RF: Collection Management Fund Grant

The Rasmuson Foundation's RF: Collection Management Fund Grant aims to enhance collections management practices across Alaskan museums and cultural centers. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) nonprofits and tribal entities holding collections in public trust. The program encourages collaborative efforts and prioritizes emergency conservation projects, fostering a vibrant cultural landscape in Alaska.

Rasmuson Foundation Overview
Mission:

• To promote a better life for Alaskans.
• Primary program areas of interest:
• Arts & culture, health, social services, housing, promotion of philanthropy
• Grantmaking philosophy:
• The Foundation acts as a catalyst for change; helps Alaskans help themselves; and embraces the diversity within Alaska.
• Grantmaking goals:

Civic responsibility and individual philanthropy amongst Alaskans; economic possibilities for Alaskans; educational opportunity for Alaskans; healthy Alaska families; quality health care for Alaskans; strong leaders; vibrant arts and culture in Alaska.
About Museums Alaska
Museums Alaska supports museums and cultural centers in Alaska and enhances public understanding of their value. Museums Alaska maintains a central office to receive and disburse information about museums, cultural centers and their activities, and to collect and share professional opportunities. Museums Alaska organizes an annual conference to focus on the needs of Alaska museum professionals, volunteers, and their institutions. Museums Alaska currently administers two grant programs funded by the Rasmuson Foundation: the Art Acquisition program and the Collections Management program.
Collections Management Fund
The program seeks applications from any department for projects that have an emphasis on collections—whether that be the behind-the-scenes work of preserving, cataloguing, and storing the collections, or public facing work of exhibitions, education, and programming.

Eligibility

Collections Management Fund Eligibility: Applicants are required to be 501(c)(3) nonprofit, government, tribal entities or equivalent organizations that hold collections in the public trust, such as a museum or cultural center. Small, rural-based organizations are encouraged to apply.Museums and cultural centers in Alaska are eligible to apply for supplies and activities.Grants will fund activities that allow organizations to build capacity in the area of collections management and the conservation of collections.A single application for collections management funds may incorporate activities in one or more of the following categories:Collections Care Projects:Applicants may request funds for general collections management needs and specific projects. These projects can include requests for the supplies, equipment, and temporary staff needed to support inventory, labeling, rehousing, digitization, conservation, data management, or security projects, or any other work that directly improved the care of museum objects.Shipping costs for supplies and equipment are eligible grant expenses.Salary costs for permanent staff members may be charged to a CMF grant. Applicants can also request funding to support a collections assistant to work on a well-defined project.Training: Applicants may request support for the training of museum staff and community participants. Tuition and workshop fees for training events are eligible for funding, as well as associated training costs for providing a local training event for staff and community participants. Travel expenses that support transportation, lodging, and food expenses for experts or for Alaska museum staff to attend collections-related trainings elsewhere are eligible grant expenses. Projects with an emphasis on training staff or community members who can then pass on knowledge (i.e., “train the trainers”) are encouraged.Professional Services:Applicants may request support for specific projects, including contract hiring of conservators, registrars, collections managers, etc. who can provide expertise or services beyond the capacity of staff. Eligible expenses for contractors are limited to short-term projects, and local hiring is encouraged where appropriate to the project. When hiring an expert from outside Alaska, institutions are encouraged to communicate to share expert services among communities. Museums Alaska reserves the right to group like requests into a coordinated tour by a visiting professional. Projects that are collaborative or cooperative in nature, that benefit multiple Alaskan collecting organizations, are encouraged.Exhibitions:Applicants may request support for an exhibition that shares their permanent collection with the public.Programming: Applicants may request support for a virtual or in-person program that shares their permanent collection with the public.Digital Projects:Applicants may request support for digitizing their collections for their collections records and for public use. Digitization projects where the end-goal is to share the collection with the public are encouraged.Emergency Collections Care Projects:Emergency conservation projects are given priority during normal grant cycles. If an emergency occurs in between cycles, applicants must contact the Program Administrator to discuss their emergency application. Applications must meet the below definition of “emergency collections care project” in addition to the Collections Management Fund guidelines.Collections need immediate attention, and time is a factor in the protection of the collection; andCollections are directly impacted by one of the following emergencies:Federally declared disastersEarthquakeExplosionFireHazardous spillMold or mildewNuclear disasterPestsPower lossStormStructural failureUtilities failureVolcanic eruptionWater or flooding If funding is available, applicants will be given access to an online emergency application form. Applicants may only apply for one grant per cycle(two grants total per year). A funded grant project must be complete before a new application is submitted.All grant-supported projects must be complete within two years of receipt of grant funds.
Applicants should provide a clear schedule for completing their project within this timeframeThis year, the program will also allow the costs of museum staff time to be included(previously the grant only allowed the costs of staff hired/contracted specifically for the grant project), and up to a 10% administrative/overhead fee.Matching funds are encouraged but not required. Price quotes, estimates, and bids for contracted services and/or significant purchases are highly recommended. Supporting materials also encouraged are: letters of commitment; recruitment announcements for short-term hires; temporary position descriptions, and letters of support.

Ineligibility

Individuals, for-profit, and 501(c)(4) or (c)(6) organizations and non-Alaska-based organizations are not eligible for grant funding.Ineligible uses include:Reimbursement of pre-award costsConstructionPass-throughs, re-granting, or other financial assistance to nonprofitsFundraising projectsExhibit expenses not related to the museum’s permanent collection