NEW:  Summaries of Conference Crowdsourcing Game Available
Elizabeth Merritt, Founding Director of AAM’s Center for the Future of Museums and our luncheon presenter at the Museums in Conversations conference, has just posted the following summaries of our prognostications on the CFM blog http://www.futureofmuseums.org/thinking/blog.cfm

Beth talks about the crowdsourcing game she guided us through at lunch and links to a summary of the energy portion of the discussion. She’s also working on a summary of the "MyCulture" discussion that looked at user-input, social tagging, etc., and she hopes to post that before the end of the month.  Please read, comment, and pass the link along to others who might want to wade in!

NEW:  Museums in Conversation Conference Photos

NEW:  MANY Advocacy Fact Sheet
Download
NEW YORK STATE’S MUSEUMS: BUILDING COMMUNITY
(Acrobat/Adobe PDF format, 187KB)
(Click here to get Adobe Reader)

NEW:  Labor Data Available from MANY's Economic Health Index Poll
Click Here for a synopsis.

NEW:  Where to Take Your Economic Stimulus Proposals
For those of you who want to submit proposals for economic stimulus funding, we have been advised by the governor's office that a direct way to do so is through this website: www.economicrecovery.ny.gov. This way, your request will go directly to the state's Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet.

The proposal form will ask you to choose from menus of project categories, such as Energy and Environment, Infrastructure, and Education. You will be asked to describe your project and provide a dollar amount and timeframe. Remember, these projects are to be "shovel-ready" -- that means that they are all planned, cost out and ready to go. 

Submitting a proposal simply gets it in the hopper with hundreds of others, so it's wise to initiate and stay in contact with your state legislators and your local officials.

NEW: Nonprofit Association Offers Guide to Stimulus Money
The National Council of Nonprofits, an organization in Washington representing state nonprofit associations, has issued two reports on how the economic-stimulus package that President Obama signed into law last week will affect charities.

One summarizes the major spending and tax-cut provisions in the $787-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and identifies potential grant opportunities for charities.

The second offers tips for groups that are considering applying for stimulus money. Among them: “Get Ready Now,” “Stress the Official Purpose,” “Read the Entire Act,” and “Just Because Grant Money Exists Doesn’t Mean You Should Ask for Some.”

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy, February 24, 2009

IMLS Reauthorization
As many of you know, we have been engaged in a longstanding conversation about how best to approach reauthorization of the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Office of Museum Services, which is due to occur by September, 2009.  Read More

MANY Leadership Development and Succession Planning Tools
With funding assistance from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Corning Foundation, Inc., MANY is pleased to announce the following programs for institutions and individuals engaged in issues of leadership development and succession planning.

• Succession Planning Portal - See Left-hand Navigation Bar
  Whether you are a board member, executive director, staff member, emerging leader or volunteer, if your organization faces leadership change the information listed here provides answers to the myriad questions that emerge during leadership transition.

Resources are divided in four sections:

·         Change at the Top, that is devoted to executive transition;

·         Being the Best, Encouraging the Best, information on talent development for boards, executive directors, and individual staff members;

·         Giving Back, articles and Web sites on mentoring-how to be one and how to get one;

·         Double X and Leadership, information on what it means to be a woman in the non-profit world and more particularly in the museum world.

This portal contains links to a variety of Web sites other than our own, many of which are not museum-related. We hope you will find this information useful, and that it leads you to new and imaginative ways of thinking about leadership. Comment boxes at the end of each section to describe your own experience or respond to what you have read.

