Displays of Perseverance

THE BUILDINGS AND EXHIBITS of the National World War II Museum and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art survived Hurricane Katrina. But with the tourist trade washed away and locals focused on rebuilding their lives, the institutions needed to find ways to get visitors back through their doors.

Both are relying heavily on the Internet to connect with their members for a very practical reason: the postal system will only process first class mail, if that.

“It's not cost effective,” laughs Stephen Watson, the associate vice president of development at the National World War II Museum — better known as the D-Day Museum.

“We can't mail because we can't trust it to get there,” says Mary Beth Haskins, a spokeswoman for the Ogden. “Nonprofit bulk mail is really the stepchild here.”

Watson acknowledges that the D-Day Museum has a couple of “key different things” from other local institutions. Some 90% of his 120,000-name donor base — half of which have close ties to a WWII vet — lives outside of Louisiana. In fact, most have never even stepped foot inside the building.

“We don't rely on local support,” Watson explains, adding that the museum was able to turn right around and share what happened with its members online. More than 10,000 responded. It's continued to increase e-mail contact since Katrina, and is looking for a Web-based solution to build and maintain donor support.

And, in the face of adversity, the museum hasn't lost its sense of humor. The Web site features T-shirts for sale sardonically co-opting Gen. Douglas MacArthur's famous line, “We shall return.”

Like the D-Day Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. But while the Ogden sees its mission and membership in local terms, it turned outside the parishes in and around New Orleans when sending e-mail appeals for help after the storm.

“We felt uncomfortable asking them for support,” Haskins says. “Everyone needs their money for their own reasons. Many lost their homes.” She adds gently, “It raises the question [as to] when it's appropriate to raise money for yourself when others need what they have to help themselves.”

The campaign did not “do a whole lot,” according to associate director Beverly Sakauye. More successful has been the “O-Gram,” short for Ogdengram, a weekly e-mail to local members about the museum's activities. Radio broadcasts have also been used since late October. “It's been helpful bringing people in,” Sakauye says.

Post-Mardi Gras plans call for a revamping of the Web site to make it easier to navigate, join the museum or make a donation. Meanwhile, the museum is becoming a place to casually find out who died, who survived, who's come back and who's still out there somewhere.