MAAA | Programs | Prof. Development | Texas | HELP

The Victoria Regional Museum Association reaches out to enrich, enlighten and educate all people through visual art and cultural history. The Nave Museum offers six to seven art exhibits throughout the year and features local, regional, state, and national artists.

The McNamara House Museum, built in 1876, was the residence of William J. McNamara, a local businessman, and his family. Today the McNamara House serves the public as a historic house museum using the McNamara family as its vehicle to interpret the social, economic, and cultural lifestyles of the middle-class South Texan at the turn-of-the-century.

The museum strives to present programming surrounding each exhibit for children and adult learners through lectures by visiting artists and guest curators, hands-on art programs, and tours for school groups.

Year 3 | Year 4



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The Victoria Regional Museum Association was in the unique position in year three of hiring a new director who had already participated in the HELP program. Denise Roussel, former director of the Beaumont Heritage Society, took the director position in the fall of 2004. She was elated to have the opportunity to continue working with HELP. While the training area for that year was one Denise had already completed, exhibition design was new for her staff. They worked together with consultant Kit Neumann to prepare the gallery space for the exhibition. Their goals were to repair the foundation and gallery floor, to install false walls over the window in order to control lighting levels, and to install track lighting in the gallery. Additionally they planned to compliment the exhibition with a display of original illustrations from the children’s book The Trail Ride.

Accomplishments:
Denise was successful in her attempts to take an old room in the museum and turn it into usable temporary gallery space. The windows were covered with plywood, the entire gallery was painted white, and track lighting was installed for a professional looking exhibit space. Denise partnered with the local schools to bring in children’s book illustrator Jill Stover who conducted workshops for the school kids a week before the exhibition opening. She visited classes and worked with the children on art projects and storytelling. Jill and the kids attended the exhibition opening in full western regalia. The museum worked with Jill on creating a supplemental exhibition of her original drawings and related artwork by local students. The entire event was well publicized and covered by the local tv station, the newspaper and radio station.

Improvements:

• Attracted new volunteers to the museum

• Created a new gallery space

• Updated the museum web site

• Produced new marketing materials

Goals for Year 4 Apron Strings: Ties to the Past
In year four of the HELP program, Victoria is moving on to their last area of training, fundraising and development. They’re already on their way to achieving their goals. They plan to apply to the city for $8,000 in hotel/motel funding to support arts tourism in Victoria and increase visitorship to the museum. They also hope to raise $25,000 at a polo match fall fundraiser. Finally, Denise will work with Scott on creating a planned giving program.

Goals:

The Victoria Regional Museum Association turned their focus in the final year of Texas HELP to a new area of training, fundraising and development. Enthusiastic director Denise Roussel set a list of challenging goals for the museum. Having never before received hotel/motel tax funding from the city, she made this city council request priority Number One.

As a consummate special events fundraising professional, Denise decided to try a new fall fundraiser by holding a polo match, specifically targeting museum patrons as guests. In order to secure the museum’s financial future, she also began to develop a planned giving program and hoped to publicize it through a new brochure. Also on the list of priorities was to establish a restoration committee and strategize a financial plan for the restoration of the museum’s historic McNamara House.

Accomplishments:

The museum’s fundraising efforts were a great success. The polo match exceeded their expectations and raised $40,000 ($15,000 above their goal). They approached the city for hotel/motel tax funds and received half of their request, $4,000. Their goal of raising funds to restore the McNamara House is well under way with $70,000 raised and an additional $35,000 pledged. Fundraising consultant Scott Cooksey believes that the museum has a good plan of action for raising the final funds for this project. He also encouraged them to begin fundraising for a $1.2 million endowment that will eventually fund one-third of their operating costs.

Their HELP exhibition Apron Strings: Ties to the Past was a success as well and garnered enormous public interest. Local businesses contributed aprons to the exhibition, and the museum organized a family craft day that attracted 90 adults and 60 children.

Improvements:

• Received $4,000 in funding from the city’s hotel/motel tax

• Hosted a fundraising polo match to raise $40,000 for general operating funds

• Produced a planned giving brochure

• Submitted a proposal to the Meadows foundation for restoration of the McNamara House

• Raised $55,000 towards restoration of the McNamara house

• Replaced the roof of the McNamara House

• Created and distributed new museum marketing materials

• Updated their website

• Recruited 14 new volunteers