Advocacy Update – Vermont Preserves State’s Charitable Deduction
Vermont legislators voted to protect the existing state tax incentive for charitable giving, thus rejecting separate approaches passed earlier in the session that would have restricted charitable deductions. The final deal exempts the charitable deduction and medical expenses from a new cap on itemized deductions. In March, the House passed a bill that would have capped all itemized deductions (including mortgage interest, health costs, and charitable donations) at $15,000 for individuals and $31,000 for couples. The Senate version would have preserved the charitable deduction for state-based nonprofits, but denied taxpayers tax deductions for donations to nonprofits that do not both reside and operate in the state. A similar provision was ruled unconstitutional by the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2004. Throughout the legislative session, CommonGood Vermont and other nonprofit leaders demonstrated to lawmakers the value of the work of charitable nonprofits and the adverse consequences of limiting giving incentives. On May 13th, the Governor held a news conference on the statehouse steps, where he said, “Limiting the ability of Vermonters to give to charities is not just a bad idea, it would be terrible economic policy. Charities and nonprofits in this state not only provide services to our neighbors in need, they employ our neighbors, drive economic activity, and contribute greatly to our state’s economic success.”
Advocacy Update – Connecticut
The votes have all been counted and Connecticut hopes to have a new two-year budget. For Connecticut Humanities, budget cuts mean a 6.25% budget reduction which in real dollars is about $127,000 in FY 2015-16. The Connecticut League of History Organizations, thanks to continued financial support from partner Connecticut Humanities, will remain at its present funding level. The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation receives funding through the Community Investment Act (CIA) funds. Originally, Governor Malloy proposed a 100% sweep of Community Investment Act Funds from Jan. 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017 and in his deficiency bill he proposed an additional sweep of $15 million. The budget approved Wednesday, June 3 by the legislature added back 50% of that cut. At present there is no sweep of funds to address the deficiency. There is approximately $48 million of committed and uncommitted funds in the CIA account at the current time that remains available for all the sectors. The CTHP Maintenance and Repairs grant program was eliminated from all line items. Heartfelt thanks to all of you who supported this all-out effort to support heritage and historic preservation.
Public History Employer Survey
Even as job prospects for historians have improved with the passing of the Great Recession, questions about the overall health of public history remain. To address these concerns, the National Council on Public History has organized a task force that includes American Association for State and Local History, the American Historical Association, and the Organization of American Historians to examine how the current and future needs and expectations of employers of public historians match up with the training provided by public history programs. As an initial step, the task force has developed this online survey for public history employers. We urge NEMA members to take the survey. The task force needs a large pool of responses for its efforts to succeed.
Anyone involved in hiring public historians is eligible to take the survey. Respondents do not have to be responsible for final hiring decisions, only involved in evaluating applicants. Public history, for our purposes, encompasses the traditional fields of archives, museums, historical interpretation, historic preservation, and historical consulting as well as emerging areas of expertise such as digital media. If you think of someone as a public historian, whether or not they self-identify as one, they probably are. Click here to take the survey.
Museum Assessment Program
The American Alliance of Museums is now accepting applications through July 1 for the next Museum Assessment Program (MAP) cycle, to start in late summer 2015. MAP helps small and mid-sized museums strengthen operations, plan for the future and meet national standards through self-study and a site visit by a peer reviewer. Slots in MAP are non-competitive, costs to participate range from free to $750, and museums can chose from three different assessements. MAP is offered to the field through a cooperative agreement between the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the American Alliance of Museums, which allows museums to get $4,000 worth of consultative resources and services for low-to-no cost. Deadline is July 1.
