2012 may be another rocky year for fundraising. In GuideStar's new report, "Your Fundraising Calendar for 2012," fundraising consultant Gail Perry presents a month-by-month plan to help nonprofits get the most out of their fundraising efforts next year.

Perry breaks fundraising down into manageable chunks—major donors, social media, messaging, events, board retreats, Web sites, planned giving, and more—addressing one per month. Nonprofits that follow her advice will build a comprehensive fundraising strategy that will help them weather economic storms not only in 2012 but in years to come.

Complete the form below to download your free copy of the report.

Publication date: November 2011

About the Author

Gail Perry is the author of Fired Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action and founder of Gail Perry Associates, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based consulting and training firm. You can find more fundraising tips in her Fired Up Fundraising blog, found atwww.firedupfundraising.com.

Download the Report: 

http://www2.guidestar.org/rxg/news/publications/fundraising-calendar-for-2012.aspx?hq_e=el&hq_m=1436352&hq_l=3&hq_v=f1219fd1c4

Whether your organization is large, medium, or small, marketing is a crucial but often overlooked strategy for increasing your impact. While most nonprofit leaders know it's integral to raising awareness, many haven't built their organizations' ability to connect with their audiences.

The City of New Haven, one of Connecticut’s largest urban centers representing a major hub for business activity, arts, architecture, culture and entertainment is seeking an exceptional individual for the position of the Director of Arts, Culture & Tourism. This is an exciting hands-on position that offers the right candidate the opportunity to make a significant contribution to improve the quality of life in New Haven and to support the economic development of the City by assisting, promoting and encouraging artists, arts and cultural organizations and events in New Haven.

Under the broad guidance of the Mayor and Economic Development Administrator, and in cooperation with the Cultural Affairs Commission, the Director of Arts, Culture & Tourism is responsible for managing a variety of activities related to the cultural life and vitality of New Haven while providing assistance in the marketing and branding of the City. This includes the following: Produces and supports free city events including the Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration, the Summer Concerts on the Green, and the New Haven Jazz Festival. Works with neighborhood and other groups to enhance existing cultural activities and cultivate renewed interest in celebrating our diversity and commonalities and community building. Serves on the Board of New Haven Sister Cities, a long-time organization which represents sister cities around the globe. Acts as steward of the City’s public art, promoting public art and the development of a visual stored inventory and written Public Art Policies covering acquisition, maintenance, preservation and de-accession of New Haven’s public art collection, which currently numbers close to 300 pieces. Responsible for promoting tourism in the City and managing the relationships with both Regional and State tourism agencies. Oversees the operations for the City-owned Shubert Theater and works with location scouts and production teams to facilitate and coordinate film, video and still photography projects in the City.  Works with Yale’s Film Office as well as Town Green, Market NH, the Chamber, REX/CVB and other City agencies to ensure that film opportunities provide economic impact as well as public relations value.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in relevant activities; and a Master’s Degree in business, public or arts administration, or similar field. The successful candidate must possess broad familiarity and appreciation for all aspects of the arts and the creative economy, and will have considerable knowledge of funding sources and experience in grant writing and budgeting and the ability to raise private capital. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are essential; experience with media and communications strategy is preferred. Residency in the City of New Haven is required within six months of appointment.

To Apply:
Resume and letter of interest should be sent to Stephen J. Librandi, Manager of Human Resources, 200 Orange Street, Room 102, New Haven, CT 06510. Applications accepted until position filled.

http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/google-best-practices-for-nonprofits/

Now that Google+ is open to everyone andbrand pages are live, all nonprofits need to paying attention to Google+. Your first step is to create a Google Account, then set up your personal Google Profile (which also becomes your Google+ Profile), and then create a Google+ Page for your nonprofit. Once you do, please add “Nonprofit Organizations” on Google+ and we’ll learn as we go along. Also, please note that these best practices will be a work in progress and updated regularly. To be alerted of when new best practices are posted, please subscribe to the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 e-Newsletter. Also, since the Google+ Pages launched after the release of Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits, please consider this blog post a supplement to the book. Finally, I will be offering a Google+ and Google Products Webinar for Nonprofits on February 28, 2012...

