Airborne Museum faces funding shortfall that could impact public services, staffing

The Airborne Museum in Fayetteville says it's up against major funding issues. It comes after Cumberland County eliminated some of its budget last month.

The museum's leadership says it has around $1 million budget for this fiscal year but following the latest cuts from Cumberland County, it's dealing with a $200,000 gap. The museum also says the county's moves to minimize funding to the organization within the past year has already been diminishing its services.

"In the last fiscal year, we received an $85,000 grant from Cumberland County which was fantastic but at the same time, it was half of what we requested," said Renee Lane, the executive director of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation. "Because of that reduction, we had to limit staffing hours, we had a hiring freeze which is still in place and we've had to pull back a little bit on the types of programs that we offer to the public."

The museum says since 2000, the county has been contributing about 10% to 20% of its budget a year, with grants up to $200,000 each cycle. Lane says those contributions have been crucial for staffing this major fixture in the community. Commissioner Jimmy Keefe advocated against these budget cuts but was outvoted on the board last month.

"So many nonprofits all have worthy causes, but this one touches so many people in so many different ways. I hope that the commissioners will look at it and see the impact, maybe next year and consider funding again this year," Keefe said.

The museum is free and Lane says they intend to keep it that way. However, she says they'll be working on boosting memberships and driving more donations to help keep the museum afloat.