The Museum Association of New York | Empowering New York State's Museums to Succeed

Unwind and Dine with MANY at MIC Conference

We’ve got a special evening convo for Museums in Conversation conference-goers!

Unwind and Dine with MANY after the networking reception Monday night (April 23) at the Midtown Tap & Tearoom, a favorite local bistro around the corner from Opalka Gallery.

Join us as we wind down a busy conference day with friends, new and old alike, over a relaxed dinner buffet of pan-European cuisine. First drink is on us!

Pre-Registration is required, cost for dinner is $45. All proceeds benefit the Museum Association of New York.

Leave a comment January 27, 2012 in Museums In Conversation

Consolidation Update

Capitalizing on the new year’s energy and optimism, MANY and Museumwise dove straight into pursuing our dual agendas of fostering each organization’s ongoing slate of programs and services and making consolidation a reality. You may recall that we have tasked a Steering Committee, made up of board representatives and staff of both organizations to develop a business plan, prepare related governing and procedural documents, and submit a petition for consolidation to the New York State Board of Regents.

We’re happy to introduce our Consolidation Steering Committee:

John Haworth, MANY President
Director George Gustav Heye Center
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

Mark Mortenson, MANY Treasurer
President & CEO
Buffalo Museum of Science

Pamela E. Green, MANY
Executive Director
Weeksville Heritage Center

Steven Kern, MANY
Director
Everson Museum of Art

Beth E. Levinthal, MANY
Executive Director
Hofstra University Museum

Anne Ackerson, MANY Director

Michele Phillips, Museumwise Chair
Conservator of Paper Objects & Photographic Materials
NYS Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island

Lenora Henson, Museumwise Treasurer
Curator
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural NHS

Rob Cassetti, Museumwise
Senior Director, Creative Services & Marketing
Corning Museum of Glass

Dana Krueger, Museumwise
Registrar
Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College

Sally Treanor, Museumwise
Museum Planning Consultant

Catherine Gilbert, Museumwise Executive Director

To ensure our ability to harmoniously provide quality services and programming throughout the course of this year’s consolidation process, the Committee’s first agenda item was to begin refinement of a consolidation timeline.

We remain committed to engaging you in this process in an open and responsive way, inviting input and taking inspiration from our members and stakeholders alike. To this end, we will be posting an FAQ to begin addressing your queries and concerns throughout this process. We intend for this to be a fluid document, which will flex and grow in response to your feedback.

Likewise, we look forward to our 2012 Museums in Conversation conference as our next opportunity to speak directly with you about our progress in crafting the best service model for the New York State museum community – we do hope to see you in April!

In the meantime, feel free to drop us a note, Catherine director@museumwise.org and Anne info@manyonline.org.

Leave a comment January 27, 2012 in Uncategorized

Annual Appeal Update

We are pleased that 31 donors, several of them member institutions, responded so generously to the 2011 Annual Appeal. This group got us to just beyond our budgeted goal of $3500, and for that we are very grateful.

MANY President John Haworth has asked us to stretch our goal by $500 to bring the total to $4000. Can we do it? With YOUR help we can and we will!! Please consider a first-time or additional gift to the 2011 Annual Appeal and make your contribution online via this link:

Our thanks to this great group of donors:

Charles Bauder
Michael Botwinick
Melissa Chiu
Nadezda Davis
Louis Grachos
Pamela Green
John Haworth
Joy C. Houle
Carle Kopecky
R. Beth Klopott
Suzanne LeBlanc
Beth E. Levinthal
Mark Mortenson
Linda Norris
Steve Rooney
Bart Roselli
Patricia P. Sands
Amy Schwartz
Gwen Spicer
Ivan Steen
Diana S. Waite
Nick Westbrook

Big Springs Historical Society, Caledonia
Geneva Historical Society
Neuberger Museum of Art
Oneida Community Mansion House
Slate Valley Museum, Granville
The Jewish Museum, NYC

Bags Unlimited, Rochester
Edison Price Lighting, NYC
West Lake Conservators, Skaneateles

Want to add your name to this illustrious list? You still can! Just visit here to make your donation.