http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/google-best-practices-for-nonprofits/

Former Girl Scouts CEO Frances Hesselbein: 7 tips for nonprofit leaders: Non-Profit Quarterly

November 9, 2011; Source: Fortune | With a career that spans seventy years in the nonprofit sector and includes positions as a troop leader, state leader, and, ultimately, CEO of the Girl Scouts and CEO of the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management), which she still holds at 96, it is no surprise that Frances Hesselbein has some clear thoughts on leadership. In a recent interview with Fortune she recalled how her incorporation of Drucker’s management principles drew the attention not only of the leadership of the Girl Scouts but also of Drucker himself, who later asked her to lead his own organization. Reflecting on her own career, Hesselbein emphasized the underlying importance of focus and vision, and shared seven additional lessons she figured out along the way...

Link to the article: 7 tips for nonprofit leaders - Non-Profit Quarterly

New York´s Film Biz Recycling is putting unwanted props leftover from the entertainment industry to good use.

The company takes in items once used on TV shows such as Law and Order or movies and gives them to nonprofit groups, according to the New York Daily News.

Some things also are donated to small businesses and the rest is sold through Film Biz´s thrift store, the paper reported.

ôThis feels like an orphanage to me," Founder Eva Radke told the paper. "It´s more than just stuff. It´s our attitude towards stuff, and none of it needs to be wasted."

Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Vince Bond Jr. at vbond@crain.com or 313-446-1653.

Link to NY’s Film Biz Recycling  http://www.filmbizrecycling.org/

Film Biz Recycling’s flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/filmbizrecycling/

Due to the extensive statewide weather-related power outages, the LOI deadline has been extended until Noon on November 18, 2011 for CHEFA’s Nonprofit Grant Program

CHEFA RFP & Exhibit.pdf

CHEFA invites Connecticut nonprofits with a mission focus of meeting basic human needs’ to submit a Grant Letter of Interest to the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority byNovember 18, 2011.

Around November 28, CHEFA will invite selected organizations to submit a fullapplication for individual grants of up to $75,000 in programmatic funds from the FY 2012 NonprofitGrant Program.

Please review the full RFP materials carefully. Materials will also be available on their website: www.chefa.com/philanthropy.

Only those entities that address basic human needs of Connecticutresidents are eligible for this program.Elements of the Letter of Interest, with specific statutorily required undertakings, are located on the lastpage of the RFP.

Please contact CHEFA  at 860-761-8428 if you have any questions regarding this opportunity.

Organization Overview

• The nation’s first environmental charter high school, preparing students for college success and environmental leadership. For four straight years, our students have made some of the state's largest test score gains, and more than 90% of our students have moved on to college
• An environmental education center, offering summer camps, children’s programs, weekend workshops, festivals, youth employment, and other programs.  This year, more than 8,000 community members join in our programs.         
• An urban farm and 20-acre site, modeling sustainability and contributing 5,000 pounds of fresh, local produce to the community. 

For more information on Common Ground, see www.commongroundct.org.

The Campaign for Common Ground

Common Ground recently completed a 10-year Master Site Plan and updated its strategic plan to set clear, measurable goals for the next three years. Through this planning process Common Ground identified a number of strategic investments we must make in our site and facilities to grow and strengthen the impact of our work. Common Ground is now planning to launch the Campaign for Common Ground to raise the funds necessary to make these investments. We have already been awarded a $1.5 million construction grant from the State Department of Education toward construction of a multipurpose facility and 3 additional classrooms for its high school. We have hired an outstanding architecture firm and the design process for these new facilities is well under way. We also plan to make over 30 additional improvements to our site and facilities that have been identified in the Master Plan. When completed, these improvements would allow us to safely accommodate thousands of additional program participants on our site each year.

