Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Museum Grants for African American History and Culture Program

By Michael Saunders


The Institute of Museum and Library Services, otherwise known as IMLS, is an independent agency of the United States Federal government that was created during the fiscal year 1996.

The programs and goals of the IMLS are meant to help them realize their overall agency mission which is to "create strong libraries and museums that connect people with information and ideas."

Moreover, the IMLS also consistently operates towards administering grant programs which will enhance the value of museums and libraries as vital resources for a world of learners.

With that, the Institute of Museum and Library Services has established a funding opportunity to aid the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture Program wherein they plan to provide the African American museum employees with added knowledge and ability in all the areas of management, operations, programming, collections care, and other museum skills.

The program also wants to boost the African American museum community's ability and sustainability through provision of expert training services, technical assistance, internship programs, outside expertise as well as other tools.

The IMLS believes that the program will work optimally if it will focus one or more of the following goals:

a) The creation and conditioning of the knowledge, skills, and other expertise of the existing staff member at African American museums.

b) The process of motivating and retaining professionals who are well-equipped with the skills that are required to strengthen African American museums.

c) The process of recruiting fresh staff members to join the African American museums practice and providing them with the expertise that they need in order to support them in the field of museum.

The IMLS may award grant funds that may range from $5,000 to $150,000 depending on the degree of the activities that are a part of an eligible applicant's proposal.

Interested applicants of the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture Program will be considered eligible to outline a proposal if they're any of the following:

a) state or local government or a private nonprofit organization that has tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code

b) state or local government or a private nonprofit organization which is located in one of the 50 states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau

c) a museum, a museum service organization or association, a historically black college or university.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, the principal agency that is funding the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture Program, is the federal government's primary provider of support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.




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