Royal BC Museum Foundation With Cristi Main, Executive Director & Robert Peterson, Board Member

The Royal BC Museum Foundation is looking for a builder—a connector who can turn vision into impact. In this episode of Opportunity Spotlight, Christoph Clodius talks with Cristi Main and Robert Peterson about the Foundation’s new Director of Development role, why it’s vital to the Museum’s future, and how the right leader can help rekindle trust and excitement around this beloved BC institution.

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Listen to the podcast here

 

Royal BC Museum Foundation With Cristi Main, Executive Director & Robert Peterson, Board Member

Everyone, welcome to another Opportunity Spotlight podcast. I’m Christoph Clodius, Vice President here at The Discovery Group. I have the distinct pleasure of speaking with two members of the Royal BC Museum Foundation staff and board. For that matter, we’re talking about the Director of Development role, a newly created role that we’re going to talk in great detail about what’s on the horizon here with the Foundation and the role. I have the pleasure of speaking with Cristi Main, who is Executive Director of the Foundation. Welcome, Cristi.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon and hello, Robert Peterson, board member and officially board secretary of course of the foundation. Welcome Robert.

Thank you for having us.

Our pleasure, my pleasure, for that matter. Speaking of the Royal Wheel, all of a sudden, I don’t know where that came from. Anyway, it’s so great to speak with both of you. The Royal BC Museum is such a well-known institution in the province. The Royal BC Museum Foundation plays such a key role in supporting the museum.

I really want to share to start off with a little bit of context from both of you. I’ve talked a little bit about titles and who you are in relation to the foundation. Maybe you can talk a little bit about your history, what brought you to the foundation, and what you do in your various foundation roles. Robert, maybe we can start with you. We’ll start with the volunteer, for that matter. Start with you in your capacity as a board member.

I came onto the foundation board somewhere around fifteen years ago. I did leave for a few years, but I came back. I was excited to become involved because I think, like you said, the museum is really an anchor of BC identity. I feel fortunate to have it here in Victoria, where I live. I think it’s just a fantastic institution for all of us who live in BC to better know our history and culture. It’s a terrific draw for tourists who come to Victoria and are excited to learn about BC. Often, when we have a special exhibit or something like that, it becomes a real centerpiece of Victoria’s cultural offerings.

It’s had so many significant exhibits and experiences over the years. As someone who grew up in BC, not in Victoria, but in BC, I spent many field trips going to Victoria and going to BC for that matter. Thanks for joining us, Robert. Cristi, over to you. Tell me a bit about yourself.

I’ve been here 25 years, I’m delighted to say. I can say I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, it’s become a part of me. It’s been a journey. It’s been terrific to be involved with the not-for-profit and to be here to support the museum on its journey and to be such a vital part of who they are and where they need to go in the future. As we all know, fundraising is important government is constantly cutting back programs, and we need that work done. Find the money elsewhere.

Fundraising is important. The government is constantly cutting back programs, so we need to find that funding elsewhere. Share on X

The Foundation’s Core Role As Philanthropic Partner (Executive Director &  Board’s Role)

Tell me more about that. What is the work of the foundation for someone who may not be familiar with the Royal BC Museum Foundation? Tell me a bit more about it, Cristi. What is the role of the foundation?

We support the museum through financial means. That is really our primary role. We’re integral to them for the monies that they end up getting cut by the government. They will come to us to say, “Where can we support them?” Those financial means come through our fundraising endeavors, and looking to grow that. They come through managing investments, our endowments, and we run a very successful museum shop that has a huge revenue stream that is unusual for a foundation because typically foundations don’t have a revenue stream into the organization like that. It’s typically money going out. We’re very unique in that regard.

Very much so. That’s a great summary, and I appreciate those various streams. We’ll definitely talk more about the fundraising piece in a second, but that steady stream retail is such a key piece of the revenue driver for sure. Robert, you talked a little bit about how long you’ve been with the foundation. Both of you have deep roots in the foundation in terms of years. Why do you do the work you do? What brought you to the foundation, and what keeps you there, for that matter?

I think, as Cristi said, certain projects need funding, and so the foundation can serve a vital role in ensuring certain innovative projects that wouldn’t happen otherwise can take place. We also serve as a connection between the community and the museum, enabling those innovative projects to occur. I think the foundation is, as Cristi said, an essential philanthropic partner of the museum. I think that there are lots of opportunities to expand that.

 

It operates independently. It’s an independent entity with an independent board, but with a mandate to support the museum. That’s a key piece and some nuance there for sure. Maybe for both of you, Robert, we can start off with you and your tenure with the board and your time with the foundation. Are there particular things or particular things you’re most proud of that you can really point to and say, “This has really resonated for me,” or is it more sort of broader institutional support that’s really engaged you?

Over the years that I’ve been involved, we’ve undertaken some important internal initiatives to position the foundation well for the future, and that has taken time, and we transitioned from being more of a volunteer-based organization. I should say that many volunteers work in the gift shop and all that, so not anything away from that.