Leadership New England Study Identifies Key Shifts to Help Nonprofits Thrive
The recent Third Sector New England survey revealed that there is a great deal of knowledge about how to strengthen nonprofit effectiveness. Several decades of field-building and the hard-won experience of nonprofit leaders, capacity builders and funders have given us a solid understanding of what needs to be done: investing in nonprofits so that they have what is needed to meet their missions and thrive. They recommend some essential shifts to help nonprofits thrive. Three Essential Shifts: #1 SHIFT the framework for succession planning to deep sustainability; #2 SHIFT the vision for governance; and #3 SHIFT the structural paradigm to robust investment in the sector. Click here to read the report.
Taking Out the Guesswork: A Guide to Using Research to Build Arts Audiences
The Wallace Foundation recently released Taking Out the Guesswork: A Guide to Using Research to Build Arts Audiences. Drawing on the work of arts organizations that took part in a Wallace Foundation initiative to build arts audiences, the publication discusses three important uses of audience research: to learn about potential audiences; to develop more effective promotional materials; and to assess progress toward audience-building goals. It also details how to carry out the research effectively for each of those purposes, in both low-cost and more elaborate ways.
TD Charitable Foundation
TD Charitable Foundation grants will be awarded to area non-profit and public institutions to create meaningful change and improvement in the communities.
National Trust Preservation Funds
Grants from National Trust Preservation Funds (NTPF) are intended to encourage preservation at the local level by providing seed money for preservation projects. These grants help stimulate public discussion, enable local groups to gain the technical expertise needed for particular projects, introduce the public to preservation concepts and techniques, and encourage financial participation by the private sector. Application deadlines are June 1, and October 1, 2015.
National Trust for Historic Preservation Emergency Funds
Intervention funding from the National Trust for Historic Preservation is awarded in emergency situations when immediate and unanticipated work is needed to save a historic structure, such as when a fire or other natural disaster strikes. Funding is restricted to nonprofit organizations and public agencies. Emergency grants typically range from $1,000 to $5,000, but unlike the majority of our grant funding, a cash match is not required for intervention projects. Contact us if you believe your project qualifies for this type of funding. Please note: emergency funding is very limited. Click here for details.
Google Ad Grants
Google Ad Grants offer eligible non-profit organizations up to $10,000 per month in in-kind AdWords™ advertising to promote their missions and initiatives on Google.com. You create advertisement and key word searches that relate your nonprofit, services, and organization as a whole, and when people use Google to search for related offerings online, your ad may appear next to the search results. When people click the ad, they will be directed to your website. For full program details, click here.
Terra Foundation
Terra Foundation Offers Funding for American Art Exhibitions, Deadline: August 1, 2015 (Letters of Inquiry). In recognition of the importance of experiencing original works of art, the Terra Foundation for American Art supports exhibitions that enlarge the understanding and appreciation of historical American art made between 1500 and 1980. To be eligible, exhibitions that take place internationally or in Chicago must be aimed at the general public, scholars, or both; exhibitions that take place only in the United States but outside of Chicago must present historical American art in an international context and be intended for a scholarly audience.
Book Proposal
The Editorial Board for AASLH's book series with Rowman & Littlefield Press is actively seeking new book proposals. If you're a good writer and have something to share with your professional colleagues, they would like to hear from you! In addition, they are always seeking proposals for the Interpreting History series. Books in this series are for local history organizations to turn to when thinking of ways to better use their own collections/local stories while relating to larger themes in history. Here are some topics we are seeking proposals for but please don't feel limited by them. Click here for complete details.
Invite Congress to Visit Your Museum Week
The American Alliance of Museums wants you to “Invite Congress to Visit Your Museum Week,” August 8-15, 2015. A great step-by-step How To Guide can be found here.
2015 Accreditation Commission Nominating Committee and Schedule Announced
One of the features of the American Alliance of Museum's recent reinvention of accreditation initiative is a formal, inclusive and transparent Accreditation Commissioner selection process which is led by a cross-discipline nominating committee and allows individuals to self-nominate. Meet the 2015 Accreditation Commission Nominating Committee members. The nomination period opens in early June and closes Aug. 3. New Commissioners will be appointed by the Alliance board in the fall. Complete details can be found here.
