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Originally Posted by BroadandMarket
Drexel is not doing well but they should just cut it loose and sell it if they can't run it. I read they lost some federal funding in the Trump/DOGE cuts as well. Ultimately I just don't trust Drexel to run anything without Fry. They killed the Philadelphia History Museum and that building is rotting away. Last year when they weren't doing well, their brilliant idea was to go from 5 days a week to 3 days a week which obviously made their death spiral worse. This place cannot close, it's the oldest Natural History Museum in the country. The City, Kimmel, Comcast, Barnes, Franklin Institute etc. someone needs to step in and open this place. Their whole budget was 8.2 million in 2024 so how much could the the deficit even be?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanRevival
Bottom line, the corporate sector of the entire region needs to do far more to help support the good of the city. The public sector is clearly in over its head at all levels of government.
It's ludicrous how many companies or potential wealthy donors there are that do so little to help philanthropically to help keep Philly's institutions afloat.
Even a couple sponsorships would absolutely go a long way.
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I posed the same question to a popular social media guy in the city, and his response was that major donors already contribute enormous amounts to Philadelphia’s cultural, educational, and medical institutions, so it’s not realistic to expect them to foot the bill for everything. I get his point.
HOWEVER, there is still an extraordinary amount of wealth in this region, and surely enough of it to help establish an modest endowment that could secure the museums future. Jeffrey Yass, for example, is worth $70B! An $8 million baseline contribution to the Academy would be nothing to him, (I know he's maga, but money is money). Then you have Comcast, Vanguard, SAP, Lincoln Financial, Wawa, Cencora, Aramark, Toll Brothers, and countless other major corporations and wealthy individuals throughout the region.
This is also an opportunity for the city and state (specifically the Mayor) to step in and lead. Audit the museum and determine what it needs, provide some level of public support, and/or serve as the facilitator for a public-private partnership that creates a sustainable future. Philadelphia is not some struggling little Appalachian town, it is one of the largest metro regions in the country, with plenty of resources and connections.
Unfortunately, I worry we’ll once again see the same ho-hum approach toward protecting and championing the city’s remarkable cultural and architectural treasures. Philadelphia has extraordinary assets, but seems reluctant to fight for them...
To pose a hypothetical: If a renowned museum in New York, Chicago, DC, or Boston lost its primary source of funding, do we think the public and private sectors would throw up their hands and let it close? I highly doubt it. Let's see that urgency in Philadelphia...
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