Foundant User Group
Thursday, 9:00-5:00
Meeting Agenda
Foundant Technologies invites you to a Users Conference specifically targeted at the Humanities Council community. Existing Foundant customers and other Councils interested in learning about the benefits of online granting will receive training on the latest features, participate in focus group activities and share ideas with peers.
StoryCorps
Friday, 8:00-9:00
StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. Since 2003, over 50,000 people have shared life stories with family and friends through StoryCorps. Each conversation is preserved at the Library of Congress and select stories are broadcast weekly on NPR's Morning Edition.
StoryCorps will present an overview of our history, initiatives, and services and explain how our mission and unique method of oral history directly inspires all of our work. The session will include listening to stories, highlighting some past partnerships, outlining the ways in which State Humanities Councils can become involved in the project, and finally a question and answer session.
Literature & Medicine
Friday, 8:00-9:00
A meeting for all Literature & Medicine partners and those who are interested in becoming partners. We will shape the meeting according to the make up of the group, but will plan to spend some time on questions related to Lit & Med in Veterans Hospitals.
Learning About the Federation
Friday, 8:00-9:00
For those attending their first Federation conference or those who would simply like to know more about the organization that serves as the councils' voice in Washington, this session offers an opportunity to learn about the Federation's mission, structure, and history. Please join members of the Federation staff and board for a brief orientation to the Federation's people, programs, and services.
The Civil War Sesquicentennial as a Chance for Dialogue and Reframing of Stereotypes of North and South
Friday, 8:00-9:00
The Civil War solidified in much of the nation's imagination the idea of good Northerners and bad Southerners. As winners of the war, white Northerners generated cultural processes of "constructed amnesia" about their complicity in slavery, and about the degree of Northern resistance to abolitionists. Draft riots in the North by men who did not want to join the Union forces, and events such as the proposal by New York City's mayor in January 1861 that New York secede with the South due to its ties to the slave/cotton economy... these are little known. Meanwhile, as a black Southerner has shared: "My South won the Civil War!" Come to this session to hear ideas and brainstorm your own on how to take advantage of the 150th to complicate the myth of Northern heroes and Southern villains, a trope that has been so shaping of our national/regional identities and politics. We will show clips from Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, a PBS/POV documentary about the North's complicity in slavery told through the eyes of descendants of Rhode Island slave traders. The film can be a resource anywhere, and we are also particularly interested in talking to Northern humanities councils and public history organizations given that there are currently fewer State Sesquicentennial Commissions organizing in Northern states than Southern ones.
Civil War Sesquicentennial: A Teachable Moment
Friday, 8:00-9:00
Many state humanities councils are gearing up to observe the 2011-2015 sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. How is your council involved in your state's planning? What programs will your council offer, and what do you hope to achieve? Can the CW150 become a teachable moment to explore the complicated dynamic of race and law in American history, even in states where no battles took place? How might the state councils and NEH collaborate to make the most of this opportunity?
Crossing the Lines: Considering Regionalism
Friday, 10:30-12:00
As partnerships become more prolific and resources (both human and financial) become more scarce, how can councils work together on a regional (or broader) basis to acheive their programmatic missions and maintain financial sustainability? We often encourage partnerships among our grantees and work collaboratively with other organizations within our own states, but how well do neighboring councils work together? This session will consider partnerships among councils that reach across state lines focusing on past, current, and future ideas for collaborations in programming, grant-making, and fundraising. What are the benefits and potential pitfalls of crossing state boundaries? In this brainstorming session we’ll hear about the Great Plains Chautauqua, the Southern Humanities Media Fund, and how four councils came together to secure funding from a private national foundation. We’ll then open up the discussion to learn from participants about other collaborative ventures among councils. Round up staff from your neighborhing councils and bring your ideas to share!
Annual Fund I: The Essentials of Annual Giving
Friday, 10:30-12:00
Unrestricted annual gifts are the life-line of any organization. The Annual Fund donor may not bring in your largest donations, but you will certainly receive more donations over-all than any other means of fundraising. These individuals are the very best place to recruit major donors, members and volunteers. Discover your core constituencies, design an annual giving plan, and develop strategies to that will raise money from these individuals and visibility for your organization.
