The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for its VRAF Professional Development Grant program. This program offers two $850 grants yearly, one with a fall deadline and another in the spring. The purpose of the Grant is to support professional development in the field of visual resources and cultural heritage information management. Grant funds can be used to participate in a professional development opportunity of the grantee’s choosing (such as a conference, symposium, workshop, online education), or to enroll in relevant research activities (such as hands-on field work or a site visit for scholarly purposes).  For consideration, please submit your application for the fall grant no later than September 16, 2016. If you have any questions about the VRAF Professional Development Grant or the application process, and to submit your application, please contact Betha Whitlow, [log in to unmask] The recipient of the fall 2016 VRAF Professional Development grant will be announced by October 7, 2016, and the award money must be used before October 7, 2017. Please visit the VRAF’s website for a full description of the grant, including eligibility, acceptable uses of funds, and a complete list of past recipients.

Past recipients include Anne Young, Manager of Rights and Reproductions at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, to attend the 2013 American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE) Legal Issues in Museum Administration course. Her attendance was crucial in the production of Rights & Reproductions: The Handbook for Cultural Institutions, an indispensable resource. About the grant, Anne wrote, “The Grant funded a portion of my course tuition and associated travel costs to attend the program. It is my belief that this Grant was also a contributing factor to my receiving a partial-scholarship, half of the course tuition, from ALI CLE that further supported my attendance… Without my attendance at ALI CLE’s LIMA and the VRAF’s Grant support, I would not have been able to make the vital connections to make the Handbook contributors and legal review panelists as robust as they are today.” The Handbook is now available and can be downloaded from the American Alliance of Museums website.