CAM E-NEWS 9/13/2006

CAM e-News is a biweekly, electronic newsletter for members and supporters of the California Association of Museums (CAM). If you have any questions or suggestions regarding future editions of CAM e-News or any of our programs, please email CAM at editor@calmuseums.org.

CAM e-News is supported in part by a grant from Associated Foundations, Inc.

FIND YOUR MUSE... Be a member of the California Association of Museums! CAM is the only professional association specifically addressing the needs and interests of California's museums and relies on membership dues to support its programs and services. Membership benefits and fees are available at http://www.calmuseums.org/membership.F

PROPOSITION 84 ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT INCLUDES SUPPORT FOR MUSEUMS' CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

In November, Californians will be asked to vote on several infrastructure bonds, ranging in issues from transportation and education to housing and disaster preparedness. As museum professionals, the proposition to watch is Proposition 84, the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Bond, a $5.4 billion bond measure which primarily funds clean water, flood control, and conservation projects. Proposition 84 also provides $100 million for nature education and research facilities, including natural history museums, aquariums, and botanical gardens. If Proposition 84 passes, grants will be used for buildings, structures, and exhibit galleries that present the collections to inspire and educate the public and for marine wildlife conservation research equipment and facilities.

CAM, in addition to a number of museums and aquariums across the state, has signed on as a supporter of Proposition 84 to encourage the passage of this bond and provide funds to our state’s cultural institutions in fulfilling their roles as educational and research facilities. For additional information about Proposition 84 or to view a list of the museum supporters, visit http://www.yeson84.com/.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

EXHIBIT HALL, SPONSORSHIPS, AND ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2007 CAM CONFERENCE STILL AVAILABLE!
If you are interested in becoming an exhibitor, advertiser, and/or sponsor, space is still available! The Vendor and Consultant Prospectus (190 KB) is available at http://www.calmuseums.org/conferences_and_workshops/Vendor_Consultant_Prospectus.pdf. This prospectus is for consultants and museum vendors who wish to showcase or advertise their products and services at the conference or support this professional development program through sponsorships. Please feel to contact the CAM office at (831) 471-9970 or admin@calmuseums.org if you have any questions.

NEW PROJECT AIMED AT RECRUITING AND SUPPORTING NEXT GENERATION OF MUSEUM LEADERS
The Convergence of Museum Talent Project is a web-based project to recognize and support the next generation of museum leaders, spearheaded by Qm2. Tomorrow’s generation of museum leaders are individuals born between 1961 and 1981 who have demonstrated creativity or innovation in leadership, learning, or organizational change capacity. This generation is the thirteenth generation since the country was founded, termed the “13ers,” and may not look, act, or be positioned like today’s executive directors and board presidents. The Convergence of Museum Talent Project website includes an online feature for colleagues to recommend future leaders as well as an online repository of related resources. To learn more, visit www.qm2.org/convergence.

FREE BOARD RECRUITMENT AND FUNDRAISING COURSES ON SEPTEMBER 14 IN SAN FRANCISCO
The Foundation Center in San Francisco is hosting two consecutive free workshops: Your Board and Fundraising: An Introductory Class for Small Nonprofits aimed at systematically getting board members involved in fundraising; and, Recruiting and Orienting New Board Members highlighting a national model for board recruitment that takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of the members of an organization's current board. To register or to learn more, please visit: http://foundationcenter.org/sanfrancisco/ybafsf.html or http://foundationcenter.org/sanfrancisco/wksf9_14.html.

ANNUAL CAN CONFERENCE TAKES PLACE IN LOS ANGELES, OCTOBER 26 - 27
The 15th Annual Conference of the California Association of Nonprofits (CAN) will take place in Los Angeles Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27, 2006. Those who have worked in the nonprofit sector for less than five years, have a nonprofit budget of less than $250,000, or are registering with three or more people from the same institution receive 20% off registration fees. A full program description can be found at http://www.canonprofits.org/buildingstrongnonprofits/index.html#_Concurrent_Half-Day_Workshops.