Freedom Riders: A Collaborative Opportunity
Friday, 10:30-12:00
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (AMEX) would like to have a conversation with councils about ways that it could partner with them on educational and outreach activities related to its programs. Produced by WGBH, AMEX is one of PBS’s signature series, providing millions of viewers with compelling stories of the people and events that have shaped the nation.
In particular, we would like to explore ways that AMEX’s upcoming Freedom Riders project might be a focus of related council programming. Freedom Riders is an ambitious multi-platform project that explores the efforts of hundreds of civil rights activists to challenge segregation in interstate transport in the American South during the summer of 1961.
NEH Grants Administration Workshop I: General Support Grants
Friday, 10:30-12:00
This workshop will emphasize grant management and will include (a) basics of General Support Grants Admin, (b) discussion of various grant management changes over the past year (SF 425, E-GMS, Grants. gov, and etc.), and (c) an open forum where the audience may pose questions.
NEH New Board Member Orientntation
Friday, 10:30-12:00
Intended for new board members of state humanities councils, this session will introduce participants briefly to the national programs and current initiatives of the National Endowment for the Humanities, describe the activities of NEH’s Federal/State Partnership, and highlight the collaborative efforts of the Partnership and the state humanities councils. It will also focus on the ways in which NEH and the Federation work together and the differences between the two organizations, areas which seem to be confusing to new board members. Questions and discussion will be encouraged. New staff members of state humanities councils are also welcome and encouraged to attend.
Landscape...or Portrait? Graphic Design & Strategic Image
Friday, 10:30-12:00
A presentation and facilitated discussion of the role of graphic design and image development for councils. This session will be divided into two parts: 1) brief visual presentation of Alabama Humanities Foundation logo (adopted 2008), website and new semi-annual publication, and 2) Open discussion of a proposed design competition for councils.
Reaching Our Constituencies Online: Is It Working?
Friday, 10:30-12:00
Over the past few years humanities councils have been discussing how to use emerging technologies to reach communities that are not being served by either traditional programming or print materials. With the advent of Web 2.0 and social networking tools, many councils have begun integrating the online environment into their mission. This panel session will focus on how state councils are using social media, websites, e-newsletters, etc. to communicate with constituents, conduct programs, and raise funds, amongst other goals. The session will also allow for other Councils to share their experiences with these technologies and networking tools.
Congngressional Communications I: Basics of Grassroots Lobbying
Friday, 10:30-12:00
As this very eventful year has demonstrated, advocacy is not an activity that begins with Humanities on the Hill and involves occasional communications with members throughout the year. If we seriously wish to educate members of Congress and their staffs about the importance of the humanities in American life, advocacy must be a part of our activities throughout the year. This session will provide the basis for understanding the budget and appropriations processes, how the Federation and councils interact with these processes, and what new opportunities the new social networking tools offer to strengthen our advocacy efforts. This is an introduction and refresher course on the players, the process, and the steps the Federation and councils can take to affect the outcome.
When Life Gives You Lemons…: Creating and Sustaining a Humanities-based Literacy Landscape during Difficult Times
Friday, 1:30-3:00
The panelists will give brief synopses of the humanities-based literacy programs with which they have been involved and the funding means through which these have been sustained. Humanities-based literacy programs are especially vital to humanities councils as they target an audience that is generally one never-served by the councils, and one that is absolutely vital to the future of the councils. As a means to help humanities councils devise alternative means of funding, particularly due to the recent budget cuts with which they have had to contend recently, not only the panelists but the audience will contribute possible funding solutions for such programs. The panelists will collect the information regarding the types of literacy programs with which the audience members have been involved and their funding sources. The notes will be sent to all participants immediately after the conference so that many humanities councils can benefit from others’ innovative funding means.
