Pre-Conference Workshops

All workshops will take place on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at the Waterfront Hotel or an offsite local museum from our Host Committee, as noted. Registration required; additional cost. Not included in conference registration. Transportation to off-site workshop not provided.

Disasters are Looming, Museums are Booming: Preparing and Adapting for the Changing Californian Landscape

Collections, Intermediate
Cost: $45
Time: 8:00AM–11:00AM, 1:00PM–3:00PM (break for lunch)
Location: USS Hornet - Sea, Air, and Space Museum, 707 W Hornet Ave, Alameda, CA 94501
The frequency and type of disasters affecting California and its collections has changed over the years. This one-day workshop will focus on the fundamentals of disaster preparedness, including creating an emergency plan, assembling a disaster kit, collections recovery skills, prioritization of disaster response steps and hands-on care of wet materials.
Christina Bean, Associate Conservator of Paper, Balboa Art Conservation Center
Morgan Wylder, Associate Conservator of Paintings, Balboa Art Conservation Center
Emma Poggioli, Registrar, Balboa Art Conservation Center

Learning Outcomes: Participants will gain the skills to work effectively within their museum spaces and teams to prepare for and respond to disasters, including how to engage with other departments during disaster preparedness, which supplies are truly necessary for disaster prep, and how to hold in-house training drills for staff.

Inclusion for People with Disabilities – Creating Your Roadmap

Multidisciplinary, Introductory
Cost:
$15
Time: 8:00AM–11:30AM
Location: Chart Room, Waterfront Hotel
Looking to improve accessibility for people with disabilities? Learn how a museum and zoo created a truly inclusive and accessible facility. Participate in activities to practice the process and draft your own roadmap. Topics: disability rights, strategies and plans, engaging users and advisors, gaining institutional commitment, staff training, prototyping, fundraising.
Tina Keegan, Exhibits Director, Palo Alto Jr. Museum & Zoo
Lisa Eriksen, Principal, Lisa Eriksen Consulting / Former Accessibility Coordinator, Palo Alto Jr. Museum & Zoo
Maia Werner-Avidon, Principal, MWA Insights
Kathryn Hedges, Principal, Splendid Colors / Accessibility Advisor, Palo Alo Jr. Museum & Zoo

Learning Outcomes: After attending this program, participants will learn how to engage advisors and people with disabilities in the development process, test out ideas and gain institutional commitment. During the workshop, they will learn how to apply lessons learned from our project by drafting an access and inclusion plan for their museum.

Keys to Successful and Collaborative Grant Writing

External Relations, Introductory
Cost:
$5
Time: 1:00PM–2:30PM
Location: Chart Room, Waterfront Hotel
Writing grant proposals for Foundations and Government Agencies requires collaboration between development, curatorial, collections, education, and community partners. This session will combine individual grant writing instruction with exercises to guide you towards more collaborative work, improve your focus and writing, as well as listen actively to your colleagues.
Ariel Weintraub, Associate Director, Institutional Giving, Oakland Museum of California
Learning Outcomes: Participants will receive professional writing tips, including how to prepare for and construct a clear, persuasive grant proposal. This session will help both fundraisers and general museum staff members understand that soliciting income is a process that includes many elements and questions, and is best accomplished by including multiple voices.

Museums & Tax Credits: Expanding Traditional Museum Fundraising

Museum Operations, Introductory
Cost:
 $50
Time: 2:00PM–4:30PM
Location: Boardroom 282, Waterfront Hotel
Whether through capital projects or operations, tax credits expand traditional fundraising tools and increase the capacity of museums to support their missions. This workshop brings two tax credit experts to talk about historic tax credits, New Markets, Employee Retention, and Paid Leave tax credits, moderated by a museum executive director. 
Daniel Ronan, Executive Director, Flower Hill Foundation
Robert Pascual, Financial Management Consultant
Adam Markwood, Director of Investments, Brian Wishneff & Associates
Chitra Aiyar, Nonprofit Tax Consultant
Learning Outcomes: After attending this program, participants will be able to confidently assess whether tax credits are a solution for their museum and have the information and capacity to ask necessary questions of their HR and Development departments to explore various types of tax credits benefiting their museum missions.