Leave a comment January 26, 2012 in Uncategorized

2011 Annual Appeal: We Are All Made of Stars

This year’s Annual Appeal comes on the heels of our latest white paper about the value of museums, which we published in collaboration with Museumwise. With so many museums and heritage organizations searching for ways to solidify their value to their communities, it’s appropriate to take a moment to reflect on MANY’s value to the field.

Since 1962 MANY has given voice to the needs of and issues facing our state’s dynamic museum community — whether that be through our surveys, our publications, our advocacy work, our annual conference with Museumwise, or our networks of shared expertise. We’re here to respond to your questions, provide access to quality information, and offer mutual support.

And we’re committed to doing this every day. We’re committed to making all of us stars.

We’re reaching for the stars with our Annual Appeal goal to meet this year — $4,000. And we’re more than one-quarter of the way there right now. With your help, the 2011 Annual Appeal will allow MANY to jump into several initiatives right away: data gathering for the 2012-13 salary and benefits survey, consolidation planning with Museumwise, and advocacy for museums and the agencies that serve us in what will be another difficult funding year.

Leave a comment December 8, 2011 in MANY

The Challenge of “Value” – Engaging Communities in Why Museums Exist

How do we prove the value of museums? It’s a big question with as many possible answers as there are museums. As museums and heritage organizations across New York State argue their cases for greater integration in an increasingly stressed educational system, for attendance and volunteerism in already time-constrained leisure hours, and for funding in a challenging economic climate, the need to prove the value of a museum’s work to a host of stakeholders is more critical than ever. But what values do the state’s 1,900 museums exemplify? And who will care unless New York’s museum community compellingly conveys its impact?

This white paper is the culmination of three facilitated Focus on Value conversations held during the Museum Association of New York and Museumwise 2011 New York State Museums in Conversation Conference. These conversations were meant to highlight the critical importance of measuring the public impact of museums and heritage organizations and articulating it to a broad spectrum of stakeholders from the boardroom to the living room. About 80 conference attendees participated in one or more of the sessions – for many, the ‘value proposition’ was a familiar topic; for many others, it was a new and perhaps daunting way of thinking about their institutions.

Download
The Challenge of “Value”
Engaging Communities in Why Museums Exist
(Acrobat/Adobe PDF format, 2.9MB
Click here to get Adobe Reader)

Leave a comment November 21, 2011 in Publications, White Papers

2012 Statewide Conference Taking Shape: April 22-24, Albany

How Do We (Re)Vision our Museums?

Museums are institutions steeped in tradition but surrounded by constant change. Not everyone knows what a museum is anymore, but some certainly think that whatever it is, it’s not for them.

After the 2011 conference conversation around “How Do We Prove the Value of Museums?” it seems that the next logical step in the discussion must explore how museums rethink their roles and functions to make or enhance value in the 21^st century. We’ll be talking about ideas for and examples of transformation, asking and answering questions like “why should we redefine ourselves and what will happen if we don’t?” and taking on Nina Simon’s challenge “should museums be generous and greedy?”

We are happy to announce of 2012 Museums in Conversation Keynoter is Ron Chew!

Ron is principal of Chew Communications and the former executive director of Seattle’s Wing Luke Asian Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience. Known as an innovator using cutting-edge presentation with a locally oriented-emphasis, Chew helped redefine museums by melding cultural identity, civic participation, and museum programs into a new tool in the fight for social justice.

Ron will provide the conference’s opening keynote on Monday, April 23 as well as a closing presentation on Tuesday, April 24.

The 2012 Conference will also feature a luncheon address on Monday, April 23 from American Association of Museums President, Ford Bell!

Ford W. Bell began his tenure as president of the American Association of Museums in June 2007. He brings to AAM a lifelong passion for museums, and a clear understanding of the important role which museums play as places of lifelong learning and inspiration.

