greatest asset and the indispensable foundation for everything else we do. We will expand access to great works of art for all audiences.

   • Strategy 1: Create a new model for building the collection, including but not limited to engaging collectors outside Northeast Ohio.

     Objectives

     1. Actively cultivate collectors within and outside our region, establishing a national or international council of collectors and donors, and leveraging the museum’s unique resources to secure the gift and bequest of exceptionally important works of art.
     2. Bolster the museum’s capacity to participate in the competitive marketplace for great works of art, pursuing strategies to generate additional funds for the purchase of major objects, in order to ensure expanded public access to masterpieces of art from every period and culture.
     3. Reformulate the museum’s Accessions Advisory Committee, creating a new high-level donor group to help support acquisitions.
     4. Develop and implement a flexible strategy to facilitate the acquisition of works by emerging artists, thereby providing a more comprehensive overview of contemporary practice.
     5. Prioritize diversity in the museum’s strategy for building its collection, addressing issues of relevance for all audiences.

   • Strategy 2: Expand public access to the collection, both within the museum and beyond its walls.

     Objectives

     1. Create an art study room that enables visitors to contemplate great works of art up close in a manner distinct from the experiences we offer in the galleries.
     2. Expand and maintain digital resources related to the museum’s collection, making it fully accessible to global audiences.

   • Strategy 3: Enhance the museum’s ability to care for the collection, as well as to contribute to, teach, and share best practice in conservation, in order to secure the CMA’s leadership position in the preservation and treatment of a range of works of art.

     Objectives

     1. Ensure that the Conservation Department has expertise in every area in which the museum collects.
     2. Establish an analytical lab in order to augment the CMA’s capacity to conduct meaningful research that will provide scientific data concerning methods, materials, and processes.
     3. Increase public awareness of conservation through exhibitions and programs.

   • Strategy 4: Promote a culture that advances the understanding and appreciation of the museum’s collection through the generation of new scholarship.

     Objectives

     1. Institute a program of limited-term, multi-year research assistantships to support exhibition development, collection-based research, and other curatorial efforts.
     2. Explore real and virtual opportunities for convening scholars to lend their specialized expertise to the creation of new scholarship on the collection. (See also AUDIENCE.)
     3. Prioritize the dissemination of new research through print and online publications.

   • Strategy 5: Optimize management of the collection to enhance efficiency and make the collection more accessible to museum visitors as well as global audiences.

     Objectives

     1. Explore new methodologies for tracking the movement of objects, enabling more efficient changes in the galleries and less burdensome loans to other museums.
     2. Address pressing on- and off-site art storage needs to allow for the growth of the collection.

   • Strategy 6: Augment the capacity of the Ingalls Library and Museum Archives to support the study, understanding, and appreciation of the CMA, its collection, and the history of art and culture in Northeast Ohio.

     Objectives

     1. Secure the Ingalls Library’s position as a leading art research library, expanding its collection and enhancing its capacity to support scholarship on the part of our staff, as well as the needs of visitors from around the world.
     2. Develop and implement plans to increase access to library and archival collections through the digitization of important published and unpublished materials.
     3. Replace the museum’s outdated ILS with one that supports internal processes and efficient public access to library resources.
     4. Create a dynamic social-media plan to promote the Ingalls Library and Museum Archives to attract wider audiences.
     5. Be a leader among museums in the field of provenance research.

2. The Galleries

   We will activate the galleries dedicated to the museum’s permanent collection, expanding access to the works of art we hold in trust for the public, and inspiring visitor engagement with objects from diverse periods and cultures.

   • Strategy 1: Continuously refresh and enliven the museum’s galleries, systematically introducing new works, themes, and interpretive approaches to engage visitors with the art of periods and schools they might otherwise overlook.

     Objective

     1. Devise juxtapositions, interventions, installations, and programs that explore relationships among different parts of the collection.