We wanted to position ourselves in a way to would be broader and to really not only steward the funds that we hold, but to expand upon that and to position the foundation well to raise additional monies in the future. We’ve been turning our minds to that in all the work we do and bringing certain board members with diverse strengths that can complement that agenda to essentially position it for the future.

We’re going to talk more about that future focus in a second, but that’s a great point. I really appreciate that. Cristi, anything you want to add in your time at the foundation?

I’m most proud of the long history of support and connection in the community that the foundation has brought. I’m really proud now of our renewed energy and clarity of purpose. I think that’s really vital to moving forward. We’ve all survived globally, we’ve all survived COVID, and we still look back at that as a benchmark. We are in the best place we’ve ever been. We are clearly focused, the board is clearly focused, and we are on a mission, and we’re clear about what that mission is.

That’s great. That’s for sure. Tell me from a cultural perspective, candidates always ask, “What’s it like at the board table? What’s the board like? What’s the staff like at the foundation, at the museum? How would you describe the culture?” Cristi, maybe we can start with you. What’s it like to work there?

The culture it’s really about trust and collaboration. The board is very supportive. I’m very supportive of the work that the board does. I’m very supportive of the talent around the table. It’s a diverse group, and that’s important. It is about being open about the partnerships, about the communication. All those things make it successful.

That’s great. Robert, anything you want to add about the board group specifically? This person’s going to be working a lot with you and other board members, for that matter, as we tap into the community.

I think to add to what Cristi said, that the board is very enthusiastic about a future of expanded fundraising as a key component of what the board supports and brings to the table for the foundation. We’re at a, I guess they say inflection point, and that’s why we’re hiring for this role. Everybody has been moving towards this, and the momentum is there to really take the foundation to the next level.

The Pivotal Role Of The New Director Of Development (Catalyst For Expansion)

That’s a great way of phrasing it, actually. I was going to ask about why this role, why now, fundamentally in creating this role? It’s very much a build. We’ll talk more about the role specifically in a second, but Cristi, why this role, why now? Why has the foundation decided that now’s the time for a director of development to come in and really, as you say, you’re on a mission to really take this energy, this clarity, and really focus it.

I think it’s a pivotal time for the foundation and certainly one for the museum. The museum is entering into a new era with a two-campus structure with a second building. A very different time for how the community will use the museum, and how donors will support the museum. I think there’s a huge opportunity now to shape what the future looks like. We’ve been quite stagnant in terms of what the model has been, and now with this addition of this change, a whole model change for the museum, terrific opportunity to reinvent the wheel a little bit.

 

Robert, if I may, I know there’s been great buy-in and some board initiative and board momentum to really be supportive of this. I know the board’s very committed to it. We’ve spoken a lot about some of the resources, obviously hiring this person, the board’s supportive of it financially in principle, for that matter. Tell me a bit more about the board’s thinking around hiring a director of development now. What might the role look like? How might they partner with the board for that matter?

The board is enthusiastic to engage in a meaningful way with the director of development. I think that, largely, we’re not fundraising experts, although the board members, on their own, have deep and wide networks of people they would like to connect with to meet the museum, and we see the director of development as the professional who guides us on how best to do that. That’s been the piece that we see is critical and are excited to engage and support. The board looks forward to setting some goals and objectives in that regard. We need that professional advice to do that in the best manner.

What’s really struck me in my conversations with you, the other board members have really been, that excitement that drive to achieve, but it’s also been tempered with a lot of pragmatism and realism. I think based on the experience, the fundraising experience they have around the table, and knowing that this is a new role at a pivotal time with the organization, for sure.

As you say, putting in some measures, some goals and targets, but being able to really focus and build out from there is a really important thing to take with a long-term view in mind, fundamentally. With that context, Cristi, what do you envision the director doing? This director is going to work very closely with you. What do you see as their key activities when they’re getting started?

I think that the director is instrumental in developing and executing a comprehensive fundraising strategy, one that is working within the framework of a foundation. What’s critical is the collaborative part and working closely with the museum leadership and strengthening that relationship and those processes. At the end of the day, we are still two separate organizations. We are always working to ensure that we are aligned. I see the development piece being critical to that.

That alignment is going to take a lot of forms, isn’t it? It’s going to take everything from cultural alignment, getting along personally around key priorities, cases, and what exactly we’re going to the community to support, for that matter. There are lots of nuances and lots of elements of those shared relationships, and that partnership with the museum is fundamental.

What in your mind would earn this person a gold star? Are there particular things you might look for short-term, long-term, however you might define that for that matter? What do you think uh would resonate with you in the director’s early stage accomplishments? Who wants to go first? Robert, do you want to start off?

There are a couple of things from the board’s perspective. Given the age of the institution and the fact that it has done fundraising previously, we would be hopeful to re-engage some past owners that may have their interest has shifted and could be reoriented back towards us. There’s definitely some interest in that discussion. I think overall, setting what the realistic goals for our fundraising program are, we’re going to lean heavily on the ideal candidate here to set out an achievable yet ambitious fundraising program.

