[BCMA] Family diversity, membership and beyond

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

This posting from a Childrens Museum list-serve should prove interesting to 
many other museums.

Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2013 4:58 PM
Subject: Re: [CHILDMUS] Family diversity, membership and beyond

>> Hi colleagues,
>> I'm sure you're all following the story out of Jacksonville this week in
>> which a lesbian family was denied a family museum membership:
>>
>> http://www.inquisitr.com/696424/same-sex-museum-membership-denied/
>>
>> and the sketchy way the museum handled the situation:
>>
>> http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/22457-museum-with
>> -anti-gay-family-policy-responds-to-protest-by-raising-all-membership-fe
>> es.html
>>
>> I'd like to think this is an isolated incident in our field, so I'm
>> seeking inspiration. Please share what your membership departments are
>> doing to make sure something like this never happens at your museums.
>> Beyond membership policies, what steps have you taken to make your
>> museum a welcoming place for all kinds of families?
------------------------------


> Colleagues,
> We, too, were shocked to read this story, and hopeful that it does not
> reflect badly on children's museums in general, most of which I think
> have very welcoming policies for all kinds of families.
>
> In this case, it sounded like a front desk person was enforcing a
> reasonable rule to prevent multiple families from 'sharing' a
> membership. We all know that there are some families that take advantage
> in this way.
>
> What I was surprised about was that the ED did not override the front
> desk person when it was made clear that the women in question were *in
> the same household *(which is the criteria we use for memberships)*.*
> The museum's solution to raise the price of membership for everyone was
> a very clumsy one.
>
> At Habitot, we try to meet the needs of all of our potential audience
> including LGBTQ parents. We have a "Best of the Gay Bay" designation
> from the Our Family organization. We have gay staff members and board
> members. We have a free, monthly "Mamas and Papas" program for LGBTQ
> parents. They meet for facilitated parent support while their
> (supervised) children have the run of the museum.  A couple of times a
> year, we have a free Open House for the LGBTQ community. We just had our
> Family Pride Day event fro 91 families this month. These efforts have
> repaid themselves many times over in community connection and support.
>