There are so many existing historical/museum non-profits in the country (more museums than Starbucks and McDonalds), that I would consider looking at an existing local museum that you could simply partner with. It is harder and more complicated to run a functioning museum/non-profit that most people realize until they get in the middle of it. There are a number of ways you could partner with an existing organization and still have some agency and autonomy to control your mission, goals, and activities. You could become an affiliate of an existing organization. Your school could develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with an existing nonprofit. You could join a committee or the board of a local museum you wanted to partner with to help make sure you had some control over your specific activities. As someone who counsels under-resourced nonprofits for a living, I definitely recommend that you consider joining forces with a like-minded group. You always could split off later if you developed to that point, but this would be a great way to test the waters.  I would also like to give a shout-out to the StEPs program through AASLH: https://aaslh.org/programs/steps/. This is a great guide to becoming a well-planned and functional organization. Whether you’re part of a brand new organization or one who’s been around awhile, the StEPs program is a great resource to help you build capacity and meet your mission and goals.

 

--Dani Stuckle

 

 

--To identify, preserve, interpret, and promote the heritage of North Dakota and its people.

 

Danielle “Dani” Stuckle

Educational Programs and Outreach Coordinator

State Historical Society of North Dakota

North Dakota Heritage Center

612 East Boulevard Avenue

Bismarck, North Dakota 58505-0830

701-328-2794

www.history.nd.gov

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello,

 

I am a high school history teacher in Pennsylvania. I am trying to start a local history museum-community facility in my area which would be a joint venture between the school district and local township. Ideally, we would house it in an under-used historic building, create programs essential to the K-12 curriculum (field trips there at least annually), and—when appropriate—use student labor to develop relevant skills (assisting in historic preservation, living history re-enactments, exhibit research and design, etc.)

 

As we are just starting, could anyone recommend existing facilities for us to study as a potential model? We're looking for inspiration from both a governance/mission-statement standpoint and educational programming.

 

Many thanks for your thoughts,

-Steven Hunter

 

To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1