FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2007

CONTACT:
Michael Johnson, Director of Communications
816-421-1388
michael@maaa.org

Mid-America Arts Alliance Receives Museum Professionals Grant

Kansas City, Mo.—Mid-America Arts Alliance received a 21st Century Museum Professionals grant in the amount of $400,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Mid-America’s Professional Development division will use the funds to provide governance training for the staff and trustees of 60 small, rural museums through its Hands-on Experiential Learning Project (HELP).

“Small, rural museums constitute three-in-five of all American museums, yet they typically have the poorest access to professional resources and training opportunities,” said Mary Kennedy McCabe, Executive Director of Mid-America Arts Alliance. “The best chance these institutions have for fulfilling their public obligations rests with developing their leadership and organizational capacity. This federal grant will move us closer to that goal.”

Training will be implemented through cooperative workshops, on-site assistance from field experts, goal-setting and peer review, attendance at museum conferences, and on-line tutorials during a 24-month period. Participants will learn the key components to good governance. HELP will measure and track institutional change and improvements; project results will be disseminated nationally through publications and conference presentations.

HELP is a program of Mid-America’s Professional Development division, founded in 2003 to provide institutional advancement, capacity building, and professional development opportunities for Mid-America Arts Alliance’s constituents. The Professional Development division develops and implements needs assessments and training opportunities within Mid-America’s six-state region.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is to grow and sustain a “Nation of Learners” because life-long learning is essential to a democratic society and individual success. Through its grants, research and publications, the IMLS empowers museums and libraries to provide leadership and services to enhance learning in families and communities, sustain cultural heritage, build twenty-first-century skills, and increase civic participation.

Mid-America Arts Alliance, the nation’s oldest regional arts organization, was founded in 1972 to foster cultural growth in heartland communities. Today, Mid-America primarily serves communities throughout Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, though it also develops and delivers arts and humanities programs for a national audience. Mid-America programs attract more than one million people annually in more than 300 communities.

For more information, please contact Andrew Graham at (816) 421-1388, ext. 225.