In order to complete construction of the planned new facility and make the essential site improvements identified in the Master Plan, Common Ground will need to raise $2 million in individual donations on top of approximately $5 million from other sources (including the $1.5 million SDE construction grant already received). To this end, Common Ground will launch the Campaign for Common Ground, a three year campaign to raise the necessary funds. In addition to raising $2 million dollars in individual donations in the short term, this campaign will also be used to build the foundation of a robust major gifts program that will continue to provide significant funding for Common Ground programs in the years to come.

Job Description

Working directly with the Executive Director, the Director of Development and Community Engagement and the Campaign Committee, the Campaign Manager will be responsible for running the Campaign for Common Ground, a campaign to raise approximately $2 million in individual donations over 3 years.

The Campaign Manager will:

• Implement and manage Campaign activities from silent phase (present) through campaign completion (January 2014)
• Work with the Campaign Committee, Board of Directors, Development Director, and Executive Director to refine overall Campaign strategy.
• Support the ongoing development and work of the campaign working, advisory, and event committees.
• Manage the donor cultivation process: establishing solicitation priorities, managing prospect lists and research, developing specific donor cultivation strategies, preparing staff and volunteers for solicitations.
• Work with campaign administrative staff to ensure that data related to prospects and donors is recorded and tracked in electronic and hard copy file; manage campaign record keeping, evaluate progress towards goals, and prepare periodic reports
• Manage the writing and development of campaign print and electronic collateral materials and coordinate their design and production.
• Ensure donor acknowledgement, stewardship, and public recognition, as appropriate.
• Organize donor cultivation and recognition events.
• Provide support to both the Executive Director and the Director of Development related to their campaign activities.
• Directly engage in donor cultivation and solicitation as appropriate.

Minimum qualifications for this position are:

• Campaign and/or major gifts experience with an established non-profit
• Demonstrated ability to raise funds through major gifts
• Excellent administrative and organizational skills
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills
• A strong work ethic and the ability to work independently with minimal oversight
• Proficiency in Office applications and online research tools
• A flexible work schedule

 Additional skill areas  (not required as minimum qualifications, but highly desired in a strong applicant):

• Passion and experience related to education and/or  environment
• Familiarity with the greater New Haven philanthropic community
• Familiarity with Giftworks, WealthEngine, and/or other donor research and management tools

Compensation:  Commensurate with experience

Position Type:  Full time with benefits

Position Length:  One year renewable basis

Director of Development and Fundraising

Dwight Hall at Yale is an independent 501©(3) non-profit organization with an annual budget of approximately $900,000, a full-time staff of five and offices on the Old Campus of Yale University in New Haven that provides community service opportunities for Yale College students in the New Haven area.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Dwight Hall, this new position will be responsible for organizing and implementing fund-raising for the organization’s programs and operational expenses based on the adopted Dwight Hall Development Plan.

The Director will work to assure that Dwight Hall’s organizational culture, alumni board and procedures support fund development. The Director will serve as a key member of the organization, working with the Dwight Hall staff, Board and students leaders to achieve specific revenue and outreach goals. This is a full-time, year round position.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Plan and implement fundraising strategies for Dwight Hall alumni donors and determine cultivation/solicitation strategies for major donors, including solicitation activity goals.
• With the ED and the Board of Directors, work with print, electronic, web-based and social media to increase the visibility of Dwight Hall among existing and potential donors.
• Participate in general Annual Fund operations, including planning and drafting of direct mail, email and telephone solicitation programs, and strategy sessions with CEO and Program Manager.
• Assess prospect research requirements, determine priorities, and conduct and/or supervise research. Work closely with CFO to secure updated biographic and class note information in data base. Update electronic materials and website content as needed.
• Assist in the identification and preparation of grant applications for programs that support Dwight Hall’s student activities.
• Organize and oversee specialty fund raising programs, including capital campaigns for endowment and facility renovation, and a legacy giving program for Dwight Hall’s donors.
• Provide staff support for Dwight Hall’s Board Development Committee and perform related duties as assigned by ED.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required. Minimum 3 years of development experience, with demonstrated success in fundraising. Exceptional oral and written communication skills, computer skills and highly-developed organizational skills. Interest in and awareness of education, as well as community outreach.

Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent interpersonal skills required to relate to donors, volunteers, staff, and students.
• Self-motivated, innovative and able to work with considerable independence within the context of a team environment and a network of relationships.
• Creative problem solver with the ability to offer innovative, consensus-building solutions. Team player.
• Ability to represent Dwight Hall well in working collegially with peers and colleagues within and outside the organization.
• Knowledge of Raiser’s Edge software preferred.

Dwight Hall at Yale is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is strongly committed to diversity. It welcomes applicants of all races, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations. For more information, visitwww.dwighthall.org.

Compensation: Dwight Hall offers a salary commensurate with non-profit organizational standards and experience and an excellent benefits package based on Yale’s managerial benefits.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, with a preference for those submitted by November 4th, 2011.

Posted October 13, 2011

Application Instructions

Please submit your application by one e-mail, with the following material attached as separate documents: cover letter, resume, writing sample, and contact information for three references. Please send to:alex.knopp@yale.edu

IRIS will host the 5th Annual Run for Refugees- a fund-raising 5K run/walk up East Rock- on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2012.  We are looking for volunteers to help plan the event! 

Most needed are volunteers to ask restaurants to donate food to the post-race party, or to help solicit financial sponsors. 

We will also need help making decisions about the details that go into putting on a race- like what color t-shirts to buy! 

Finanally, we are looking for acoustic musicians to play on the course to encourage the runners along- steel drums, accordion, bag pipes, marching band, etc! 

If you enjoy party planning, running, walking, food, or music, please contact Kelly Hebrank at (203) 562-2095 or khebrank@irisct.org.

Clothes Without Borders, the New Haven thrift store that benefits IRIS- Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, is launching a fun new idea--

Beginning this Saturday 10/22, Clothes Without Borders is having a sale on clothing EVERY SATURDAY-- just $5/bag!

All clothing will be $5 for a bag full!  We give you the bag, and you stuff it!

(Household goods, furniture, jewelry, books, and accessories are exempt, but we have LOTS of clothing in great condition- men's, women's, and children's.) 

Clothes Without Borders is located at 900 Grand Ave, just a block and a half from State St. 

Hours are Monday - Saturday, 10:30am - 5:30pm.

Find us on Facebook.

SOCIAL IMPACT EXCHANGE ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF
2012 BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

New York, NY: October 3, 2011 – The Social Impact Exchange announced today the launch of its 2012 Business Plan Competition. The Competition identifies social sector scaling initiatives with demonstrated impact and readiness to grow, and supports the winners with financial and consulting awards.

“There are many strategies for achieving scaled impact, it’s not just about scaling an organization” said Cynthia Massarsky, Vice President and Director of the Social Impact Exchange. “We are also interested in scaling programs, policy initiatives, media and advocacy campaigns, nonprofit collaboratives, social movements and marketplace solutions,” she said.

The goal of the Competition is to help develop a strong pipeline of scale-ready initiatives and provide them with the resources to successfully take the next steps in their growth trajectory. Despite all the important work accomplished by nonprofit organizations over the last several decades, significant growth or scale has remained an elusive goal for most of them. The inability to achieve scale – that is, to make a meaningful and sustainable impact by reaching larger numbers of those in need – has limited the potential of these organizations and the people they serve.

U.S.-based nonprofit organizations with a focus in education, youth development, health, poverty alleviation and community economic development are eligible to enter. Nonprofits enter the Competition in one of two tracks: Early-Stage Scaling Initiatives or Mezzanine-Stage Scaling Initiatives. Click here for eligibility criteria.