   • Strategy 2: Help visitors discover the relevance of the entire collection, nimbly crafting installations that make connections with events and issues that impact people’s lives.

     Objective

     1. Connect the CMA’s collection to current world events, everyday life, and universal experiences, developing installations and interpretive approaches that emphasize the ongoing relevance of the museum’s entire collection, including art from earlier civilizations and unfamiliar cultures.

   • Strategy 3: Bring to Cleveland major works from other museums, using individual loans and provocative juxtapositions that animate, elevate, and transform the installation of the permanent-collection galleries.

     Objective

     1. Regularly incorporate major individual loans (“guest stars”) into the installation of the museum’s permanent collection galleries, introducing Clevelanders to works of art that the museum cannot own but which have the capacity to elevate the installation of its galleries, telling stories the existing collection cannot.

   • Strategy 4: Develop and implement a plan to refresh two to five galleries each year in order to enhance the installation of the permanent collection, incorporate new acquisitions and new interpretive strategies, and position the museum as a dynamic and ever-changing institution.

     Objectives

     1. Determine the galleries most in need of reinstallation, analyze the scope of each project, and refurbish and/or reinstall two to five galleries every year.
     2. Develop a comprehensive plan to maximize the visibility and impact on the public of changes in the permanent collection galleries. Formulate and execute marketing and communications strategies, associated educational and public programs, and donor events, as appropriate.

3. Special Exhibitions

   Thematic exhibitions engage the public and tell stories that the galleries dedicated to our permanent collection cannot. They draw new audiences to the museum, while advancing scholarship in the history of art.

   • Strategy 1: Work with partner institutions to organize, co-organize, or bring to Cleveland outstanding exhibitions, with the understanding that each major loan show must excite a broad audience, advance scholarship, and shine a spotlight on our museum and our city.

     Objectives

     1. Advance the museum’s stature as a premier producer, partner, and venue for major international loan exhibitions.
     2. Clarify and, as needed, enhance the museum’s internal exhibition planning processes, promoting more effective collaboration around each project from ideation through deinstallation.

   • Strategy 2: Enliven the Ames Family Atrium and other spaces (possibly including the entrance tunnel; see also PLACE) with site-specific commissions and a regular program of performance- and time-based media work, as well as work that explores the intersection of music and the visual arts.

   • Strategy 3: Evaluate the feasibility of a museum-led public-art initiative and, if feasible, implement a program of site-specific work, in partnership with other stakeholders.

   • Strategy 4: Organize long-lead conversations with cultural partners throughout the city to amplify the impact of CMA exhibitions through joint programming and cross-promotion.

4. Interpretation

   It is the role of the museum to make its collections and exhibitions relevant and exciting to a broad audience, and to enhance visitors’ understanding of art from all periods and cultures.

   • Strategy 1: Develop new strategies to encourage audiences to create meaningful engagement with the CMA’s collection.

     Objectives

     1. Craft new interpretive approaches tailored to each collection area to illuminate the diversity and global breadth of the collection.
     2. Craft new interpretive approaches calibrated to reach the broadest possible audience, integrating multiple perspectives to achieve a more inclusive visitor experience.
     3. Maintain our position as a world leader and trailblazer in the intersection of art and technology by using cutting-edge technology in groundbreaking, awe-inspiring ways.

We will use the power of place and the boundless realm of the virtual world to help visitors engage with our global collection throughout the multiple sites that comprise our physical campus as well as our online presence.

• Strategy 1: Create a welcoming visitor experience through strategic improvements to the museum’s buildings and grounds.

  Objectives

  1. Create a positive first impression and ensure the museum is welcoming and easy to navigate upon arrival, through meaningful enhancements to the parking garage, entrance tunnel, and south entrance of the 1916 building.
  2. Renovate the Marcel Breuer North Lobby to address current visitor needs and to beautify one of the museum’s most architecturally significant public spaces.
  3. Evaluate use of space throughout the museum, identifying current and future requirements and addressing front- and back-of-house issues in all areas, including parts of the museum open to the public, staff offices, and on- and off-site storage; implement desired improvements.

