That's an excellent question. I could add that Quebec does have a fund-matching program, depending on the size of the budget. It's called the Mécénat Placements Culture program. Small museums like us can access funding through the program, but the problem is that we have to set up our own foundations and find funding.
To use the mirror analogy, I would suggest that the federal and provincial governments create a special fund where the government would match donor contributions. Such a fund could help small institutions with their operating costs.
In Carol's case, the J. Armand Bombardier Foundation is already funding the museum, but it might be worthwhile for the foundation to invest a bit more and have the contribution matched. Conversely, in my case, when I go out looking for funding—and heaven knows I do—I have a hard time. It really eats up a lot of my time. If the government were to help us, however…. Currently, we have $650,000 in our endowment fund.
The residents of the Saint-Laurent borough want to give culture a boost, and I told them that it wouldn't be possible without investing in this project. I recommended that they put money in a foundation and ask members of the local business community to contribute as well, adopting a matching system. The idea is to create a fund, use only the interest, and invest it in cultural initiatives. The capital should remain untouched.
It's a great idea, and it's something you can put in place. Putting all of that burden on our shoulders makes our jobs that much harder. It's doable, but it's a lot of work. Many small museums are out there, however. I was born in Rosemont, in Montreal, and I don't have any contacts in the Westmount community. Montreal's arts patrons go to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts well before they come to Quebec's Masters and Artisans Museum. Since they aren't familiar with me or the museum, they don't visit it.