A Case Study on Funding Strategies of Cultural Heritage Community Museums in The Busoga Sub-Region of Uganda

Cultural heritage community museums in the Busoga sub-region such as Busoga Cultural Museum (BCM) and Kigulu Cultural Museum (KCM) preserve and promote cultural heritage and are non-profit establishments whose financial situations remain insufficient, affecting their operations. The study sought to investigate funding strategies of cultural heritage community museums in Busoga and gain insights into enhancing their system to sustain tourism. The study’s objectives were to establish the need for cultural heritage community museums funding and to examine the sources of funding that these cultural heritage community museums utilize. The methodology required observations and interviews in data collection, which data was analysed using the inductive content analysis procedure. The findings revealed priorities such as subscriptions, staff payments, display shelves, fencing premises, brochures, restaurants, digital technology and boat repair are crucial funding items for these community museums. Their funding acquisition strategies including entry fees, staff funding, grants, event hosting, and Central government and Town council support are still insufficient. Therefore, community museums earning profit may not be, to an extent, avoided solely but necessitates embracing inclusiveness, depicting relevance through relationship building with potential funding associations, professionals, and companies, among other funding opportunities, which consequently require benchmarking and implementing financial practices unachieved to enhance sustainability.