• Strategy 2: Activate the Fine Arts Garden, Nord Family Greenway, and areas near Doan Brook through dynamic programs that engage new and existing audiences, providing an entry point for a deeper relationship with the museum.

  Objectives

  1. With input from the community, develop a Grounds Master Plan to support the activation of all outdoor spaces including the Fine Arts Garden and lagoon, as well as the areas adjacent to Doan Brook and the Marcus Hanna monument, and the lawns to the north, east, and west of the museum.

• Strategy 3: Transform the Community Arts workspace on Cleveland’s near west side into a publicly accessible Community Arts Center offering art-making experiences and other programs to engage new audiences. (For associated programming, see AUDIENCE.)

  Objective

  1.  Integrate the Community Arts program into the museum’s broader efforts in the community, transforming its off-site headquarters into a vibrant public facility.

• Strategy 4: In collaboration with Case Western Reserve University, develop plans for the former Cleveland Institute of Art property to house the CMA/CWRU Keithley Institute and other museum and university programs (planning to be finished by the end of 2023, with construction by the end of 2027; see also AUDIENCE).

  Objectives

  1. Develop and implement plans to demolish the existing structure and reconfigure the site for interim use by CWRU and the museum.
  2. With CWRU, develop the program for a new facility to house the CMA/CWRU Keithley Institute, and possibly the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, as well as associated functions and other appropriate museum and university activities. Possibilities include but are not limited to:
     • Reading room, and library and archives collection storage
     • Classrooms for courses taught by CMA staff and CWRU faculty
     • Offices and collaborative workspaces for faculty, staff, and students
     • Publicly accessible gallery space
     • Studio, office, and residential space for visiting artists and research fellows
     • Public café, perhaps with an outdoor seating area
  3. With CWRU, engage a planning architect to establish the specifications of the new facility.
  4. Form a committee composed of representatives of the CMA and CWRU to select a design architect, and commence fundraising in anticipation of construction.

• Strategy 5: Extend the museum’s reach through dynamic public programs at the Transformer Station. (See also AUDIENCE.)

• Strategy 6: Capitalizing on the museum’s position as a leader in the creation of digital experiences, create a virtual place to extend the CMA’s reach and global reputation. (See also AUDIENCE.)

We will make art come to life for the benefit of all the people forever by embracing an audience-centered approach to all that we do.

1. Engaging Audiences

   We will embrace an audience-centered approach in everything we undertake, creating a brave space that uses art to empower people to share and develop new ideas and perspectives. We will create experiences that spark a connection and establish life-long relationships with the museum. We will reach new audiences and deepen visitors’ experience by 1) creating new points of connection, 2) inspiring participation, 3) transforming audiences’ understanding of the artistic legacy of humankind, and 4) transcending preconceived ideas about the relationship between life and art.

   • Strategy 1: Put the visitor experience first by ensuring that each point of contact is clear and positive—from marketing and communications to wayfinding, information and ticketing desks, gallery experiences, and program participation.

     Objectives

     1. Encourage an audience-centered culture, increasing cultural competence for all staff to ensure consistently friendly and positive encounters with all members of the public, welcoming each person who visits, and providing a seamless visitor experience that is comfortable and enriching.
     2. Conduct an accessibility audit and establish new initiatives to better accommodate special-needs audiences, including touch tours for blind and partially sighted visitors, outreach and accommodation for children on the autism spectrum, assisted-listening devices, large-format labels, and other resources, setting the bar for best practices in the field.

   • Strategy 2: Create pathways for lifelong relationships with the Cleveland Museum of Art through welcoming experiences and innovative, high-quality programming that appeals to families, young professionals, new audiences, and seasoned museum visitors of all ages.

