The Crowsnest Historical Society announced earlier this month its decision to close the Crowsnest Museum until further notice, due to an unstable financial situation.
The society’s board of directors made the decision at its meeting on February 15th, after several key grant applications were not approved this year, shrinking the museum’s bank account to a critical minimum.
“We just ran out of money,” said Crowsnest Historical Society Board President John Salus, adding that staff salaries and the cost of operation are the biggest expenses.
The society was approved for an $18,000 grant from the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in January, which will be paid on a pro-rated monthly basis for the cost of staffing.
However, Salus said it was simply not enough.
“That amount just doesn’t cover two employees for a full year,” he said.
“Salaries are our biggest expense and since we didn’t get important grant funding, we were forced to lay our staff off.”
He said support from local businesses and the Municipality has been strong but what is really needed is corporate sponsorship and access to federal and provincial grants.
“The Municipality has really supported us but with our small community, aging infrastructure and decreasing population, it would be very difficult for them to give us the money we need,” said Salus.
“Also, we have very limited large corporations here – the funding simply isn’t there.”
He noted that cost cutting at the provincial and federal levels has greatly affected available grant opportunities.