• New Listservs
  MUSEUMDIRECTORS:  This discussion list is for museum directors to share leadership and management insights, to exchange information about governance, HR and development best practices, and to generally support one another in an increasingly challenging environment.  It's often lonely at the top - whether you're directing a small shop or a multi-layered institution - we all benefit from opportunities talk about what we do with our peers.  Directors from all sizes and disciplines of institutions and with all levels of tenure are encouraged to subscribe and participate.  To subscribe, send an email to:  MUSEUMDIRECTORS-SUBSCRIBE-REQUEST@home.ease.lsoft.com
  
  MUSEUMSUCCESSION:  This discussion list is for institutions that are addressing issues of
  leadership transition, staff and board development, and executive search. Come share your insights, exchange information and ask lots of questions!  Let's create some great models together for building and growing a museum's human capital.  To subscribe, send an email to MUSEUMSUCCESSION-SUBSCRIBE-REQUEST@home.ease.lsoft.com. 

                    Corning Incorporated Foundation

Managing in Tough Times, a Bridgespan Group Report
Tough times force hard choices. And these are rapidly becoming the toughest times most of us have ever seen. Even for nonprofit leaders who are accustomed to 'making much of little,' the repercussions of the unfolding economic downturn are likely to pose unprecedented challenges. It’s hard to imagine that many (if any) of us in the sector will escape unscathed.  Read the report

2008-09 Salary and Benefits Survey Available Here
This biennial publication examines compensation and benefits of more than 70 job titles from 109 New York State museums and historical organizations. Order Here

MANY Board Approves 2009 Advocacy Agenda
At its October board meeting the MANY board approved a three-pronged advocacy agenda for the next year.  Among the items are maintenance of current funding levels for museums from various state programs, assessment of the energy needs of museums, and several administrative efficiencies.  Read More

Green Museums Wiki
Share and learn -- that's what it's all about at Sarah Brophy's wiki.  Greening not just for the big institution or the newly constructed one anymore.  Going green is on the minds of all sizes of museums. Check out our resource page.

New Abandoned Property Law for Museums
To read MANY's summary of the law, click here.

Mapping Museums in New York State
Thanks to the work of Kevin Heard of the Binghamton University GIS Department and Joann Lindstrom, a graduate of the University's Masters in Public Administration program, we now have tools to help us better understand the geographic impact of museums across the state, as well as the distribution of museum disciplines.  Click the images below for the detailed maps:

MANY Report on Succession Planning in NYS Museums
Download
Report to the Field: The Status of Succession Planning 
in New York State Museums
(Acrobat/Adobe PDF format, 567KB)
(Click here to get Adobe Reader)

Trends We Think Are Important
Trends come and trends go, but our list -- along with its implications for museums -- cites major issues that are both new and long-unaddressed.  Learn More

In 2006, representatives from over two dozen federal agencies, nonprofit professional organizations, and not-for-profit organizations came together to agree on the definitions of common terminology used by interpreters, environmental educators, historians, and others in informal settings such as parks, aquariums, zoos, nature centers, historic sites, and museums.  Learn more and download the list

Fundraising is important for all of us.  ShopforMuseums.com is an online fundraising program where anyone in your community can do their everyday online shopping and have a percentage of their purchase amount donated to your museum at no extra cost.  Registration and participation is free.  There are over 300 stores to shop including Target, Staples, CompUSA, and Lands End.  Additional stores can be added by request. And now’s the perfect time of year to visit the site, get registered, and start promoting this benefit to your members!

Use the Amazon.com Portal at the Upper Left to Shop Online and Help MANY Earn Extra Cash
Now MANY members along with their friends and family can help MANY earn extra income each time they shop online at Amazon.com. Just begin your online shopping trip at MANY's homepage. Click on the Amazon icon located in the lower left corner of the homepage. MANY will receive a small commission from your purchase -- at no extra charge to you!

New York State Education Department Annual Report
Museums, Historical Societies & Similar Cultural Agencies
2001

Click here to view or download the full report
(Acrobat/Adobe PDF format, 632KB
Click here to get Adobe Reader)

Cultural/Heritage Tourism: Opportunity, Impact, and Implications

Collection Management Resources
Click on Resources for informative software vendor listings

NYS Museums: Building Community
State and National Statistics You Can Use  

What is a Museum?
Useful Definitions  

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