One-third of American museums have lost government grants and contracts since President Donald Trump took office, according to a new survey of museum directors conducted by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).
The survey, published Tuesday, is based largely on responses from 511 museum directors. Though the AAM did not disclose the names of those directors, the organization said that nine percent of their museums had annual operating expenses greater than $10 million.
Even with its relatively small sample size, however, the report demonstrates the impact of grant cancelations from such federal agencies as the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
“These losses have forced difficult choices, including deferring facility or physical infrastructure improvements; canceling programming for students, rural communities, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and/or veterans; and reducing public programs overall,” the report states.
It goes on, “Five percent of all museums report that they have had to lay off staff as a direct or indirect result of executive orders or actions. This number rises to 10 percent among those that have suffered the cancellation of government grants or contracts or that have not been reimbursed for existing expenditures from government grants or contracts.”
These efforts have been bolstered by private individuals and organizations such as the Mellon Foundation, which offered emergency grants this year. Some museums have taken legal action against the Trump administration for pulling funding. (A court ruling in May stopped the Trump Administration from further dismantling the IMLS, among other federal agencies.)
According to the AAM report, two-thirds of the institutions surveyed have not been able to replace lost funding, with the median grant loss falling at $30,000.
More than half of the responding museums said they saw fewer visitors in 2025 than in 2019. Those in the mid-Atlantic region of the country have seen the worst downturn in museum attendance, with the average visitorship figures still at 10 percent below pre-pandemic levels on average. Nearly one-third of museums surveyed—29 percent, to be precise—reported a decrease in attendance, citing changes in travel and tourism, as well as economic uncertainty.
“Yet in the face of these and other challenges,” the report states, “museums remain steadfast in serving their communities as trusted educational assets, economic engines, and community anchors. The survey shows that in addition to their central missions, museums seek to meet the specific needs of their communities with a wide range of service initiatives.
“To sustain this impact, museum leaders and staff are engaging in critical advocacy work,” with 83 percent of directors noting staff attendance at local city council or county board meetings, the report said. Some 33 percent of directors of academic museums and galleries reported staff engaging in none of these advocacy activities, however.
Looking forward to 2026, directors anticipate that the biggest disruptions will come from shifts in philanthropy (63 percent of respondents), inflation (53 percent), financial and market instability (52 percent), changes to travel and tourism (48 percent), and the reduction or elimination of government funding (47 percent). One-third of them also pointed to ideological and political polarization as another likely disruption over the coming year.
