Q&A with Natalie Singer, executive director at Reitz Home Museum
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In June, Natalie Singer started a new role as executive director of Reitz Home Museum in Evansville. The museum’s board of trustees had been looking to fill the position since Matt Rowe’s departure in January.
According to the Victorian estate’s website, Singer “is committed to preserving the rich history of Evansville and engaging the community in the museum’s mission.” She spoke with Inside INdiana Business about her not-for-profit experience and raising awareness about the museum.
Tell me about the Reitz Home Museum.
It was built in 1871 by John Augustus Reitz. He was big in the sawmill industry in Evansville. He originally came over from Germany, had a large family and lived in the home. After he passed away and his wife passed away, F.J. Reitz, who was also pretty famous in Evansville, he became a banker and lived there with three or four of his sisters. They were big on putting money into the community, big philanthropists. They lived there for quite some time.
Then they gave the home to the Evansville Diocese, and it became a place where nuns lived. It was a place where the first bishop in Evansville lived. Around 1974, the Reitz Home Preservation Society took it over and made it what it is today.
Why is the museum important to Evansville?
We call it the jewel of Evansville. It’s the community’s museum. Arts and culture are so important to make a vibrant community. It’s important for tourism. It’s a rare opportunity to see a Victorian home like this that has been preserved in this way. It’s a good experience to step into history. You can’t do that in many places.
The executive director position has been vacant for months. What is the state of the museum?
The board of trustees has done a fantastic job of restructuring during the last few months before they chose me as the executive director. They’ve had lots of events already. They had a fundraiser, Wine Down to the Weekend, every Thursday at the beginning of summer, and they’ve had several free events.
They’re starting my career here with a bang because they’re going to have the 50th anniversary gala in September. They’re paving the way for me. I’m coming in at a good time, a lot of positive energy.
How will your background enable you to oversee museum operations?
I’ve been working in nonprofits for over a decade, but I have worked in all different areas of fundraising. I’ve been a grant writer. I’ve been a development director. I’ve been an executive director. I’ve built a lot of relationships through that, and I enjoy putting the puzzle pieces together in a nonprofit organization and have years of experience.
I’ve had a lot of amazing mentors along the way as well. The last four years, I’ve been running the Henderson Area Arts Alliance. A lot of that partners well with running a Victorian museum.
What challenges do you foresee in this new role?
The main goal that I always have is fundraising. We are always going to need money. So looking at ways to bring in that money is going to be my first challenge.
But on the other hand, looking into new programming or maybe bringing programming back that was there in the past and making sure that the community is well aware of the Reitz Home Museum and everything it has to offer. Bringing awareness is another big goal. Rebuild our building. Growth, money and awareness—those are the big things. All of those equal the mission of the Reitz Home and continuing to preserve and educate.
What are your short-term goals for the museum?
Meeting with the staff and the board of directors. It’s important to get to know those who are closest to the museum.
Obviously, in an old building, you have things to fix all of the time. I want to learn about that and figure out what our order of events is going to be as far as what’s the most important thing to get to first, what we need to make money on, fundraise for first. Getting those projects together and settled so we have a more organized way of fixing immediate needs and then long-term projects.
I also want to know the most active volunteers because a lot of it is volunteer-driven and they’re doing a lot. The docents are giving tours every day, and they know so much about the museum. That’s a big piece of what I need to learn. I want to know the ins and outs of every historical piece. I’m going to be learning a lot from them and also the donors. I’m going to be getting to know a lot of people and doing a lot of planning.
What are your long-term goals?
Bringing back events and programs that haven’t been around for a while, but also figuring out all the ways that the Reitz Home can be available to the community.
There’s also a lot of room for support. A lot of the donations are from individual donors and local businesses, which is an incredible connection to have. But there needs to be some building [of partnerships] with some of the bigger corporations and the other nonprofits in town.
What’s happening at the museum this summer?
There are tours every Tuesday through Friday, and we will open on Saturdays starting in July. We’re getting ready for the 50th anniversary gala. It’s on September 14. I know it’s going to be huge because I haven’t seen a gala taking place in quite some time here, so it’s a pretty big deal.