Annual Fund II: Building a Successful Major Gift Program
Friday, 1:30-3:00
As your humanities council builds a base of annual donors, there is great potential for transitioning some of these supporters into major donors who can make a great financial impact on your programs. National development consultant Paul Strawhecker will address the challenges that development professionals face in integrating a major gift program into their organization’s fundraising efforts. Learn what some of the latest trends and techniques are in major gift fundraising, and apply them in role-playing solicitation. In addition to development staff, this session would be extremely useful for executive directors and any other staff or volunteers who may play a role in major gift solicitations.
Building It From the Ground Up: Creating New Programs
Friday, 1:30-3:00
So you have a great program idea. Or maybe someone has presented you with an idea you just can’t pass up. How do you move from initial concept to fully-fleshed out (and funded) program? This session will focus on several case studies including the New York Council for the Humanities’ Together--Book Talk for Kids and Parents program, which was developed over a three year period; and its Community Conversations program, which was developed and launched within a four-week period. This session will explore different ways to move programs from concept, to pilot phase, to full implementation and what some of the issues and pitfalls are along the way. Specific topics will include: how to choose which program ideas to pursue given the realities of limited staff and budgets, who should be involved with program development, finding and working with appropriate outside consultants, evaluating and making changes to a project at various points in its development, and how do you know when you have a success or a dud--and what to do about it.
Environmental Topics Engage New Audiences
Friday, 1:30-3:00
A number of councils have supported programs on environmental topics. These programs include reading and discussion programs, grants, teacher seminars, museum exhibitions, and public forums. Environmental topics have also engaged councils in partnerships and collaborations with organizations not frequently involved with the humanities. This session will draw on the experiences councils have had and will open discussion to the possibilities of other ways environmental issues could attract new audiences to the unique approach of the humanities. These might include, for instance, the use of oral histories to record the work of environmentalists-even of those local officials and employees who carry out the daily work of maintaining communities' physical environments-as well as ways understanding the environment is an essential aspect of civic engagement.
Staying Current with the NEH Office of Inspector General
Friday, 1:30-3:00
The Office of Inspector General is committed to promoting sound financial management in the community of state humanities councils. During this session, the following topics will be discussed: 1) changes in audit and compliance requirements over the past year; 2) results of OIG audit activities impacting councils; the revised Accounting System Manual for State Councils; 4) Board oversight responsibilities; and 5) fraud awareness and detection.
The Importance of Good Governance: A Council Board Member Discussion
Friday, 1:30-3:00
This session is designed as an opportunity for board members to explore their role as state council board members and exchange information, perceptions, challenges, successes, and ideas. Members of the Federation board who have served on council boards in their own states will lead a discussion of issues councils board members face and questions that arise for them regarding their governing responsibilities and practices.
Congressional Communications II: Surveying the Washington Landscape
Friday, 1:30-3:00
As we move into the second year of the Obama administration and the 111th Congress, what have we learned about the current legislative landscape? How have the humanities fared? What are the prospects for the coming year? Council advocates are invited to join members of the Federation’s Legislative Committee and the Federation Legislative Counsel for a discussion of the climate in Washington and the events and trends that are likely to affect humanities funding over the coming months and years.
How to Generate Reports and Analyze Data from the Federation's Annual Surveys
Friday, 1:30-3:00
This session is a hands-on tour of the Federation's new survey and council information software. Federation staff will demonstrate the applications features and answer questions, drawing on the experiences of session participants.
Humanities Content in Civic Reflection
Friday, 3:30-5:00
The NEH Division of Public Programs typically funds programs that place humanities scholars in authoritative roles. But often the most engaging and transformative community programs are those that create more open-ended conversations, and move people to examine their own stories in new ways. Rather than simply delivering content, the best humanities projects become catalysts for productive dialogue and broader reflection. This session will highlight projects that balance scholarly authority and community engagement, and link local stories to broader humanities questions. Examples include:
• Teen Chicago, an oral history project that engaged a “Teen Council” in conducting oral history research and developing an exhibition and website on growing up in Chicago. This project brought young people into the Chicago Historical Society in record numbers and had a powerful impact on the Society’s mission and relationship to teens.
