California Museum Month & Advocacy Day

May is
California Museums Month!

Join CAM in recognizing the positive impact museums
make on communities across California.

Museums Advocacy Day is sponsored in part by
Governmental Advocates
Townsend Public Affairs
Maptitude Mapping Software

Together, we can have a stronger voice in communicating why museums are unique and valuable educational organizations that benefit the state’s citizens and communities. The following are ways you can still participate and help make a difference.

1) Invite your State Senator and Assemblymember to visit your museum in May (view template)

2) Write a "letter to the editor" for your local paper (view template)

3) Partner with other museums in your area to send a joint press release that promotes all your programs during the month of May (view template)

4) Host a behind-the-scenes tour for your city and county officials and other local dignitaries (view template)

5) Pitch an op-ed piece to your local paper that talks about the role of museums and why they are important (view template)

For additional ideas, click on California Museum Month Activities. See below for additional information and tools.

2009 Museums Advocacy Day Recap

Information About California Museums

Tools for Meeting with Your Legislator(s)

Tools for Writing a Letter to the Editor

Tools for Hosting a California Museum Month Event

California Museum Month Toolkits

California Museum Month Resolution

2008 Museum Advocacy Day Recap

2009 MUSEUMS ADVOCACY DAY

California museums had a presence in the offices of our elected officials on May 5, 2009 as museum advocates and professionals from museums across the state met to discuss legislative issues and demonstrate how museums are centers for learning that create stronger communities. Collectively, our participants visited 40% of the offices at the State Legislature! The day also featured a fun Museum Activities Fair with engaging educational activities from art, history, and science museums (view photographs. The Museum Activities Fair also got coverage on a local television station (view news clip).

CAM prepared a 2009 Museum Advocacy Day Toolkit to help inform and guide participation in the Museum Advocacy Day. The toolkit included the following key components:

• Legislative Brief on AB 700, a bill which would allocate 20% of state sales and use tax revenues derived from art-related sales to the California Art Council (view brief)

• Legislative Brief on AB 1245, a bill which would establish a procedure by which the Secretary of State could recover official governmental records belonging to the state or a local agency that are found in possession of non-governmental entities or persons (view brief)

• Position Paper on the need for increased capital funding for museums (view brief)

• Position Paper on the role museums could play in new green policies and programs (view brief)

• Position Paper about museums and their role as economic engines in communities (view brief)

To learn more, review the Museums Advocacy Toolkit or contact Celeste DeWald, CAM Executive Director at (831) 471-9970 or cam@calmuseums.org.

INFORMATION ABOUT CALIFORNIA MUSEUMS

California museum professionals can utilize two publications when advocating for museums across the state:

About California Museums Fact Sheet (pdf, 60 KB)
This two page document outlines data and information about California museums based on surveys and other sources.

California Museums Brochure (pdf, 773 KB)
The California museums brochure, full of images of museums, provides an overview of the essential programs and services California museums provide their communities and the state's citizens. It also outlines CAM's programs and initiatives.

TOOLS FOR MEETING WITH YOUR LEGISLATOR(S)

There are many reasons why museum leaders should know their state legislators. California Museum Month provides an opportunity for museum professionals to reach out to their state legislators and invite them to visit their museums and establish a relationship. These resources can help simplify this process:

Four Reasons Why You Should Know Your Legislators (pdf, 111 KB)

Pointers and Sample Invitation Letter (pdf, 54 KB)

Sample Thank You Letter (pdf, 36 KB)

TOOLS FOR WRITING A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OR OP-ED

Writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper is a quick, simple, and free method of raising the public's awareness of a topic. Writing an op-ed for your paper is more involved but has a lot more visibility. These resources will help museum leaders prepare letters to your local paper to promote California Museum Month:

Writing a Letter to the Editor (pdf, 35 KB)

Pitching an Opinion Editorial (pdf, 36 KB)

