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Quilt Museum Feels Financial Pain of Pandemic

Quilt Museum Feels Financial Pain of Pandemic
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By Tim Brockwell
Aug. 03, 2020 | PADUCAH
By Tim Brockwell Aug. 03, 2020 | 03:19 PM | PADUCAH
Many tourist destinations are experiencing financial woes due to the pandemic, and the National Quilt Museum in Paducah is no exception. 

Quilt Museum CEO Frank Bennet says the downturn has caused a significant hardship, with traffic down more than 50 percent from what it was.

"Consistent with tourism around the country, we're seeing significantly fewer visitors now than we would normally see. Basically less than half of what we would normally see this time of year," He said. "Fewer people are traveling. We're a destination museum, and obviously we need people who are on vacation traveling in the hotels, in airplanes, on the highways in order for us to have visitors."

Bennett said a decrease in the number of visitors, along with an extended 80 day closure earlier this year have made it necessary to make some tough decisions.  

"We already have employees furloughed. We definitely have already cut some programming and expenses as well," Bennett said, adding that future cuts may be required as well if traffic remains at its current level for an extended period.

There have been various government programs that have helped the museum stay afloat during this unprecedented time. Bennet said the need for future cuts will also rely on whether or not these programs are extended.

"There's just a lot of variables in the equation," He said. "If some more benefits come out related to helping museums, for example PPP grants or Kentucky Arts Council Grants, if more things like that come out then the answer is longer. I can't pinpoint a specific time that we would have to make more cuts. It's gonna depend on some things."

In another blow to the organization, Paducah's AQS Quilt Week was canceled this year due to the pandemic. Bennett says this will likely mean another significant downturn in overall yearly visitors.

"While we don't put on the show, it impacts our business significantly. The week of Quilt Week is always our busiest week. Overall, in an average year visitors from Quilt Week make up about 15 percent of our overall visitors. If you take any business and you take out 15 percent of their traffic obviously that is another significant factor." Bennett said.

Bennett said anyone who wants to make a donation to the organization can do so easily by visiting the museum's website.

"The museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. People can donate at anytime by going to quiltmuseum.org/planmygift or they can just call us directly. In addition, we have an annual campaign coming up in November/December. We're working on a campaign for September which will be an online auction." He said.

In a time of uncertainty and financial hardship that has many businesses and organizations struggling to stay afloat, Bennett says the Quilt Museum is no exception.

"We're in a time right now where people have to find new sources of revenue to make it through. It's like they say, we are all in this together. We're probably not in any worse shape than a whole lot of for-profit businesses, but we're all struggling." He said.

On the Net:

National Quilt Museum Website
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