     Objectives

     1. Ensure that each program creates a connection and provides a path of continued engagement that aims to inspire, transform, and transcend experiences with art.
     2. Program to engage new audiences, so that visitor demographics more closely mirror the demographics of our region.
     3. Take play seriously. Building on the success of Parade the Circle, MIX, and Solstice, host new social events that engage audiences across demographics, spark the imagination, provoke inquiry, and create dynamic connections between visitors, the museum, and works of art.

   • Strategy 3: Be a leading venue for artistic and cultural exchange by developing, piloting, and implementing innovative programs and interpretive strategies that use the collection as a lens through which to understand today’s world.

     Objectives

     1. Clarify and significantly improve the museum’s process for planning, producing, and assessing the success of relevant and innovative public programs.
     2. Activate the museum as a civic space, fostering dynamic connections between the CMA and its community.

   • Strategy 4: Offer a comprehensive performing arts program of the highest caliber to excite the interest of new and existing audiences and to serve as an introduction to everything else that the museum has to offer.

     Objectives

     1. Articulate guiding principles; devise, promote, and implement a cohesive program of performances with the capacity to engage new and existing audiences, and help illuminate the scope of the CMA’s collection and exhibitions.
     2. Expand publicizing and broadcasting of the CMA’s performances within and outside our region, strengthening the CMA brand both locally and nationally.
     3. Initiate a program of commissioning new works in order to: create new compositions inspired by the museum’s collection; contribute to the vibrancy of the field of classical music; and extend the CMA name and brand to international audiences, as such commissioned compositions take on a life of their own around the world.

   • Strategy 5: Leverage our extended campus—including the Fine Arts Garden, the property owned jointly with CWRU, the CMA’s Community Arts workspace (Community Arts Center), and the Transformer Station—to engage audiences throughout Greater Cleveland. (See also PLACE.)

     Objectives

     1. Amplify connections between the museum’s primary and “satellite” locations.
     2. In collaboration with the Bidwell Foundation, fully activate the Transformer Station as a venue for innovative programming focused on contemporary art and new audiences.

   • Strategy 6: Make the museum’s Community Arts workspace publicly accessible, creating a Community Arts Center that comprises a gallery, workshop space, and production studio. (See also PLACE.)

     Objective

     1. Introduce the museum experience to new audiences throughout the Greater Cleveland area by offering hands-on workshops and events that create community and highlight connections with CMA collections.

   • Strategy 7: Become a teaching museum for students of all ages and abilities—embedding learning objectives in all we do, in a manner akin to that of a teaching hospital—thereby deepening audiences’ understanding of and connection to the works of art we hold in public trust. Create a robust academic program for scholars and artists from around the world, establishing the CMA as a leading institution of object-based learning anchored by the Keithley Institute.

     Objectives

     1. Make the CMA a regional hub for students and teachers in grades Pre-K to 12 across all subject areas, significantly increasing the number of school tours, providing professional development for teachers, and offering free bus transportation, removing all barriers to participation.
     2. Initiate strategic planning with Case Western Reserve University to develop and implement a slate of inaugural programs, and take definitive next steps toward the formal inauguration of the Keithley Institute.  
     3. Activate the CMA’s Teaching Innovation Laboratory (former Teacher Resource Center) as an educators’ resource focused on object-based teaching and learning.
     4. Make the CMA a hub for academic research and for teaching. Use workshops, study groups, and related programs to challenge perceptions, enhance understanding, and make interdisciplinary scholarship more accessible to a broad audience.
     5. Establish a visiting fellowship program focused on object-based study and the intersection of research and public engagement, bringing to Cleveland leading scholars and established as well as emerging artists.

   • Strategy 8: Expand our approach to publications, actively exploring innovative new formats.

     Objectives

     1. Evaluate and, as appropriate, utilize alternative, more accessible formats for print publications on the CMA’s collection and exhibitions.
     2. Develop a strategy for digital publications including but not limited to updatable scholarly catalogues of the CMA’s permanent collection.

