This was emailed to me yesterday. I thought it would be of interest to the group. If you've received it already, I apologize...the first time I tried to post it I did something that caused the list server to reject it... FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE . . . Contact: Barbara Lund Public Relations 503-794-7092 [log in to unmask] MUSEUM COMMUNITY LAUNCHES ON-LINE FUNDRAISING INTRODUCING Shopformuseums.com Milwaukie, OR, October 11, 2000 - A community of museums in the United States has joined together to launch Shopformuseums.com. A fundraising portal site, developed and coordinated by a past museum director, designed to benefit museums, zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens by generating MUCH NEEDED OPERATING revenue from on-line consumer sales. Adequate support for museum operations is the foundation upon which the future of any museum is built. Although major gifts are most often donated for capital projects or endowments, the fiscal health of museums depends on contributions for general operating support. This type of support is often overlooked and we seldom see major social events organized to raise money for museum operations. Yet it is this operating support that keeps the museum doors open and their staffs paid. The program is endorsed by participating museums and is currently being introduced to the museum community with museum newsletter and magazine articles as well as a reminder slide presented in Omnimax theaters. Shopformuseums.com was brainchild of Marilynne Eichinger, founder of the Impression 5 Museum in Lansing, MI, former director of the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry and current president of Informal Education Products (IEP). The site is hosted and maintained by IEP. The site is designed to be user friendly and the process simple. E-shopping begins on the Shopformuseums.com home page where shoppers are asked to sign in and select one of the museums listed on the site to receive a percentage of their purchases. Their purchases are tracked and the rest is automatic. Shoppers may click on to more than 125 merchants offering a variety of brand-name products from: Lands' End, Martha Stewart, Hallmark, Office Max, Flowers.com, Sharper Image, National Geographic, Chef's Catalog, Border's, Britannica, Hickory Farms, Warner Bros. etc. Museums will receive donations quarterly. Donations are paid to IEP from participating merchants. IEP reports all transactions to museums and distributes funds directly to museums quarterly. (Percentages are listed on the Shopformuseums.com "Shopping Directory" and vary from 2% - 7% of each transaction.) Museums are bonded to their communities in ways that no other nation's cultural institutions are. Museums serve as stewards of heritage, as educators and as community gathering places. Museums celebrate America's cultural diversity - Latin American, African American, Native American, Asian American, Norwegian American - these are just a few of the ethnic groups in this country with museums that preserve and exhibit their heritage. Museums are the keepers of the natural and cultural heritage of America and its people - the rich multicultural diversity that makes our nation so vibrant. Please visit www.shopformuseums.com or call Marilynne Eichinger or Barbara Lund at 503-794-7092 for further information. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).