It is unfortunate that all too frequently, nonprofit boards of directors fail to invest the effort necessary to effectively lead the organizations they commit to serving. In the case of Durango’s Powerhouse Science Center, that failure manifested dramatically on May 9 when the board abruptly closed the riverfront museum, education center and community hub with no warning to members, staff or interns. In doing so, the board undermined nearly 15 years of community investment. The action itself and the shock waves that have followed were wholly avoidable. Rebuilding the community’s trust will take far longer than the impulsive decisions that shattered it.
The Powerhouse’s evolution is a story of deep dedication, perseverance and generosity. In 1998, leaders of the Children’s Museum of Durango – then housed in the attic of the Durango Arts Center – drafted a plan to open a science center in the long-abandoned power plant alongside the Animas River. After a $6 million capital campaign to stabilize and renovate and outfit the power plant with interactive exhibits, the Durango Discovery Museum opened in 2011. Since then it has expanded its programming to offer hands-on science education for museum visitors and elementary, middle and high school students both on site and throughout the community, as well as broad-based community events including Pub Science and trivia nights. This expansion led the museum to rename itself as the Powerhouse Science Center in 2014. As then-executive director Chris Cable said at the time, “We believe this name better reflects what we actually do within our walls and throughout the community we serve. We focus on science, engineering, math and technology education for all ages.”
Many of these programs, and the center’s existence itself resulted from generous community support and partnerships. Carver Brewing Co., and the Carver family, BP America, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and many others invested significantly in the museum through its formative and functional years. Those philanthropic dollars, granted because of donors’ belief in the center’s mission to “spark imagination, ignite curiosity and power exploration,” subsidized the center’s budget that was otherwise funded through memberships and program fees. This is not an uncommon arrangement for nonprofit organizations.
It is not an altogether comfortable one, either, and it was neither a secret nor a surprise that the museum’s financial situation was not particularly rosy. Cable left the Powerhouse in October and the board debated whether to hire a replacement because times were tight. In December, the board approved a pared-down budget that adjusted staffing and limited some programming – particularly in the historically slow early months of the year – to ensure solvency for 2015. Brett Cadwell, the Powerhouse’s finance director since 2011 and interim executive director since October, said that the center was on course to make it through this low-cash-flow period – a storm the Powerhouse had weathered many times. “We have looked at tougher cash flow situations,” Cadwell said. The board felt sufficiently comfortable to hire Nana Naisbitt as executive director. Prior to Naibitt’s hiring, Cadwell met with her three times to go over the organization’s financial situation. Naisbitt’s first day was April 7; on May 9, the museum closed.
In those four weeks, Naisbitt cut education programming – the Powerhouse’s heart – turned away grant funding that supported the center and its outreach offerings, thereby compromising both funding and the relationships that garnered it. Naisbitt called an emergency board meeting on May 8 – a Friday – after which the museum was hastily shuttered citing dire financial circumstances, the locks were changed, the staff was dismissed and the community was stunned. For Cadwell and others on staff, the decision was a complete shock and one that will do lasting damage. “The financial disclosure has always been there. What it was showing wasn’t always pretty, but it was accurate,” Cadwell said. “I cannot believe the board went for (closing the museum) without exploring other options or talking to the people who have been there. I really hurt for our donors and our supporters who believed in us.”
There surely could have been a better way and the board failed in averting a disaster that undermined 15 years of community investment. The hasty and destructive decision, communicated so poorly as to leave some staff members uninformed of their newfound unemployment, will cause lasting damage that threaten the Powerhouse’s future. How unfortunate, given its celebrated history.