AAM was founded in 1906 to represent the entire museum field. Today AAM has some 20,000 members, including 3,000 museums, zoos, aquariums and public gardens. Its stated mission is “to enhance the value of museums to their communities through leadership, advocacy, and service.” The largest museum organization in the world, AAM serves the field by promoting standards and best practices; gathering and sharing knowledge; and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the museum community.

The conference conversation schedule is available! And it’s being updated frequently.

Leave a comment November 20, 2011 in Museums In Conversation

Shop Amazon, Earn Money for MANY

MANY is an Amazon Associate, so when you make a purchase through the Amazon icon to the right of this message, you help MANY earn up to 15% of every sale. That includes books, Kindles, music, games and jewelry.

Once you click through, you can Bookmark the link or save it in your Favorite Places to make it easy to help support MANY’s programs and operations whenever you shop.

We appreciate your support!

Leave a comment November 6, 2011 in Uncategorized

Young Nonprofit Professional Network Report: Good in Theory, Problems in Practice

Young Nonprofit Professionals Network recently surveyed over 1,100 emerging nonprofit leaders across the country. Conducted in Spring 2011, YNPN’s National Voice Survey tested several interventions targeting leadership development in the nonprofit sector. The full report was launched in the Fall of 2011 at Independent Sector’s NGEN conference.

Good in Theory Findings & Action
Good in Theory Report
Good in Theory Resources List
Good in Theory Key Phrases

The Findings

YNPN tested five popular recommendations for increasing talent retention and strengthening emerging leadership in the nonprofit sector via a national survey and focus groups:

Nonprofits should offer more competitive compensation.
Nonprofits should invest in building “bench strength”
Nonprofits should engage in inclusive succession planning
Nonprofits should prioritize diversity
Nonprofits should move away from traditional organizational structures and chief executive roles

The final report, Good in Theory, Problems in Practice lays out the key findings informed by this research.

Leave a comment October 31, 2011 in Being the Best, Encouraging the Best, Succession Planning

Voluntary Compliance Program Announced by IRS to Address Worker Misclassification

You may have seen that in late September the IRS announced a voluntary compliance program for employers (including nonprofit employers) to enable those who have mistakenly classified workers as independent contractors to make a correction, along with a modest payment, and avoid the usual penalties of noncompliance. This program’s announcement offers an opportunity to remind nonprofits about the risk of misclassification and share information with them about the voluntary compliance program. See the National Council’s website materials on this topic.

Here is the text of the IRS announcement about the voluntary compliance program (from the IRS’s EO Update circulated on October 4):

“The IRS has launched a new program that will enable many employers, including tax-exempt employers, to resolve past worker classification issues and come back into compliance by making a minimal payment covering past payroll tax obligations rather than waiting for an IRS audit. To be eligible for the new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program an applicant must:

Consistently have treated the workers as nonemployees in the past

Filed all required Forms 1099 for the workers for the previous three years

Not currently be under audit by the IRS, Department of Labor or a state agency concerning the classification of these workers.

Full details, including FAQs, will be available on the Employment Tax Pages of IRS.gov and in Announcement 2011-64.”

Leave a comment October 16, 2011 in Uncategorized

Funding Available for Flood Damaged NYS Museums/Heritage Organizations

In late August, New York was hit hard by Hurricane Irene and many cultural organizations including libraries, museums, and historical societies sustained major damage. With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman’s Emergency Fund the New York Council for the Humanities is offering small grants to help these organizations recover.

Grants of up to $1,000 are available from the Council for tax-exempt cultural groups in New York State whose buildings or collections were damaged by Hurricane Irene. These grants are to be used to defray salary costs for professional staff members’ work associated with storm clean-up and recovery.

The Council has chosen this focus for its grants because it recognizes that dedicated staff members of our state’s cultural groups will be working many additional hours in the coming months to oversee the clean-up and in many cases re-opening of their organizations.

For information and to apply: http://www.nyhumanities.org/grants/recovery.php

Leave a comment September 21, 2011 in Uncategorized

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How Do We (Re)Vision our Museums?

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