We’re realistic about the fact that they’re going to need to build it. We’re open to what that looks like, because we’re very much wanting to focus efforts where the greatest results can be achieved. That’s with looking at a long-term perspective as well. It’s not just short-term thinking. I think if we can meaningfully set some goals and objectives around that, and engage the board and have some level of accountability. In year one on what realistic results can be achieved, then that is a big part of what we’re looking at in this candidate.

We want to focus our efforts where the greatest results can be achieved. That means taking a long-term perspective, not just short-term thinking. Share on X

Cristi, anything to add?

The Role Of The Director In Rebuilding Trust & Donor Relationships (Early Success)

Yeah, I guess, again, on the heels of Robert, I guess I would summarize that as saying to me, a successful candidate gets that gold star by bringing trust and winning back the trust. Trust of our donors, the trust of the foundation board and staff, that leadership museum, leadership piece. I think that they need to bring a high level of creativity and energy to bring all of those sometimes not naturally working together components together.

Fair enough. There are lots of components, and there are multiple levels here. The person is ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations. The database, the processes, the infrastructure, as you said, Robert, getting to know donors, reinvigorating those relationships as well as the strategy, the big picture piece. It’s quite a broad role in so many ways, which is both so exciting and compelling, isn’t it?

Yeah, it’s built trust and let donors know there’s a reason to come back.

What are some reasons, Cristi, for someone to come join you at the foundation? If you were pitching this role to candidates, which, in effect, you are for that matter right now, why do you think someone would want to come join you?

I think that it’s an incredibly rare opportunity for somebody to help shape the next chapter of a very iconic provincial institution. We have not had fundraising for a number of years. The team is small, but it is mighty. There is certainly support that has been shown in the past, and that needs to be rekindled and then developed. We need to grow that trust.

Robert, anything to add to that?

The Museum Staff As A Source Of Passion & Value

When you visit the museum, and especially if you have a chance to go behind the scenes and talk to some of the staff, you realize how deeply they care about what they do. How strongly they feel that what they’re doing there is worthwhile. It’s worth their time to be there. They have a deep commitment to the fact that this is a public institution that belongs to all of us.

I think it’s an opportunity for someone who wants to share that passion and energy, gets excited, and sees what the dollars that they can bring in from the community can enable to happen. It’s often behind the scenes as well. There are a lot of exciting things going on. For someone who wants to be part of that, it’s an incredible opportunity.

That’s a great point. Actually, the museum is far more than the collection of artifacts or exhibits or the collection itself. It is the people that make it up, and it’s the people that really resonate. That’s the chance to work with so many great people who are doing such incredible work and so passionate about it, for that matter. What excites you most about the future of the foundation of the museum, Robert, in your view? What’s on the horizon here in your view that excites you most?

I’m really excited with as Cristi touched upon, we’re a two-campus institution essentially going forward. It’s a time of growth for the museum. There’s been a lot of great progress with reconciliation and better stewardship of many of the artifacts that we have in the collections. It’s a time when everybody acknowledges the need to grow. The foundation, I believe, has really stepped up to the plate here to say that we want to be part of that and we want to be integral to it. At the end of the day, it takes money to make that happen.

Cristi, anything to add?

We’re moving into a period of renewed collaboration and shared vision, which is really exciting. It’s a chance for donors to play an active role in a really exciting future.

It is an exciting future. As you say, that active role is a key piece. Leveraging these relationships, leveraging this great work, this great brand is such a great brand, I should say, is an exciting time for an institution that’s been part of BC for so many years and will continue to do so fundamentally.

I think that we’ll see that we will reconnect with some of our former donors. I think that we will find new donors with this reinvigorated and reimagined museum.

It’s an exciting time, that’s for sure. Any final words for potential candidates or curious people? I certainly want to express and encourage people to reach out to me if they’re at all curious. [email protected] is my email address. Hopefully, by now, they will have seen the posting or have the brief in hand.

We’ve got a couple of great websites. The museum website is fantastic. RoyalBCMuseum.BC.ca. Your foundation website, as well, RBCMFoundation.ca, has a lot of information about the work of the foundation and things you’ve funded. There’s a lot to take in and a lot of research to be done. Any final words for people that might be interested or curious, or on the fence, for that matter?

I would say I would see if you really want to be part of something that truly matters to British Columbia. This is a wonderful place to contribute your skills and passion.

We’d love to have you come and join us and build something wonderful.

Those are great notes to end on, and I really appreciate both of you all the time, effort, and the deep roots you put into supporting the foundation and museum for that matter as well. Looking forward to introducing some great candidates to you both. Stay tuned, and we’ll chat again very soon, I’m sure.

 

Important Links

• Cristi Main on LinkedIn
• Robert Peterson on LinkedIn
• Royal BC Museum Foundation
• [email protected]
• Royal BC Museum