During these tough economic times, attendance at the American Jazz Museum has been down. That&rsquo;s just one of the challenges the museum has faced over the past year. </p><p>But as a result of steady foundation support and a slight increase in the cost of admission, the museum has managed to survive. </p><p>Almost every aspect of the museum&rsquo;s operation has struggled. The Blue Room, for example, has seen an 8 percent reduction in sales. Admission is off about 15 percent.</p><p>&ldquo;The economy forced us to prioritize,&rdquo; said Gregory Carroll, the museum&rsquo;s chief executive officer. &ldquo;It forced us to re-evaluate how we do what we do. It&rsquo;s also forced us to look at our budget. We had to make revisions.&rdquo;</p><p>Carroll wants the public to know that the museum has navigated through the hard times and has managed to survive. </p><p>&ldquo;While the economy has done what it&rsquo;s done, we&rsquo;re still holding on,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>The museum did feel a loss in its endowment. &ldquo;We took a hit there,&rdquo; Carroll said. </p><p>Despite the economy, Carroll is aggressively promoting the museum&rsquo;s programs. A new permanent exhibit called Jazz on Film will feature the John Baker film collection.</p><p>&ldquo;This will give the community who already has been here another great opportunity to come back again,&rdquo; Carroll said. </p><p>The museum also is redesigning its Web site, AmericanJazzMuseum.org. </p><p>&ldquo;Soon it will have all-new bells and whistles,&rdquo; Carroll said. </p><p>Another new program the museum will be promoting is &ldquo;Stories from the Vine,&rdquo; a series of panel discussions with Kansas Citians who experienced the 18th and Vine district in its golden years. The sessions are held on selected Saturdays. </p><p>The Jazz Institute is a new program that seeks young musicians in middle school and high school who want to be encouraged and pushed. The free program is designed to facilitate the growth of young people as musicians. </p><p>And Carroll promises that the Jammin&rsquo; at the Gem Concert series will continue to bring in high-quality talent. </p><p>Despite the rough economic news, the museum has continued to pull in money through foundations. </p><p>&ldquo;Fortunately, we have found we are still receiving funding from some of our turnkey foundations that have been supporting the museum all these years,&rdquo; Carroll said. &ldquo;They are still coming on board for us, albeit at a lesser level. We&rsquo;re very grateful for that.&rdquo; </p><p>Carroll believes that when the bad economic times blow over, the museum will be well-situated for growth.</p><p> Someday the museum won&rsquo;t just hold its own. It will thrive.