Pledge of Excellence
The Pledge of Excellence is an easy and achievable step along your museum’s path to excellence, and a way to show your museum’s commitment to being a good steward of the resources it holds in the public trust.
The museum pledges that, in fulfillment of its educational mission, it will strive to operate according to national standards and best practices to the best of its abilities and in accordance with its resources.
Why take the Pledge?
- Advocacy and PR opportunities: Tell your visitors, staff, policy makers, funders and peers that your museum has committed to operating ethically and according to field-wide standards and practices and remind them of your educational role.
- Credit and recognition: your written and public commitment to excellence will appear on a national, public list.
- Raise professionalism: Increase your staff and board’s awareness of museum standards and ethics; a good internal reminder of your institutional goals and values.
- Support field-wide advocacy efforts: A critical mass of museums signing the pledge sends a strong message to the public and policymakers that the field is professional, accountable and committed to shared standards and ethics—making it worthy of support.
Taking the Pledge can also be a useful and motivating precursor for participating in other standards assessment and recognition programs, such as the
AASLH StEPs program,
Museum Assessment Program (MAP) and
Accreditation.
Who should take the Pledge?
We encourage every museum (including zoos, aquariums, nature and science centers and non-collections-based institutions) to take the Pledge of Excellence—whether your museum just opened or has been accredited for decades.
How does my museum take the Pledge?
Taking the Pledge is voluntary, free and available to all museums. (Alliance membership is encouraged but not required). The Pledge operates on the honor system.
Either check the box on your membership form or take the Pledge now.