2. Creating and Leveraging Partnerships

   The CMA will create strategic partnerships with civic, educational, and cultural institutions both locally and outside our region, to develop and implement outstanding programs with the capacity to reach a broad and diverse audience.

   • Strategy 1: Organize long-lead conversations to galvanize cultural partners throughout Northeast Ohio, capitalizing on synergies, reaching new audiences, and amplifying impact.

     Objectives

     1. Collaborate with other institutions to develop initiatives that spotlight the museum and our region.
     2. Further develop existing partnerships with peer institutions in and beyond University Circle (CWRU, University Circle Inc., FRONT, etc.) to create opportunities for joint exhibitions and programming, as well as cross-promotion.
     3. Increase opportunities for partnering with regional artists and artist groups to support the vibrancy of the local arts community and to establish stronger connections between the community and the museum.

   • Strategy 2: Cultivate partnerships with civic, cultural, and educational institutions (Cleveland Municipal School District, Cleveland School of the Arts, Cleveland Public Library, East Cleveland Public Library, Karamu House, Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland, etc.) to explore and develop opportunities for collaborative, arts-based programs that address issues of equity and contribute to the quality of life for new and existing audiences.

     Objectives

     1. Establish and deepen partnerships with organizations in targeted neighborhoods to introduce the CMA to new audiences.
     2. Solicit and apply feedback from community partners and the constituents they serve to identify programmatic areas of interest and focus.
     3. Further cultivate relationships with regional school district leadership (especially the Cleveland Municipal School District and those in inner-ring suburbs) to increase student and teacher access to and use of the museum.

   • Strategy 3: Seek out opportunities for institutional collaboration on the national and international level to broaden the museum’s reach and maintain its profile as a leader in the field.

     Objectives

     1. Seek out potential partnerships with peer institutions nationally and internationally, reaching new audiences and deepening the public’s connection with the arts.
     2. Pursue partnership opportunities with national and international educational organizations to develop programs that support teachers and students through object-based learning.

3. Communicating with New and Existing Audiences

   We will cultivate new local, regional, national, and international audiences for the museum’s second century, strengthening and sharpening the CMA’s brand identity, creating awareness and visibility of its collections and programs, and driving increased participation, engagement, and investment.

   • Strategy 1: Conduct a comprehensive brand audit to assess and understand perceptions, attitudes, and barriers to participation among current and potential target audiences.

     Objective

     1. Achieve greater understanding of current and potential audiences to inform marketing and communications activities.

   • Strategy 2: Refresh and update the museum’s brand identity, defining the brand promise, articulating the CMA’s vision and values, and asserting its leadership in the community and the world. Update image attributes, key messaging, and communications strategy to support the brand.

     Objective

     1. Develop and implement a deliberate, strategic, and cohesive process to manage and shape our brand identity.

   • Strategy 3: Develop a comprehensive marketing and audience-development plan to achieve goals for audience growth, participation, and satisfaction.

     Objective

     1. Strengthen relationships with our audiences, increasing their levels of awareness, knowledge, commitment, and participation through enhanced communication, increased data capture, and closer internal collaboration.

   • Strategy 4: Optimize and significantly increase the museum’s investment in marketing, communications, and audience development.

     Objectives

     1. Achieve best practice in marketing and communications activities across the organization to “speak with one voice.”
     2. Leverage relationships with local communications partners, including public radio and television, to reach new audiences through innovative program content.

We will strengthen the museum’s financial position through sustainable growth and diversification of revenue streams to advance our strategic goals. We will expand capacity by means of capital, endowment, and legacy funding, engaging Board, staff, and volunteers in a culture of philanthropy. We will reinforce and expand the technology infrastructure that helps to foster internal efficiency, enables data-driven decision-making, and supports our efforts to engage a broad range of audiences.

• Strategy 1: Enhance and deepen relationships with stakeholders, including members, donors, and volunteers.