Let's Move!
As of the end of May, 2015 there 672 Let's Move! Institutions in all 50 states. Learn more about the Let’s Move campaign in museums here: http://www.imls.gov/about/letsmove.aspx.
Archive Grants
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) of the National Archives supports projects that promote access to America’s historical records to encourage understanding of our democracy, history, and culture. Numerous grant opportunities are available to support preservation, access, digitization, and engagement with historical records. Application deadlines are June 17 and October 8. Complete details at http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/.
Museums, Libraries, and Cultural Organizations grants
The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Museums, Libraries, and Cultural Organizations grants provide support for organizations that produce public programs in the humanities, including exhibitions, interpretations of historic places, sites or regions, book/film discussion programs, living history presentations, and other face-to-face programs at public venues. Planning grants support the early stages of project development, and implementation grants support final scholarly research and consultation, design development, production, and installation of a project for presentation to the public. Next deadline is August 12. Click here for complete details.
Angel Projects
The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC) offers grants of up to $1,000 toward the development and implementation of Angels Projects not associated with AIC’s Annual Meeting. Funds are to help defray organizational costs, necessary materials and supplies and other expenses such as marketing and publicity. Angels Projects pair conservators with collections that need care. A successful Angels Project includes local and regional publicity on the need for collections care and preservation. The next deadline for the receipt of applications is September 15. Click here for more information.
The GRAMMY Foundation® Grant Program
The GRAMMY Foundation® Grant Program, generously funded by The Recording Academy®, awards grants annually to organizations and individuals to support efforts that advance the archiving and preservation of the recorded sound heritage of North America for future generations, and research projects related to the impact of music on the human condition. The Grant Program funds scientific research projects, ($20,000 maximum award) and archiving and preservation projects ($20,000 maximum award for preservation implementation, $5,000 maximum award for assistance, assessment and/or consultation); A letter of inquiry is required before submission of a full application. The deadline each year for submitting letters of inquiry is October 1. For more information on the GRAMMY Foundation, please click here.
The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation
The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation provides mid-career grants of up to $15,000 to professionals working in the fields of historic preservation, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, environmental planning, architectural history and the decorative arts. The foundation will consider proposals for the research and/or the execution of the preservation-related projects in any of these fields. Projects will be evaluated based on a range of criteria, including the potential for the project to make a meaningful contribution to the academic and/or professional field of historic preservation in the United States, and that it demonstrates innovative thinking, original research and creative problem solving. Applications must be submitted by Fall 2015. Click here for details.
The Edwin S. Webster Foundation
The Edwin S. Webster Foundation will consider requests for capital programs, special projects or operating income. They support organizations with an emphasis on hospitals, medical research, education, youth agencies, cultural activities, and programs addressing the needs of minorities. Before submitting a request, please contact foundation administrator Michelle Jenney at: mjenney@gmafoundations.com. The deadlines are May 1 and November 1.
New England States Touring Grants
The New England Foundation for the Arts NEST (New England States Touring) funds presentations of New England-based performing artists from outside of a presenter’s state. To be eligible for NEST funding, applicants must: be a nonprofit organization, school, or government entity (Nonprofit organizations do not have to be arts organizations.); be based in New England; have a DUNS number. Applicants must be able to provide, if requested, documentation of their compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Applications must be submitted a minimum of three months in advance of the proposed project. Next deadline is September 1, 2015..
