CCHE ANNOUNCES GRANT ALLOCATIONS TO 79 MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

The California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE) Board met April 27-28, 2006 in Sacramento to hear presentations from 53 grant applicants for the Endowment's second round of Proposition 40 bond funds. The CCHE Board grouped organizations into divisions so that the organizations would compete amongst entities with similar budgets. Also in this second round of distributions, two types of applications were accepted: Project Grants for capital projects and Planning Grants for planning activities related to capital projects.

At the conclusion of the 2-day meeting, the Board voted to reserve approximately $43 million for 45 applicants from the Project Grants 34 from the Planning Grants. To review the complete list of grants awarded, see http://www.library.ca.gov/PressReleases/pr_060506.cfm. CCHE received 263 total applications in this round. The total those applicants requested was approximately $268 million, an amount that shows the tremendous need for this program.

GENERAL STATISTICS ABOUT MUSEUMS IN CALIFORNIA

As reported in the last edition of CAM e-News, CAM recently released a key report about museums statewide which is now available online. About California Museums provides an overview of the state's museums in 2005, featuring data and statistics about their operations. The key findings paint a picture of the state's museums as educational assets to schoolchildren and citizens that are actively engaged in community partnerships. CAM thanks the 134 California museums who completed this comprehensive survey last Winter to help the field understand the overall trends and challenges.

About California Museums is available on the publications page of CAM's website at CAM e-News and Other Publications. The report includes statistics such as median admission prices, attendance figures, school children served annually, etc. To read an interpretation of this data, see the 4/26/06 edition of CAM e-News.

CAM will be releasing more reports in the coming weeks and months. The Needs Assessment of California Museums will be available in a few weeks on our website and it is estimated that The Financial and Salary Survey of California Museums and The Impact of Museums on the California State Economy will be available sometime in June. These surveys were completed by the Public Research Institute at San Francisco State University with grant support from the Getty Foundation. Additional grant support is provided by the Irvine Foundation for the distribution of these reports. Please contact Celeste DeWald, CAM Executive Director, at (831) 471-9970 or cam@calmuseums.org with any questions or comments.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

POSTAL RATE INCREASE PROPOSED FOR MAY 2007
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that the U.S. Postal Service proposed new rates last week for nonprofits. The proposal would increase postage costs for charities by 8.4 percent. The new rates are not expected to take effect until at least May 2007.

MUSEUM PODCAST DIRECTORY PUBLISHED
Would you like to learn more about museums and podcasting? Check out the growing directory of museums now podcasting programs, tours, and more on their web sites. There are several from California, including the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, de Young Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California Academy of Sciences, Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Culture, and the Skirball Cultural Center. See the museum podcasting directory at http://museumpods.com/id31.html.

HISTORY CHANNEL "SAVE OUR HISTORY" GRANTS DUE JUNE 2, 2006
The Save Our History program is designed to encourage collaboration between history organizations and schools or youth groups. Support is available to fund hands-on, experiential educational projects that teach students about their local history and actively engage them in its preservation. Proposed projects must focus on preserving a significant aspect of community history. The deadline is June 2nd and the awards are $10,000 or less. For additional information, see http://www.saveourhistory.com/pres_org/grants.html.

SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON NONPROFITS ISSUED TO CONGRESS
The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, a group of 24 leaders from a wide range of public charities and private foundations, released a supplement to the final report it issued to Congress last June. The report offered more than 120 actions to be taken by Congress, the Internal Revenue Service and charities to strengthen the transparency, governance and accountability of the charitable sector. The supplemental report focuses on nine areas: international grantmaking, charitable solicitation, compensation of trustees of charitable trusts, prudent investor standard, nonprofit conversion transactions, taxation on sales of donated property, consumer credit counseling organizations, disclosure of unrelated business activities, and federal court equity powers and standing to sue. It also incorporates input from people across the charitable community. Read more or download the reports at http://www.nonprofitpanel.org.

MITSUBISHI FOUNDATION FUNDS PROGRAMS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations in areas where their company has facilities. In California, there are locations in Cypress, Irvine, Oakland, San Diego, Santa Clara, and El Monte, Garden Grove. Priority is given to projects that promote inclusion of young people with disabilities to have full access to educational, vocational and recreational opportunities and to participate alongside their non-disabled peers. The concept paper is due June 1, 2006 and grant amounts range from $20,000 to $50,000. For additional information, see http://www.meaf.org/.

AASLH’S SUMMER WORKSHOP SERIES
The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) is offering several workshops this summer. Digitization and Museums will be held at the Center for Oral and Public History at California State University in Fullerton, CA (near Los Angeles) on June 14-16, at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle, WA on July 26-28, and at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, OH on August 23-25. On August 10-12, 2006, Collections Camp will be held at the beautiful Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, KY. For more information visit http://aaslh.org/workshop.htm.

PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE OF CA RELEASES SURVEY RESULTS ON EDUCATION AND THE ARTS
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released the results of a special survey on education. Funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the survey includes a question on how important it is to Californians to include art and music as part of the curriculum. Six in 10 adults (58%) and likely voters (61%) say it is very important. Of those respondents favoring a varied curriculum (as opposed to a more basic curriculum), art and music are considered to be very important by African Americans (79%), Caucasians (60%), Latinos (54%), and Asians (48%). The report can be downloaded for free on the PPIC website at http://www.ppic.org/main/home.asp. The results of the arts education question can be found on page 12. (Excerpted from the California Alliance for Arts Education's ArtsEdMail, May 2, 2006.)

ORAL HISTORY WORKSHOP
A three-day workshop, titled Be Part of History: Oral History Training Workshop, will provide the training necessary for participants to launch their own oral history projects. While drawing on references and examples in the performing arts, the workshop will be equally appropriate for those involved in museum studies, anthropology, institutional history, social history, family history, personal history, master’s or doctoral studies, or other projects. The 11th annual workshop will be presented at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum, July 6-8. For more information go to www.sfpalm.org.