  Objectives

  1. Amplify stewardship of existing donors.
  2. Proactively engage and build connections with the next generation of philanthropic leadership, extending the relationship of legacy families while attracting new investors and entrepreneurs.

• Strategy 2: Increase and broaden ongoing community investment in the museum.

  Objectives

  1. Rethink approaches to membership and annual giving programs to strengthen the case for investment and to augment contributed revenue.
  2. Rethink approaches to corporate giving, exploring opportunities for expansion.
  3. Strengthen investment in the CMA on the part of foundations and public agencies, and expand our network of national and international funding partners.

• Strategy 3: Secure leadership funding for major strategic initiatives, endowed programs and positions, capital projects and reinstallations, as well as collections care and development.

  Objective

  1. Launch major comprehensive capital fundraising effort.

• Strategy 4: Align structure of Advancement and organizational culture with fundraising needs.

  Objectives

  1. Invest in staffing plan to drive significant revenue growth in annual giving through membership and philanthropy.
  2. Significantly increase the targeted deployment of key staff and curators, Board members, and volunteers in donor cultivation and, as appropriate, fundraising for the CMA, leveraging relationships and circles of influence to broaden the museum’s base of support.

• Strategy 5: Actively support development of the CMA’s collection at the highest level by strengthening partnerships between curators and philanthropy staff to advance relationships and secure meaningful support for collections development.

  Objectives

  1. Create an International Council to advance the museum’s national and international reputation, engage key investors in our collections and programs, and help build the collection. (See also ART.)
  2. Integrate collections development into major gifts and campaign strategy in the context of key investor relationships.

• Strategy 6: Reimagine the ways the museum builds and maintains relationships with a range of audiences, including supporters, by incorporating big data and additional analytics.

  Objectives

  1. Develop a customized relationship-building audience-development strategy based on existing and new data.
  2. Implement and refine financial, programming, audience development, and other analytical models to aid in future planning.

• Strategy 7: Increase the annual amount generated from earned revenue.

  Objectives

  1. Maximize existing revenue sources from retail sales and food services as well as CMA events, and explore new sources.
  2. Develop a dynamic and comprehensive ticketing strategy for exhibitions, programs, and events.

• Strategy 8: Refine and enhance the museum’s budget process, encouraging cross-functional engagement and collaboration, and anticipating potential challenges.

  Objectives

  1. Develop and implement a strategy to optimize the budgeting process across the museum, developing a multi-year approach to the museum’s budget.
  2. Gradually implement measures, including a financial contingency plan and strategy, to reduce operating draw to safeguard the museum’s financial future.

• Strategy 9: Develop hardware infrastructure and application systems to support the goals articulated in the plan.

  Objectives

  1. Evaluate and optimize current applications systems, and build capacity to pursue plan objectives.
  2. Ensure that the museum’s infrastructure, virtual hosts, and servers are up to date and secure.
  3. Develop and maintain a museum-wide calendar of programs and events to achieve and exploit programmatic synergies.

We will create an exemplary organizational culture to fuel every aspect of our work. The museum’s work culture will inspire every staff member, whether working individually or in collaboration with others, to achieve his or her goals, while fostering innovative approaches to the pursuit of the museum’s mission.

• Strategy 1: Clarify roles and responsibilities to facilitate efficient decision-making, eliminate duplication of effort, and promote “ownership” of institutional accomplishments.

  Objective

  1. Evaluate and clarify position descriptions, accountability, organizational and reporting structures, and decision-making processes to maximize institutional effectiveness and individual productivity.

• Strategy 2: Promote effective teamwork and collaboration.