ArtWeek Boston
ArtWeek Boston is a collection of curated events and experiences throughout the city that highlights the quality and diversity of arts, culture, and creative community in Boston. ArtWeek strives to give a taste of the arts in Boston to arts amateurs and connoisseurs alike. Successful ArtWeek events are offerings that are NOT typically available to the general public (i.e. a performance ticket, museum admission, or gallery opening); however, they can easily link and leverage current arts offerings or they can be “creative teasers” for future shows/exhibits. They can also be unique to ArtWeek or they may be special VIP access events (limited to board members, donors, and/or other affiliates) that are temporarily made available to the general public during ArtWeek. All events should be experiential, creative, and compelling. Submissions are open to nonprofit 501(c) 3 organizations, artists, and businesses, but all events will require some type of partnership between an arts/cultural/entertainment entity and a neighborhood organization or business. This can be a creative link or connection to area businesses, neighborhood associations, restaurants, lodging partners, or other local organizations. The final deadline to be included is 5pm on August 7, 2015.
Connecticut Humanities Grants
Project planning and implementation grants.
Applications between $1,000 and $9,999: Application deadline: the first workday of January, April, July and October.
Applications between $10,000 and $50,000: Application deadline: the first workday of February, May, August and November.
Capacity Building Grants
Connecticut Humanities Capacity Building Grants strengthen organizations through focused work that helps them better understand their audiences, assets and operations. To qualify, applicant organizations must regularly provide humanities programming to the public. Capacity Grants fund: board assessment, board training, strategic planning, marketing planning, audience assessment, collections assessment in the service of public programming, and technology assessment and/or planning. Applications are due on a quarterly basis. The next deadline is October 1.
Good to Great Grant
This is a brand new grant program from the Connecticut Culture & Tourism with an application due date of July 10th. The goals of the grant is to fund projects/capital improvement that link art, history and tourism to enhance and transform the resident/visitor experiences of cultural and historical sites; to support projects that look beyond basic facilities repair or expansion towards new means of telling the stories of our cultural sites in engaging, meaningful, and relevant ways; to encourage collaborative projects which demonstrate a clear vision of how individual sites and organizations can effectively tie together local, regional or statewide cultural assets; and to expand opportunities for small to medium sized 501(c)3 cultural organizations which have received limited state funding support in the recent past. Read more and apply.
Community Outreach Grants
Maine Humanities Council offers Community Outreach grants (up to $1,000; next deadline August 1), which support a wide variety of public humanities projects, such as exhibits, lecture and film series, reading and discussion programs, symposia, cultural celebrations, etc. They also offer major grants (up to $7,500; draft application due September 1) to support a variety of larger humanities projects such as exhibits, conferences, films, and other initiatives. More information click here.
Infrastructure Grants
Maine Humanities Council Special Time Limited Grant Category: Infrastructure Grants. A special and time-limited grant program for organizations seeking to support permanent or long-term (10 year minimum) infrastructure projects. Deadline for Draft: August 7, 2015. Click here for complete details.
Project Grants
Mass Humanities Project Grants support public programming in the humanities including: humanities based civic conversations; oral history projects; public lecture, conference and panel discussion; walking tours; reading and discussion programs; audio projects; film and discussion programs; film pre-production and distribution; museum exhibitions and related programming, web sites, theatrical productions with post- or pre-performance discussion; and content-based professional development workshops for teachers. The standard Project Grant award is up to $5,000. The next Inquiry Form deadline is September 21, 2015. For complete information click here.
Community Grants Program
The NH Charitable Foundation's Community Grants Program is a broad, competitive program that responds to community needs within New Hampshire and our broader communities. It is designed to strategically advance an organization by providing operating support, funding for innovation to increase impact, reduce costs, and/or increase efficiency, and support for capacity-building activities or moment-in-time projects. Grants of more than $5,000 and up to $20,000 (in regions) or $25,000 (statewide organizations). Deadline: August 21, 2015. GrantSource will begin to accept concept papers on July 6.
Rock On Foundation
Founded by brothers Luke and Matt Bonner in early 2013, the Rock On Foundation works to increase community artistic and athletic opportunities in New Hampshire. The foundation generates funds in unique ways, including high-profile events intended to inspire and enhance host communities. It also collaborates with companies to provide co-branded products and services. To be eligible for a grant from the Rock On Foundation, all organizations must have 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service and be based in the state of New Hampshire. Municipalities are also welcome to apply. Funding requests must serve to increase community athletic or artistic opportunities. Deadline for submission is September 20, 2015. Click here for details.
