TOLEDO, OH.- The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) announced today a strategic restructuring plan that includes a 15 percent reduction in personnel and operational cost savings. The plan will trim a combined $1 million from the organization’s fiscal year 2009-2010 budget. Admission to the TMA will continue to be free and the hours of operation will remain the same.

“Like many non-profit arts institutions across the country, the Toledo Museum of Art has been negatively impacted by the economic downturn, experiencing shortfalls in investment income, donations and membership sales,” said Don Bacigalupi, Ph.D, director of the museum. “During these challenging times our board and senior leadership team has been proceeding in a thoughtful, strategic, deliberate way to ensure the future financial health of the museum. Staff reductions are always painful and difficult, but we believe these changes will allow us to remain true to our mission and maintain our core values so that we can continue to offer the public a rich array of experiences.”

The museum will continue to offer a wide variety of free activities, in addition to free admission, including It’s Friday programming, the Family Center, glassblowing demonstrations, guided tours, hands-on activities and curator presentations.

The staff reductions were strategically made across TMA departments with an eye toward maintaining museum programming and service to the public. They are part of a larger process that carefully examined the museum’s budget for operational cost savings including energy efficiencies, reductions in printing and purchasing, as well as a focus on exhibitions that emphasize the museum’s collection. Cost savings will be achieved by leaving several positions unfilled, reducing the hours of several positions and reassigning some employees to achieve the 15 percent target. A total of nine employees will have their positions eliminated. In addition, senior staff will be taking a pay reduction.

The museum employs a total of 237 employees, 134 of whom work part time or on a contractual basis. Affected employees will be offered severance packages and assistance with extended health insurance benefits.

The TMA relies on annual gifts from donors, membership sales and earned income (rentals, classes, retail) for a significant portion of its operating budget (36 percent). The balance of its current fiscal year budget of $14.1M comes from endowment funds and long-term investments. TMA receives no city or county funding.

“Like most non-profit organizations, the museum has investments that have been adversely affected in recent months,” said Rod Bigelow, chief operating officer. “The drop in the market will impact TMA's investment income over the next several years, and has begun to affect donor support for the Museum. TMA is on sound financial footing, but we must ensure that continues to remain true.”

TMA’s announcement follows closely on the heels of numerous other arts organizations that have announced budget cuts in recent weeks including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.