• An exhibition in a truck that travels to rural communities interpreting the history and cultures of the Northern Forest region. Ways of the Woods becomes a catalyst for community conversations about key issues such as: how profoundly we are all shaped by the land; how tourism and industry alter people’s relationship to landscape; and how communities survive economic change.
Two NEH staff members and a program director from the New York state council will introduce the subject and will serve as facilitators of an open discussion. Conference participants are invited to share their own experiments with funding, creating, and evaluating open-ended humanities programs at the state and local levels.
Deepening Our Impact: Working With Small Museums
Friday, 3:30-5:00
How can state humanities councils build more lasting relationships with small museums? How can humanities councils form and utilize successful strategic partnerships with other museum-oriented agencies and organizations in their states or regions? What models for serving small museums and building their capacities have worked in your states? What is it that state humanities councils might uniquely offer museums that distinguishes them from other service organizations? What national initiatives or projects also offer strong opportunities for partnerships that will complement statewide efforts?
Absent Narratives, Multiculturalism, Cultural Competency, and the Responsibility of State Humanities Councils
Friday, 3:30-5:00
State humanities councils by the nature of their work come across “absent narratives:” stories, often controversial stories of racism, ethnocide, identity, that are not part of the state or national narrative. Who decides when these absent voices get a stage and who is obligated to provide that stage? Do state humanities councils have a role to play and possibly an obligation to provide this stage? This session will explore the challenges, opportunities, and risks inherent to state humanities councils who provide an opportunity for these stories to be heard either through public programming, work with teachers, or grant funding.
NEH Grant Administration Workshop II: We the People Awards
Friday, 3:30-5:00
This workshop will emphasize grant management and will include (a) basics of We the People Awards Admin, (b) discussion of various grant management changes over the past year (SF 425, E-GMS, Grants. gov, and etc.), and (c) an open forum where the audience may pose questions.
Philanthropy, the Humanities, and the Future of State Council Fundraising
Friday, 3:30-5:00
Philanthropy Reconsidered reading
How would you like to join forces with a cultural winner? Philanthropy has entered a period of dramatic expansion in cultural influence, in a paradigm-shift which session presenter George McCully first identified in 2000. This presents new opportunities for the humanities—the Greek philanthropia was translated into Latin as humanitas, and that Classical view played a central role in the American Revolution. Dr. McCully has had two careers—first for 20 years as a Renaissance historian; then for 25 as a professional philanthropist. Through his Massachusetts organization the Catalogue for Philanthropy and his book, Philanthropy Reconsidered, he is a leading strategist, with practical suggestions for us on how to use the humanities to promote philanthropy. This will open up new networks of potential donors for us, and position our institutions more prominently in a rapidly growing cultural development. “Philanthropy is becoming a school for values, in which the humanities can play a significant role.”
Museum on Main Street: “Journey Stories” Begins..."
Friday, 3:30-3:00
The latest Museum on Main Street exhibition, Journey Stories, debuted this past spring in OK, IL, ND, KS and MS. For the next six years it will venture to rural communities across the country inviting visitors to explore those journeys that have shaped our country, our communities and our lives. The exhibition focuses on immigration, migration, innovation and freedom as it examines the intersection between modes of travel and Americans’ desire to feel free to move. The story includes immigrants coming in search of promise in a new country, individuals and families relocating in search of a better life, the harrowing journeys of Africans and Native Americans forced to move and, of course, fun and frolic on the open road. Join us for a discussion of the themes of the exhibition, led by curator Bill Withun (Smithsonian National Museum of American History, retired) and learn from tour coordinators of the short and long-term impact that this project is having, and can have at the local levels.
Using SoftEdge to Drive Grassroots Advocacy
Friday, 3:30-3:00
This session is a hands-on tour of the Federation's new advocacy and grassroots campaign software. Federation staff will demonstrate the applications interface and answer questions, drawing on the experiences of session participants.