Community Grants
The NH Charitable Foundation’s Community Grants program is a broad, competitive program that responds to community needs within New Hampshire and its border communities. It is designed to strategically advance an organization by providing operating support, funding for innovation to increase impact, reduce costs, and/or increase efficiency and support for capacity-building activities or moment-in-time projects. The next application deadline for Express Grants ($5,000 or less) is August 14. Concept papers for Project Grants or Operating Support Grants (more than $5,000) are due August 21. Click here for details.
Community Project Grants
New Hampshire Humanities Council is awarding two types of Community Project Grants in 2015. Quick Grants offer up to $1000 to support simple, single-event or short-series projects, and are available in as little as six weeks from submission deadline. The next Quick Grant application deadline is July 10 or September 10. Quarterly Grants of up to $10,000 enable organizations to design and carry out larger projects that attract diverse audiences, engage minds, and stimulate meaningful community dialogue. The next mandatory letter of interest for a Quarterly Grant is July 15 or October 15.
Mini Grant Program
Rhode Island Council for the Humanities' Mini Grant Program for requests up to $2,000 invites individual researchers, nonprofit organizations, and schools to apply for funding in support of public humanities projects, documentary film, civic education initiatives, and individual research. Mini Grant Deadlines are February 1, May 1, 2015, and August 1, 2015.
Arts Access Grants and Investments in Arts and Culture
The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts’ Arts Access Grants (AAG) provide small grants (maximum of $2,500) to new ventures, occasional arts programs, or arts and cultural organizations. The Arts Access Grant provides program support to organizations across Rhode Island. Organizations must demonstrate excellent artistic, educational, and cultural value, as well as engagement with their community. As a rule, programs should be geared to a broad and diverse audience. Investments in Arts and Culture (IAC) operating support grants are designed to support those organizations that produce or present annual programs in the arts and have developed a funding relationship with RISCA over time. The IAC category looks at what you have done over the past year, not what you propose to do in the year to come. Both have a deadline of October 1, 2015. Click here for details.
The Roger Williams University Community Partnerships Center (CPC) is now accepting applications for project support for Spring and Fall 2015 semesters. The CPC provides project-based assistance to nonprofit organizations, municipalities, government agencies and low and moderate income communities in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. Their focus is on projects that will benefit the local community, while providing RWU students with experience in real-world projects that deepen their academic experiences. Learn more here.
Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence
As part of the Rhode Island Foundation's commitment to serving the needs of the nonprofit sector, organizational development grants of up to $10,000 will now be offered through the Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence. These grants are intended to support organizations that fall outside of the Foundation's current areas of focus. Organizations that are targeting one of the Foundation's identified sector focus areas can apply for organizational development support (of any amount) through the strategy grant program. Organizational development grants can be used for a variety of activities that strengthen and improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness, including strategic planning, business planning, fund development planning, marketing planning, feasibility studies, reorganization and streamlining, mergers, financial management planning or systems, and transition or succession planning. There will be two funding rounds in 2015: the first proposal deadline is July 15, and the next proposal deadline is October 15. Applicants will be notified within four weeks. Contact any member of the INE or grant program staff with questions. Learn more and apply here.
VHC Grants
The Vermont Humanities Council’s Grant Program supports other non-profit organizations that are conducting various projects related to the humanities. Council awards are re-grants of federal funds from the NEH, and as such grantees must comply with all applicable NEH and federal policies. The Council will reject any project that does not involve at least one humanities discipline. Applications are considered twice a year; the next deadline to submit a letter of intent is September 4, 2015. The maximum award is $5,000, and grantees must provide, at minimum, a one-to-one cost share. Proposals for new, as well as already-established, programs will be considered.