CONNER PRAIRIE MUSEUM INC

Conner Prairie's mission is to be a historic place to inspire curiosity and foster learning by providing engaging and individualized experiences for everyone. In doing this, Conner Prairie will expand the boundaries of our historical and natural resources by exploring, celebrating, and improving the human experience.

The museum’s 2018-2023 strategic imperatives are as follows:

1. Enhance museum experiences
2. Engage the community, land, and brand
3. Connect people and partners
4. Sustain resources, revenue and river

The strategic imperatives for 2024 – 2026 are currently in review and will be published in 2024.

Conner Prairie first survived and then pivoted to provide in 2020 before learning how to thrive again in 2021 by practicing the “Business of the Unusual.” In 2022, we used our annual SMART Plan to thrive and achieve the “Business of Enrichment” for our organization and guests and began to activate our future. In 2023, the “Business of Change” is helping us realize the future laid out in the last year of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan and prepare for the 2024-2026 Strategic Plan.

Annually, the museum creates SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused, and Time-bound). The SMART Goals align with the Strategic Plan; the objectives of the 2023 SMART Plan are as follows:

o Provide year-round experiences to grow visitation and engagement through existing core initiatives.
o Enhance opportunities for experiential learning through new or refreshed exhibits, programs, and core experiences.
o Activate Site Master Plan projects and others to expand the use of our campus and the White River to create educational opportunities about the history and science of the land and river.
o Amplify the Mission of Conner Prairie through cohesive marketing and PR strategies that highlight our community engagement, natural assets, and brand value.
o Create an engaged, collaborative, and inclusive culture to support and sustain strategic partnerships internally and externally.
o Create a cohesive brand voice that represents both our Explorer and Sage Archetypes.
o Create sustainable financial models to fund operational, strategic, and master plan needs.
o Protect our natural resources to preserve our cultural landscape.

Conner Prairie has an operating budget of over $15M in 2023 and employs approximately 114 full-time, 63 part-time, and 294 seasonal staff. The museum is governed by a Board of Directors totaling 39 community leaders. The Museum Foundation Board totals six individuals.

With strong leadership, Conner Prairie is in a unique position to model how museums can adapt to meet the needs of our changing world. As a steward of public resources, Conner Prairie considers how our mission-driven investments will provide returns for not only the organization but for the community as a whole.
We will continue to raise our bar in service to the community, and we will work collaboratively with stakeholders to address challenges that inevitably accompany change. Many contributors play important roles in the ecosystem, and on a foundation of trust we have earned to date, we will regard our long-standing partnerships while staying open to new ones. We will value staff expertise and lean both confidently and humbly on a track record of achievement.

We have created an environment where, over the years, increasing numbers of visitors of all ages, backgrounds, and interests come to our 1,046 acres to have fun, learn, and spend time together. Year over year, we have practiced good stewardship of our financial, human, and natural resources. We have established a reputation for planning carefully, engaging our community, and creating mutually beneficial partnerships.
The confluence of all these factors ideally positions us to add new chapters of innovation and success to the Conner Prairie story. We are changing the way the world views and uses museums by adapting in unexpected ways and by providing extraordinary experiences that enrich the lives of all our constituents.

Accomplishments
• Conner Prairie counts itself among the 4% of American museums that hold AAM accreditation and one of even fewer that is a Smithsonian Institute Affiliate. A recognized and respected cultural institution both locally and nationally, Conner Prairie is committed to upholding a level of museum professionalism that meets and exceeds industry standards, and we remain dedicated to learning and sharing new ways to better serve the public.
• Today, we are faced with an undeniable shift in what it means to be a museum. We, like our peer cultural institutions, emerged from the global pandemic as a changed organization. One of our most important lessons over the last three years was recognizing that meeting our audiences where they were during difficult times required adapting a number of approaches to our work. In and since 2020, the museum has substantially increased its online presence and online content, invested in new technologies, and built more inclusive programming.
• Perhaps like no other time in our history has it been more critical for Conner Prairie to assess and adapt many of the ways we use our museum and historic grounds. Yes, we are addressing changes prompted by the pandemic, but we are also addressing the community at-large.
• In examining some of these new realities (below) and consequential challenges we will face together, Conner Prairie continues to demonstrate its willingness and ability to partner with community stakeholders and philanthropic supporters toward solutions.

Conner Prairie has evolved from a historic site focused on pioneer life to a dynamic multi-disciplinary place of community engagement. Conner Prairie gained a national reputation as an award-winning museum whose “Opening Doors” approach to visitor engagement has been embraced by more than 1,200 museums in the country. The very foundation of Opening Doors is inclusion. By placing each guest’s interests and learning styles at the center of the Conner Prairie experience, we invite everyone to become active participants in the stories that are shared throughout our grounds.

Conner Prairie aims to create experiences for everyone - regardless of background or abilities. We are guided by our DEAI Promise, which deems diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion paramount to the success of our mission. This philosophy influences all aspects of Conner Prairie's mission as we continue to develop and improve programming for all members of our community.