  Objectives

  1. Nurture a shared understanding of the CMA’s mission, and of the essential role every member of staff plays in creating a welcoming environment for our visitors and advancing the work of the organization.
  2. Enhance internal communication and develop vehicles for cross-functional collaboration, emphasizing information-sharing and promoting greater transparency.
  3. Educate staff to use analytical thinking as individuals and in teams, empowering them to use data to inform planning and practice; make data easily available to staff at all levels.
  4. Create spaces and places that improve culture.
  5. Encourage staff always to exemplify the Organizational and Leadership Values articulated in the Strategic Plan.

• Strategy 3: Achieve greater diversity among Board, staff, and volunteers, actively fostering a more inclusive workplace. (See also separate Diversity and Inclusion Plan.)

  Objectives

  1. Articulate commitment to diversity and inclusion. Activate that commitment, making the museum a recognized champion of diversity in the workplace in order to better serve its own diverse community.
  2. Implement strategies to attract, develop, and retain high-performing, talented employees with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
  3. Pursue proactive measures to diversify the museum’s audiences.
  4. Develop a comprehensive supplier-diversity program.

• Strategy 4: Embrace innovation.

  Objective

  1. Develop the museum’s capacity for innovation and thoughtful risk-taking.

• Strategy 5: Adopt measures to ensure that all employees are respected, valued, included, and encouraged to realize their fullest potential.

  Objectives

  1. Establish a culture of openness and continuous learning.
  2. Conduct a biennial employee-satisfaction survey, developing a concrete plan to address weaknesses within three months.
  3. Develop a program of meaningful performance incentives and employee-appreciation initiatives.

• Strategy 6: Optimize human resources practices and procedures in order to improve the entire culture of the museum.

  Objective

  1. Enhance the hiring processes, the onboarding of new staff, and the employee experience.

The total additional funds required to implement this plan over the next five years, other than for art acquisitions, is $52.2 million, with an increase of up to 28 new staff positions.

The $52.2 million reflects the following sources and uses of funds:

Revenue changes

• $7.1 million in increased revenue, both contributed and earned
• $5 million decrease in revenue from reduced spending from the endowment

Expense changes

• $24 million increase in operating costs
• Salary and benefits: $10.1 million
• Programming: $13.9 million
• $25.3 million in start-up and project costs
• $4.9 million for 10% contingency

By Year 5, the annual operating budget will increase by $6.9 million (excluding C.O.L.A increases):

• Increase in annual revenue by $2 million (contributed and earned)
• Decrease in annual revenue of $1.9 million due to changing the spending rule for operating draw from 5.5% to 5.0%
• Increase in operating costs of $6.4 million for (a) salary and benefits: $2.6 million for 22–28 positions and (b) programming: $3.8 million
• Increase in operating costs of $0.6 million as a 10% contingency on operating expenses

From January through September of 2017, more than four hundred members of the CMA’s extended community participated in thousands of conversations in over one hundred meetings. For the first time in more than a decade, the CMA community came together in an extended dialogue to chart the museum’s future, as well as to make sense of its history and to map its current work.

This communal, extended dialogue was delightful, exhausting, challenging, and transformative. The staff and Board pondered priorities together. Volunteers shared their joyful first connections with the museum and their hopes for an institution that they love so much. Community leaders expressed a deep admiration for the museum’s success and hoped that its success might be shared more broadly with smaller organizations.

Moving from broad brainstorming in group sessions to more refined ideas and a crisper focus, the final editing of the plan was undertaken by the Executive Team, who had the challenge of honoring the community’s input while deciding on priorities and further refining ideas.

This plan is the result of all those labors: a transformative engagement in its own right.

The following groups made this plan possible:

• Staff of the museum, led by William Griswold
• Staff Strategic Planning Committee, facilitated by Laura Freebairn-Smith (OPG)
• Board Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Scott Mueller
• Executive Team, led by William Griswold
• Board of Trustees, chaired by Peter Raskind
• Projections Team, co-led by Ed Bauer and Russ Klimczuk
• Volunteers and community leaders, in focus groups and other forms of dialogue
• Experts in the field, in interviews
• Organizational Performance Group consulting team