AAM ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF THE 2006 EXCELLENCE IN PEER REVIEW SERVICE AWARDS
The American Association of Museums (AAM) recently announced the recipients of the 2006 Excellence in Peer Review Service Awards. This award honors individuals who have shown outstanding professional dedication and service to the museum field through AAM's Museum Assessment Program (MAP) and Accreditation Program. The awards were presented at the 2006 AAM Annual Meeting in Boston. This year's recipients include: Charles Browne, Executive Director, Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium, Vermont; Greta Brunschwyler, Director, Nevada State Museum and Historical Society, Nevada; Stephen Fleischman, Director, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Wisconsin; Lawrence Sommer, Retired Director, Nebraska State Historical Society, Nebraska; Tony Mollica, Executive Director, Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut, Connecticut; and Charles Gleaves, Director, Kingwood Center, Ohio. More information about the Peer Review program is available at www.aam-us.org/getinvolved/pr.

MARSHALL FIELD'S COMMUNITY GRANTS PROGRAM IN COMPANY LOCATIONS
Marshall Field's provides grants to nonprofit organizations in company locations. The closing date is May 31, 2006. Support is provided in the areas of education, arts and culture, and health and welfare. Support is provided for art and cultural programs and initiatives that make the arts accessible to all community members. Support is also provided for arts programs that enrich the lives of young people and challenge youth by stimulating creativity and affirming ownership of expression. For inquiries, contact your local Marshall Field’s store, call (612) 375-2300, or see http://www.fields.com/common/comm_grants.jsp.

STATE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES 2006 CULTURAL EXCHANGE GRANT COMPETITION
The U.S. State Department has announced the 2006 "Arts Exchanges on International Issues" grant competition. The grant supports projects that engage underserved youth in selected countries through innovative arts and arts education programming, as well as those that build partnerships between U.S. and overseas nonprofit arts and cultural organizations. Project participants may be professional artists, arts educators, arts administrators, youth, or other arts and cultural experts of nonprofit arts organizations with 501(c)3 status. The proposed program must be a two-way exchange of people and should reach communities with limited access to existing arts educational programs. The application deadline is May 11, 2006. For more information, go to the website at http://www.exchanges.state.gov/education/rfgps/maio11rfgp.htm . (Excerpted from the California Arts Council’s CAC Update, May 5, 2006.)

LEARNING IN THE ARTS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH FUNDING AVAILABLE
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is committed to the goal of enabling all Americans to enrich their lives through the arts. The critical gateway to a lifetime of appreciation of and engagement with the arts is a high-quality education in the arts. The Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth category offers funding for projects that help children and youth acquire appreciation, knowledge, and understanding of and skills in the arts. Projects must provide participatory learning and engagement of students with skilled artists, teachers, and excellent art. More info at http://www.nea.gov/Grants/apply/GAP07/LearningintheArts.html. Deadline: June 12, 2006. (Excerpted from the California Arts Council’s CAC Update, May 5, 2006.)

WESTERN MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER IN BOISE
The preliminary program for Frontier Without Limits: High Desert Rendezvous, the 2006 Western Museums Association Annual Meeting in Boise, Idaho, October 11-15, 2006 is now available on the web as a pdf download at http://www.westmuse.org/Boise%20preliminary%20Program.pdf. Conference scholarships are available to fund travel and registration for WMA members and non-member students who meet the qualifications. For application and guidelines go to http://www.westmuse.org/WandaChin_Appl.htm.

NATIVE AMERICAN INTERNSHIP AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Cornell University Library, via an IMLS grant, will conduct a preservation internship program focusing on Native American Library staff June 5-August 11, 2006. The program focuses on preservation management of library materials and sound conservation practice, and is designed to build a preservation infrastructure in tribal colleges and universities via a train-the-trainers model. There is funding available for travel to Ithaca, NY and a $5000 stipend for each intern. There is no charge for housing. Contact Barbara B. Eden at beb1@cornell.edu for an application. (Excerpted from the Western Museum Association's May e-Westmuse.)

SUMMER HISTORIC PRESERVATION COURSES AT THE CAMPBELL CENTER
Limited space is available in the following courses at the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies: Inorganic and Organic Materials: Documentation and Examination, July 6-12, 2006; Emergency Preparedness Response & Recovery, July 10-13, 2006; and Photographic Documentation and Digital Imaging of Museum Collections (July 10-13, 2006). Details can be found at the Center's web site http://campbellcenter.org. Registration deadlines for these courses are June 1, 2006.

SMALL MUSEUM ASSOCIATION 2007 ANNUAL CONFERENCE CALL FOR PAPERS
The Small Museums Association (SMA) is planning its 23rd Annual Conference in Ocean City, Maryland on February 26 - 28, 2007. They are soliciting proposals based on original research and based on a number of topics. Submit proposals to the address below by July 14, 2006; you will be notified by August 31, 2006. Return to and for questions contact: Michael DiPaolo, SMA Speakers Coordinator, The Lewes Historical Society 110 Shipcarpenter Street Lewes, Delaware 19958, Email mike@historiclewes.org, Phone: 302-645-7670, Fax: 302-645-2375.

Get the Word Out in CAM e-News!
Please email the CAM office at cam@calmuseums.org to list any announcements pertaining to professional development programs, grant opportunities, or related opportunities in future editions of CAM e-News and on the CAM web site. Since it is not possible to include all the details of an announcement, please include a phone number, web site address, or email address so interested parties can get additional information. Please do not exceed a limit of 150 words per listing. All announcements are subject to editing by CAM personnel.