During an 8-month evaluation process, entrants develop and submit business plans to scale their “social solutions”. Competition entrants have access to a website of resources on growth, take part in group training and one-on-one consulting, and receive customized written feedback on their plans.

Judging is conducted on a pro bono basis by professionals from the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Criteria for evaluation includes demonstrated quality, effectiveness and impact, marketability and scalability, expansion readiness, strength of the management team, systems for monitoring and assessing performance, and strength of the financial model and sustainability over the long term.

The final round of the Social Impact Business Plan Competition will take place in June at the 2012 Symposium on Scaling Impact in New York City.

The Social Impact Exchange is a cross-sector, member-driven association for sharing knowledge and increasing investment in scaling effective social programs and solutions.

About The Social Impact Exchange
The Social Impact Exchange is a community of funders, practitioners, wealth advisors, intermediaries and researchers interested in developing practices for studying, implementing and funding large-scale expansions of top-performing nonprofit programs and organizations. The Exchange serves as a focal point and gathering place for those interested in collaborating to further build the field of scaling and to developing an efficient capital marketplace that provides reliable funding for scalable social solutions.

The Exchange was established by Growth Philanthropy Network (GPN), in partnership with Duke University’s Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society at the Sanford School of Public Policy, and the university’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. The Exchange receives primary funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a group of charter members including The Rockefeller Foundation, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Mayer Phillips Foundation, The Starr Foundation, W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation and American Express.

In an inaugural effort to describe New Haven’s economic climate, we present this data profile to convey New Haven’smulti-faceted character. It is intentionally selective, and summarily descriptive of the particular qualities that makeNew Haven unique. As a small city, New Haven is as complex and vibrant as a much larger city, however the Cityretains an intimate small-city social network that can propel new ideas into reality quickly. The following topics rangefrom traditional economic metrics to distinctive qualitative information in order to round out our story.

1. Major Sector Profile—A Full Spectrum Economy, Anchored by World Class Institutions

2. Employment--Resilience Through a Recession

3. Grand List Increase--A Trend in Growth

4. Demographics—New Haven’s Diversity and Youth Culture Set it Apart

5. Migration--A Magnet for Jobs and Community

6. Residential Housing Market--Affordability and Desirability

7. Commercial Rental Market--The Competitive Advantage

8. Education Innovations: School Reform----A National Pioneer

9. Measures of a Vibrant Community—New Haven as an Innovation Hub

more...

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edcnewhaven.com%2Fpdf%2F2011NewHavenNine.pdf

Presented at the Greater New Haven Nonprofit Resource Council meeting 9/27/11and made available complements of presenters:

Charlie Mason - Mason, Inc.: http://www.mason23.com/

Al May - Christina Community Action: http://www.ccahelping.org/ 

John Brooks- Columbus House: http://www.columbushouse.org/

Cause Marketing:Helping local NPO’s tap into this potential .ppt

http://www.pbs.org/about/news/archive/2011/hispanic-heritage-month/

• Library of Congress

http://hispanicheritagemonth.gov/index.html

• Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/resource_library/hispanic_resources.html
 

• United States Census Bureau

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb11-ff18.htm

to local nonprofits on giveGreater.org® 

giveGreater.org® cards available for the public in November

To drive more local giving, The Community Foundation is launching a two-phase, online giving campaign in October known as I Give It Forward through which $200,000 will be available to match gifts made to local nonprofits on giveGreater.org® - the online knowledge and giving resource for local nonprofits serving Connecticut’s Greater New Haven region.

The Community Foundation is taking a different approach this year by promoting giveGreater.org® through its known donor pool and friends of The Community Foundation instead of directly through the nonprofits, as it did for the 2010 Challenge. I Give It Forward is The Community Foundation’s way of broadening the circle of people who are knowledgeable about the local community and who give locally.

During Phase I of I Give It Forward, gifts made by giveGreater.org donors and friends of The Community Foundation between October 13, 2011 to October 31, 2011 will be matched. They will receive two (2) I Give It Forward giveGreater.org® cards, one for their own use and the other to share with someone who is also passionate about the Greater New Haven community. Both cards can be used for a $50 match when accompanied by a donation of $50 or more to any organization on giveGreater.org.

