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• Maine Museums Day 2020

  • When
    18 Feb 2020
  •  
    11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Maine State Archives and Maine State House, Augusta, ME

  Register

  Contemplate – Educate – Understand -- Renew
  

  Learn about advocacy, meet your legislators, and help us celebrate and advocate for collecting institutions throughout Maine!  

  The event will begin with a training on best practices in advocating for your institution.  Attendees will have time to meet with their legislators before reconvening for a reception in the Hall of Flags.

  

  11AM-12PM Maine State Archives  Advocacy Training: Tools and Tricks for the Small, Busy, and Passionate.  "Politics" can feel big, and controlled by special interests with lots of money.  But advocacy is about more than who you know and what things cost; at its heart, advocacy is about sharing the causes we love, educating our fellow citizens and our elected officials, and participating in the process of democracy, from the local level all the way to Capitol Hill. Join New England Museum Association's advocacy duo, Dan Yaeger and Meg Winikates, for an introduction (or a refresher) on getting the most out of visiting your representatives.  Then find out how you and your organization can build a case for public support and form stronger continuing relationships with your town, state, and federal representatives, without overwhelming your already busy days. 

  Register here (no cost, space limited) if you'd like to attend.

  12PM-2PM Maine State House  Meet Your Legislators - Make appointments in advance of Maine Museums Day to meet with your legislators on your own to discuss the issues relevant to your organization.

  2PM-4PM Hall of Flags, Maine State House  Reception - Exhibit your organization (register here at no cost to members of MAM and NEMA to reserve table space) and/or meet with folks from other collecting institutions while enjoying refreshments and inspiring speakers. These speakers will start their address at 2:30:

  • Dugan Murphy, Executive Director, Maine Archives and Museums
  • Dan Yaeger, Executive Director, New England Museum Association
  • Erik Jorgensen, Maine State Representative
  • Julie Horn, Visual Arts Director, Maine Arts Commission, Maine State House bicentennial exhibit coordinator

  
  

  This event is free, including the 11AM training (space limited) and first-come-first-serve exhibitor table space.  You must be a MAM member or NEMA member to exhibit.  NEMA members, please email info@mainemuseums.org or call Dugan at 207-400-6965 to register for exhibitor table space.
  

  We encourage collecting institutions, their volunteers and staff, students, and supporters across the state to attend. 
  

  
  

  Register for the Advocacy Training or Reserve Exhibitor Space

  Register on this page for the 

  • 11AM advocacy training (free to anyone, 30 seats available, registration open through February 16)
  • Limited exhibitor table space  (MAM members must sign in first and NEMA members can contact Dugan at info@mainemuseums.org or 207-400-6965; registration open through February 16) 

  
  

  Spread the Word
  

  Please use these materials to communicate about Maine Museums Day and about the impact of collecting institutions.

  • Sample language from New England Museum Association for inviting your legislators to Maine Museums Day and promoting the event via social media.
  • 2019 Economic Impact Statement from Maine Archives and Museums (free copies will be available at the advocacy training at the reception)
  • Museums Impact sheet from New England Museum Association
  • A collecting institution's guide to contacting your representatives
  • MAM Advocacy Toolkit

  
  

  Maine archives, historical societies, and museums are valuable economic engines in their communities, contributing millions of dollars to Maine’s economy, and enticing visitors to stay longer, spend more, and return in the future.  However, their value is more than dollars and cents, these collecting organizations create the unique feel of our communities, while preserving and sharing our most cherished history, art, and culture.  These Maine institutions, found in communities - large and small, rural and urban - provide opportunities for our citizens to understand where we have been and who we are as a society; they offer places where we can contemplate beauty and meaning in our lives, provide a sanctuary where we can refresh our spirits and reflect on our lives.  Archives, museums and historical societies can educate and inspire all ages, from the senior living in retirement, to the child just beginning school and learning about both our individual and common heritage.  Investment in the arts and humanities is essential to our well-being as Americans, and to the generations who will follow us.
  

  As valued partners in our communities and the state, our collecting institutions need protection. At risk are vital funds through state and national granting organizations, and support for important projects like the Maine bicentennial in 2020.  Join us as we listen, learn, and celebrate all these attributes at Maine Museums Day at the State House!

  
  

  Sponsor Opportunities

  
  

  Thank you to our event partner!
  

  

  Thank you to our lead sponsor!

  
  

  Northern Artery

  
  

  Thank you to our gold sponsors!
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Thank you to our silver sponsors!
  

  Northeast Document Conservation Center

  The Maine Birthday Book

  ANR Transport

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• Workshop: Tainted Money

  • When
    19 Feb 2020
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:30 PM
  • Location
    Yarmouth History Center, 118 East Elm Street, Yarmouth
  • Spaces left
    38

  Register

  Tainted Money

  Fundraising Ethics in Changing Times

  
  

  William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, is alleged to have said, “the problem with tainted money is there t’aint enough of it,” expressing the idea that it doesn’t matter where the money comes from as long as it goes to a good cause. But that philosophy today is being put to the test. Activists, artists, and museum workers are pushing back, calling out museum donors who have made their money from weapons, drugs, fossil fuels, or activities that conflict with the mission. As a result, museum leaders are confronting ethical conundrums concerning philanthropic paradigms, staff relations, power dynamics, and social justice. A recent national survey (led by NEMA in cooperation with other museum associations) uncovers critical data and insights from the museum field. Survey results will be the jumping-off place for workshop attendees to understand the issues, offer their own experiences and opinions, and help formulate ways the field can respond to the changing nature of fundraising. The workshop will include discussion of the field’s ethical standards and an opportunity for participants to craft or redraft a gift policy for their institution. (Participants should bring their museum’s current gift policy if applicable.)

  
  

  Schedule

  1:00 – 2:00: Introduce the topic; present the national survey that NEMA led; discuss results

  2:00 – 2:15: Break

  2:15 – 3:00: Current museum field ethical standards around fundraising

  3:00 – 4:00: Gift policies; participants will craft or redraft gift policies for their institution based on the day’s discussion

  4:00 – 4:30: Final discussion

  
  

  Your Presenter

  

  Dan Yaeger was named executive director of the New England Museum Association in April, 2010. His passion is to strengthen capacity in museums and build skills in the leaders that serve them. Dan has a 20-year history with museums, most recently as the director of the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, Massachusetts. He has developed communications programs for the Museum of Fine Arts/Boston, Peabody Essex Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art, Currier Museum of Art, Old Sturbridge Village, John F. Kennedy Library, and Plimoth Plantation among others. He has been adjunct professor, guest lecturer, advisor, and fellow at Tufts, Harvard, Brown, and Bentley universities and Lasell College. Dan holds a B.A. from Gettysburg College and received his master’s degree from Harvard University.

  
  

  
  

  The Venue

  
  

  This event is hosted at the Yarmouth History Center, located at 118 East Elm Street in Yarmouth, Maine.  The facility is wheelchair accessible.  Bathrooms are single-user unisex.  Parking is available on-site and across the street at Royal River Park.

  
  

  Online registration will be open through February 17.  To register after this date, contact Katie Worthing at 207-846-6259.

  The fee for members is $25.  Non-members pay $35.

  Due to space limitations, this workshop is limited to 36 participants. Register early to reserve your space!

  Members of MAM and NEMA enjoy discounted registration (MAM members please log in first; NEMA members contact Dugan Murphy at info@mainemuseums.org or 207-400-6965).  If you're not a MAM member, join today!

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