WHALE TAIL GRANTS PROGRAM ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR MARINE AND COASTAL EDUCATION FOR YOUTH AND ADULTS
The Whale Tail Grants program distributes funds from sales of the Whale Tail License Plate in support of programs that teach California’s children and the general public to value and take action to improve the health of the state’s marine and coastal resources. This grants program focuses on reaching communities that are currently poorly served in terms of marine and coastal education. Deadline to apply is November 15, 2006. For information, visit http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/plate/plgrant.html or email COAST4U@coastal.ca.gov.

DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR WMA CONFERENCE IS SEPTEMBER 27
The final registration deadline for the Western Museums Association (WMA) 2006 Annual Meeting from October 11-15 in Boise, Idaho, Frontier Without Limits: High Desert Rendezvous is September 27. The final program for the annual meeting is now available on the web as a .pdf download at http://www.westmuse.org/Boise%20preliminary%20Program.pdf.

NEH ANNOUNCES DIGITAL HUMANITIES START-UP GRANTS
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is accepting proposals for the planning or initial stages of digital initiatives in all areas of the humanities. Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants may involve research that brings new digital approaches to the study of the humanities or that examines the implications of the use of emerging technologies for humanities scholarship. Deadline to apply is November 15, 2006. For more information, please visit http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/digitalhumanitiesstartup.html.

34TH MCN CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN PASADENA, NOVEMBER 8-11
The 34th Museum Computer Network (MCN) Conference, Access to Assets: Return on Investment, will be held in Pasadena, CA from November 8-11, 2006. The conference will explore useful ways to access technology while networking to improve the bottom line. A primary focus will be maximizing the value of technology collateral, keeping in mind that while the bottom line is not always financial, sometimes it’s intellectual, and sometimes, it’s just for the greater good. For more information about the conference, visit the website http://www.mcn.edu/conferences/index.asp.

NEH ANNOUNCES NATIONAL DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROGRAM AWARDS
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is soliciting proposals from institutions to participate in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). Ultimately, over a period of approximately 20 years, NDNP will create a national, digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1836 and 1922 from all the states and U.S. territories. This searchable database will be permanently maintained at the Library of Congress (LOC) and be freely accessible via the Internet. One organization within each U.S. state or territory will receive an award to collaborate with relevant state partners in this effort. Deadline to apply is November 1, 2006. See http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/ndnp.html for more information.

NEA ANNOUNCES NEW UNIVERSAL DESIGN (ACCESSIBILITY) LEADERSHIP PROJECT
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is looking for proposals to carry out a project that will create greater public awareness of and demand for universal designed environments, by educating designers, consumers, educators, developers, city planners and others on this important design process. The successful proposal must outline a project that will involve collaboration with the targeted audiences, using innovative strategies to meet the broad social need, while bringing universal design into the mainstream. NOTE: Only one award is expected to be made in the amount of $50,000. Deadline to apply is November 2, 2006. For more information, see http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/RFP/UniversalDesign.pdf. For more information about universal design in museums, refer to the recommendations documented in Envisioning Universal Design: Creating an Inclusive Society at http://www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/ud/contents.html.

CCAHA WORKSHOPS REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 28
The deadline to register for the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) fall workshops is on September 28. The CCAHA workshops, held in Portland, Oregon, will take place on October 12 and 13, 2006. The two days will each feature a specialized theme: Fundraising for Preservation and Conservation (October 12) and Telling the Story: Promoting Cultural Collections (October 13). Workshop brochure and registration form can be downloaded at http://www.ccaha.org/workshop_cal.php. For more information, please contact CCAHA at www.ccaha.org or contact CCAHA's Preservation Services Office at (215) 545.0613 or ccaha@ccaha.org.