Phase II of I Give It Forward begins November 7, 2011, coinciding with The Community Foundation’s Annual Meeting, to create a broad movement to give locally. At that time, I Give It Forward giveGreater.org® cards will be available to the public for purchase by making a gift to The Community Foundation. The intent is for people to pass the cards along as gifts to friends, neighbors, colleagues and others to benefit the growing number of local nonprofits on  giveGreater.org®. Phase II ends on December 31, 2011; cards must be designated to a nonprofit on giveGreater.org by January 31, 2012. Dollars not designated by the deadline will be distributed as grants.

About giveGreater.org®
giveGreater.org® was launched in 2010 as an online knowledge and giving resource provided by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven in partnership with Guidestar, a leading source of nonprofit information. The website was created to increase giving to local nonprofits by providing one searchable database for people to find, learn about and give to nonprofits serving Connecticut’s Greater New Haven region. As part of the launch, the giveGreater.org® 2010 Challenge was issued to the community encouraging gifts of at least $50 or more between November 1 – December 31, 2010 to nonprofits profiled on giveGreater.org®; to incentivize giving, The Community Foundation allocated $200,000 to be awarded as grant prizes to the nonprofits that met minimum eligibility requirements and received the most number of gifts.  More than $500,000 was distributed to local nonprofits through the 2010 Challenge; details of the Challenge are available at www.cfgnh.org. In 2011, giveGreater.org® attracted its first corporate sponsor, Higher One Inc., which conducted an employee matching gift program through the site between the months of July and September.

Since 1928, donors to The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven have built the community’s endowment currently valued at nearly $300 million. In 2010, The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors distributed more than $19 million in grants from over 800 different named charitable funds, supporting a wide range of programs and projects. For more information about The Community Foundation visit www.cfgnh.org. 

these are desk chairs with adjustable arms and rollers. If you are interested or for further information contact Jack Walsh, Valley United Way

Jack.Walsh@valleyunitedway.org.

Any nonprofit in Greater New Haven may request chairs.

The 2011-12 training season at TSNE includes perennial favorites Effective Supervision and Advanced Facillitation as well as a brand new social media webinar series with Idealware and a workshop on board roles. And don't forget to save the date for this year's Be the Media! Mini-Conference on November 30.

• Full list of 2011-12 Better Nonprofit Management Training Series workshops

RFP Released, Proposals will be accepted through Oct. 31

The American Association of Museums's (AAM) Center for the Future of Museums, EmcArts and MetLife Foundation announce the launch of a major new initiative designed to enable selected museums to design, research and prototype innovations, testing novel approaches to field-wide challenges in a laboratory-like setting. The initiative is entitled the Innovation Lab for Museums, and is now accepting proposals at www.aam-us.org and www.EmcArts.org. The deadline for proposals is October 31, 2011.

The first round of the Innovation Lab for Museums is generously funded by a $500,000 grant from MetLife Foundation, a long-time supporter of the nation's museum community.

The Innovation Lab for Museums will be an 18 to 24-month program for each of the participating institutions, utilizing the expertise of CFM and the proven experience of EmcArts in incubating organizational innovations in the arts field.  In this inaugural round of the Lab, three proposals will be accepted and preference will be given to projects focusing on innovation in the realms of:

• Youth Education: exploring how museums can play a key role in a rapidly changing educational landscape
• Demographic Transformation: how museums can close this gap and serve a broader, more representative sample of American society
• Participatory Experiences: how museums can meet the desire of audiences for participatory and social activities in museums.

Proposals will be judged on evidence that applicants have clearly defined a major challenge and begun to develop responses to that challenge, on each applicant's readiness for and ability to support innovative change, their current level of community engagement, the likely value of the innovation to the organization and the field, and the capacity of the applicant to share what they learn through participating in the Lab.

