Bigfork art museum to assemble interim board

Almost a month after the entire Bigfork Museum of Art & History board of directors resigned, executive director Marnie Forbis is still trying to pick up the pieces.

The board announced its collective resignation immediately following a special meeting July 28, citing financial reasons for the decision. The board had received backlash from museum members following an earlier decision to eliminate Forbis’s paid executive director position in order to save money.

Before resigning, board members voted to rescind the action to cut the executive director position, leaving Forbis to deal with the aftermath of losing an entire board.

Since the board’s departure, Forbis has worked with former board member Derek Vandeberg to send letters out to other ex-board members who she hoped might be interested in serving on an interim board of directors.

According to Forbis, the museum’s bylaws state that the board must have at least eight active members.

“We’ll probably stick to the minimum of eight for the interim board, and then we will hold our regular election after the (current) term ends in December,” Forbis said.

At that time, the museum membership will elect a permanent board of directors, which can include up to 14 members.

In the meantime, Forbis is planning to hold an all-member meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 30 to bring everyone up to date on the situation and allow the membership to contribute ideas on how to improve the museum in the future.

“I think maybe that in the past, the board was a little resistant to that,” Forbis said. “I want to make sure that we are more transparent to the members, and that the financial information is more available to them if they want to see it.”

Forbis said she will also enlist the help of board members to put together a five-year plan for the museum.

“We’ll try to get some new ideas about fundraising and those kinds of things, so that in the future maybe we’re living a little less on the edge,” Forbis said.

Although the museum has struggled financially in recent years, Forbis said it was far from being on the brink of closure.

“When you look at the overall picture of the museum, you can never count on anything being there,” Forbis said. “We still have to fundraise and gather as many members as possible. But I don’t think we were teetering on the edge as much as the board maybe thought we were.”

For the past year, the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork — which owns the building that houses the museum — has offered a discount on the museum’s building expenses. Forbis is hoping CFBB will be able to give the museum a similar deal next year.

“That was nice of them, and I really appreciate it,” Forbis said. “It would be nice if we could continue to keep that going. I think they have a vested interest in this place too, since it’s really a service to this community.”

Forbis’s salary is the museum’s largest budget expenditure, followed by rent and utilities. The museum currently runs on an annual budget of approximately $70,000.

About one-third to one-quarter of that amount comes from membership fees.

One-third comes from gallery and gift shop sales, and the museum must come up with the remaining portion by organizing various fundraising events.

As she works to reorganize the board, Forbis is also hoping to recruit new museum members to generate more revenue from fees.

“What Bigfork gives us is what we run on,” Forbis said.

According to Forbis, grants are hard to come by, and the museum receives no help from taxpayers since Bigfork is not incorporated.

“It’s a tough game here, because we’re kind of in this little trough of no-man’s land,” Forbis said.

Forbis also plans to increase the museum’s exposure by reaching out to various groups and organizations, such as the LEAP after-school program and the Bigfork School District.

“We’re looking at maybe getting a classroom to ‘adopt’ the museum and help get more people in here,” Forbis said.

Even after all she has been through in the past three weeks, Forbis remains optimistic about the future of the museum.

“It’s really kind of an anomaly that a town this small even has a museum,” Forbis said.

Members who plan to attend the Aug. 30 meeting are asked to RSVP by calling 837-6927.