THE FOUNDATION CENTER OFFERS ONLINE TRAINING COURSE TO MASTER PROPOSAL WRITING
The Foundation Center is hosting an online training course, titled Proposal Writing: The State of Need, to help grantseekers develop skills in constructing a compelling state of need. The course includes interactive exercises and assignments, case studies, a final exam, and a printable certificate of completion. Lessons can be taken at any pace, and can be reviewed often. For more information, visit http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10004059/statementofneed.

TELL YOUR TEACHERS! TARGET LAUNCHES NEW MUSEUM FIELD TRIP GRANTS PROGRAM
As part of the Target (http://www.target.com) commitment to supporting education, the new Target Field Trip Grants program will award U.S. educators grants of $1,000 each to fund a field trip for their students. Target Field Trip Grants may be used to fund trips ranging from visits to art museums and environmental projects to cultural events and civic experiences. Up to eight hundred grants will be awarded. Grants are awarded to educators, teachers, principals, para-professionals, and/or classified staff. Applications must be submitted electronically between September 1, 2006, and November 1, 2006. Only one submission per applicant will be accepted. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2006. For more information, visit http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-002537.

ONLINE VOLUNTARISM ON THE RISE ACCORDING TO VOLUNTEERMATCH
As Internet access improves worldwide, online voluntarism is growing, particularly among African and Latin American organizations needing assistance. According to VolunteerMatch in San Francisco, 14 percent of its volunteer opportunities in 2005 were virtual, compared with 1 percent in 1998. In addition, online volunteers and the organizations they help generally communicate by e-mail or instant messaging, rarely by telephone. This saves often-limited funds and other resources by not having to provide work spaces and other support. For more information, visit http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10004064/story.

STATE OF CONFIDENCE IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR DECREASED IN 2006
In August, 2006, GuideStar.org asked is subscribers, "Do you believe that the public has more or less confidence in the nonprofit sector than it did five years ago?" Compared to a poll conducted in 2004, public confidence has decreased because of the following reasons: scandals in the sector (73%), people don’t understand the complexity of the sector (48%); nonprofit executives’ salaries (45%); low program ratios (12%); and, it's much easier to get information on nonprofits today (9%). For additional information and detailed results, see http://www.guidestar.org/news/features/confidence_2006.jsp. (Excerpted from Guidestar.org Newsletter September 2006.)

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR MUSEUMS LOCATED IN TOURIST DESTINATIONS
Tourism Cares' Worldwide Grant Program distributes charitable grants to worthy tourism-related nonprofit organizations worldwide for capital improvements and other programs. The deadline to submit letters of inquiry for the Tourism Cares' Worldwide Grant Program is November 1, 2006. For more information, see http://www.tourismcaresfortomorrow.org/TourismCares/What+We+Do/Grants/Worldwide+Grant+Program.

NEH CHALLENGE GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR AMERICA'S HISTORIC PLACES
As part of its We the People initiative, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is seeking proposals for challenge grants designed to help institutions and organizations secure long-term improvements in and support for humanities activities that explore significant themes and events in American history. The endowment particularly welcomes proposals for programming at America’s historic places (historic sites, neighborhoods, communities or larger geographical regions) as well as applications that address this theme through the use of digital technologies. Deadline to apply is February 1, 2007; optional draft proposals should be submitted six weeks before the deadline, by December 21, 2006. Grants will be awarded in the amount of $1,000,000. For detailed information, please visit http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/wtpchallenge.html.

SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION RELEASES CULTURAL PATRONAGE STUDY, INCLUDING MUSEUM USAGE
The first in a series of regional studies from the San Diego Foundation, pARTicipate San Diego: The Case for Increased Cultural Patronage (36 pages, PDF) found that arts organizations in San Diego County are under-supported compared to other communities, despite residents' involvement in cultural activities. Funded by the James Irvine Foundation and U.S. Bancorp, the report outlines the community foundation's long-term plan to translate community involvement into increased participation, larger audiences, and greater financial support for the arts. To view the entire report, see http://www.participatesandiego.org/ArtsandCultureReport_FINAL.pdf

Get the Word Out in CAM e-News!
Please email the CAM office at editor@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.