"The rapid pace of change in the 21^st century makes it imperative that museums experiment with new ways of operating," said Elizabeth Merritt, director of the Center for the Future of Museums. "Historically, the museum field has encouraged organizations to stick to tried-and-true standards and best practices.  AAM sees the Innovation Lab for Museums as a significant way to encourage and reward museums that are willing to take risks, try new things and pursue a new path for the rest of the field."

The Innovation Lab for Museums has four phases:

Phase 1 – Each museum identifies a dedicated Innovation Team, which then works with EmcArts to explore new approaches, define project goals and success measures, and conduct pertinent research over four months.

Phase 2 – Innovation Teams from all participating museums attend a 5-day Intensive Residential Retreat that serves as a "project accelerator," giving teams time to focus on key decisions about their projects.

Phase 3 – The Lab grants participants $40,000 in seed money to support the prototyping and evaluation of innovative strategies over six months, before full launch.

Phase 4 – The Innovation Team and each organization's leadership works to leverage lessons learned, embed them in the organization's ongoing approach, and share learning with the field.

The program will build on EmcArts' tested framework for fostering nonprofit innovation. Piloted in 2005 as the New Strategies Lab for Orchestras (funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), EmcArts' flagship program grew into the Innovation Lab for the Performing Arts (supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation), which has now been in operation for four years.  Reports from participants have confirmed the deep impact of the program, and external evaluation has established its unique value to the arts field. 

CFM and EmcArts foresee similar success for the Innovation Lab for Museums.

"The Innovation Lab for Museums will benefit not only the organizations accepted into the program, but the museum field as a whole," notes Richard Evans, President of EmcArts. "Successful innovations developed by participants may go mainstream, becoming leading practices of the future. And the cumulative experience of Lab participants will help museums break down internal barriers to innovation, creating organizational cultures that are perpetually ready for adaptive change."

Results from the Innovation Lab for Museums will be documented, summarized and shared with the museum community, ensuring it can guide museum planning and inform the development of standards and new practices.  The knowledge derived from this national program will benefit AAM members, the national museum community of over 17,500 museums, and the international museum community.

"MetLife Foundation has a longstanding commitment to promoting the vitality of our national museum community," said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. "We are proud to partner with these two organizations to find innovative ways to bring young people and community members from all different demographics to the rich landscape that is American museums." 

For questions or additional information, contact: Dewey Blanton, American Association of Museums, (202) 218.7704, DBlanton@aam-us.org; or Liz Dreyer, EmcArts, (212) 362.8541, LDreyer@EmcArts.org.

About EmcArts

Recognized as the leading not-for-profit provider of innovation services to the arts sector nationwide, EmcArts (www.EmcArts.org) serves as an intermediary partner for arts funders, and as a re-granting agency and service organization for the arts field around innovation.  Our innovation programs support the development and implementation of mission-centered new strategies by arts organizations of all sizes.  The programs range from directly incubating specific innovation projects to introductory programs that enable new thinking and build a culture of innovation across local arts communities. EmcArts is a 501(c)(3) organization.

About the Center for the Future of Museums

The Center for the Future of Museums (CFM) helps museums explore the cultural, political and economic challenges facing society and devise strategies to shape a better tomorrow. CFM is a think-tank and research and design lab for fostering creativity and helping museums transcend traditional boundaries to serve society in new ways. For more information, visit www.futureofmuseums.org.

About AAM

The American Association of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. With more than 18,000 individual, 3,000 institutional and 300 corporate members, AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

MetLife Foundation was established in 1976 to carry on MetLife's longstanding tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement.

The Foundation is committed to building a secure future for individuals and communities worldwide. Through programs focusing on empowering older adults, preparing young people and building livable communities, MetLife Foundation increases access and opportunities for people of all ages.  Since it was established, MetLife Foundation has made more than $500 million in grants and $75 million in program related investments. For more information visit www.metlife.org