TOOLS FOR HOSTING A CALIFORNIA MUSEUM MONTH EVENT

Are you hosting a public program in May - or perhaps opening a new exhibition? California Museum Month provides you with an opportunity to leverage promotion for your program with a statewide resolution and public relations campaign. These resources can help you prepare a press release or public service announcement that connects your program with California Museum Month:

Draft Press Release (pdf, 39 KB)

Draft Public Service Announcement (pdf, 66 KB)

Host a Behind-the-Scenes Tour (pdf, 43 KB)

CALIFORNIA MUSEUM MONTH TOOLKITS

The 2006 and 2007 California Museum Month Toolkits were publications made available to individual and institutional CAM members and were supported by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation. The 2008 toolkit was made available to attendees of the California Museums Advocacy Day. The 2009 toolkit will be available soon. To download complete versions, click on the following links:

2009 California Museum Month Toolkit (pdf, 926 KB)

2008 California Museum Month Toolkit (pdf, 1.34 MB)

2007 California Museum Month Toolkit (pdf, 587 KB)

2006 California Museum Month Toolkit (pdf, 712 KB)

CALIFORNIA MUSEUM MONTH RESOLUTION

At the 2009 CAM conference in late February, California State Senator Leland Yee presented the 2009 California Museums Month resolution to the CAM Board of Directors. Senator Yee, Assistant President pro Tem of the California State Senate, spoke candidly and eloquently about the need to support museums across the state, because they are the stewards of history and culture. To view a photograph of Senator Yee and Phil Kohlmetz, Chair of CAM's Legislative Committee, see http://calmuseums.info/blog/?p=14.

2008 MUSEUM MONTH RECAP

In February 2008, Assemblyman Mike Villines introduced ACR 100 (http://www.calmuseums.org/news/ACR_100.pdf) to proclaim May 2008 as California Museum Month and highlight the vital role museums play in educating our state’s students and citizens.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation to "extend warm greetings" for California Museum Month. To read the entire proclamation, visit http://www.calmuseums.org/museum_month/2008_proclamation.pdf. Governor Schwarzenegger wrote, "I commend the outstanding work you are doing to promote our state's museums and enrich our state. Our museums offer millions of people a chance to remember the past, better understand our culture and embrace our heritage. Their research enlightens visitors, their exhibits provide us with access to remarkable artifacts, and they serve as a wonderful resource for students in expanding their minds and sparking curiosity."

California museums had a presence in the offices of our elected officials in 2008 as over 50 museum advocates and professionals from approximately 30 museums across the state met to discuss legislative issues, meet with their elected officials, and enjoy a late afternoon reception on the lawn of the State Capitol. In addition to our museum colleagues, over 20 state agency representatives and 20 legislators and/or staff representatives participated in order to learn and celebrate how California museums strengthen communities. To see photographs from the Museum Advocacy Day, visit http://www.calmuseums.org/museum_month/MuseumDay2008.html.

CAM prepared a 2008 Museum Advocacy Day Toolkit to help inform and guide participation in the Museum Advocacy Day. The toolkit included the following key components:

• Legislative Brief on AB 2687, a bill that would require the Department of Parks and Recreation to develop guidelines for a competitive grant process that would begin implementation of the park and nature component of Proposition 84. Proposition 84, approved by voters in 2006, makes $100 million in bond funds available for grants for nature education and research facilities and equipment to nonprofit organizations and public institutions, namely natural history museums, aquariums, and botanical gardens.
• Legislative Brief on AB 2728, a bill which would allocate 20% of state sales and use tax revenues derived from art-related sales to the California Art Council at a time when the California state budget is balanced.
• Position Paper on the need for increased capital funding for museums. This document outlines the need for the legislature to include museums in a future state bond. California museums are part of the state’s infrastructure and are significant contributors to a valued quality of life, healthy tourism, K-12 education, and lifelong learning.

To learn more, review the Museum Advocacy Day toolkit at http://www.calmuseums.org/museum_month/2008_Advocacy_Toolkit.pdf or contact Celeste DeWald, CAM Executive Director at (831) 471-9970 or cam@calmuseums.org.