Constituent Session: Executive Directors
Saturday 8:00-9:00
This session is an opportunity for state council executive directors to exchange ideas, compare strategies, discuss administrative and policy issues, and explore trends and patterns in public humanities work. An agenda, with assigned facilitators, will be distributed to executive directors in advance of the conference.
Constituent Session: Program Officers: Sustainable Humanities: Let’s move our programs forward!
Saturday 8:00-9:00
In times like these many of us face new opportunities to broaden our thinking about our programs- to weed out programs that don’t “make the cut”, to utilize technology to eliminate costs, waste and/or to increase outreach, to engage younger audiences that are prime for embracing the humanities as their own, and/or to rethink or reformulate the way we fund our programs. (Think fee for service or product sales?!)
Join us for an open-style, idea sharing conversation inspired by successful and promising program innovations that have the potential to increase humanities program sustainability!
Constituent Session: Development Officers Discussion
Saturday, 8:00-9:00
This session will offer the opportunity for development officers to compare notes on what we are taking away from the previous day’s sessions on annual giving, major gifts, and other aspects of philanthropy, and discuss how we might adjust our own fundraising efforts in response. It will also help set the stage for Karla Williams’ upcoming session on Creating a Culture of Philanthropy by asking: what challenges and advantages do we face in the world of fundraising for state humanities councils that may be somewhat unique to our collective organizations? How do we then capitalize on our unique advantages and compensate for any disadvantages in creating and executing effective fundraising programs in our councils?
Constituent Session: Fiscal Officers Discussion
Saturday, 8:00-9:00
Fiscal officers - and accountants in general - are stereotyped as introverted, anti-social workaholics who are happier counting beans than socializing with colleagues. Let's prove them wrong! Participants in this informal moderated session will be encouraged to brainstorm and develop a framework for greater cross-council fiscal officer collaboration and information sharing. Our colleagues in the 56 state and territorial councils represent a vast and diverse untapped resource. Is the HUMFISCAL listserv enough? Should we develop a fiscal officer Facebook page? Should we tweet each other on Twitter? In the age of online social networking, how best can we capitalize on this new technology to be more effective and efficient at what we do? As Congress and the IRS increase their scrutiny and tighten oversight of non-profits, we need to collaboratively approach complex issues such as NEH compliance, the new Form 990, organizational governance and policy development, and the stricter audit standards resulting from Sarbanes-Oxley. Will what works for the Washington council work for the Maine council or the Guam council? Let's have a dialogue and find out.
Civic Reflection for Board Members: REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Saturday, 8:00-9:00
For most of their history, councils have offered highly popular and successful programs that bring people together for discussion around a text. In recent years an increasing number of councils have adapted this format as a vehicle for engaging the public in discussion of issues of vital importance to their community life. In a practice known as civic reflection, citizens are invited to read a common text as the basis for facilitated conversation about questions of civic engagement and the values and choices that we all confront in our public life. Please join your council colleagues for a text-based discussion led by skilled facilitators associated with the Project on Civic Reflection, and enjoy a stimulating intellectual experience while acquainting yourself with this interactive practice. Registration is required and will be limited to 20 people per session.
Federation Forum
Saturday, 1:30-2:45
The Federation board and staff invite all board and staff members of councils that are part of the Federation to join this discussion of the events and activities of this past year, services provided by the organization, future directions, the new five-year plan, and other topics of interest. This is your chance to help shape your membership organization!
Creating a Culture of Philanthropy
Saturday: 3:15-5:00
Creating and sustaining a philanthropic culture requires an inclusive approach to fundraising that emanates from the center of an organization and is embraced by every person in the organization. As a result of this approach, people will give naturally, wisely, and generously to your council. Your organization will experience higher fundraising goals, greater programmatic achievements, more community outreach, and more philanthropists of all levels and kinds.
If your state humanities council has any interest in private contributions as an important source of revenue, you will not want to miss this session. In addition to development officers and executive directors, the information presented will be of interest to board chairs, program officers, and other staff and volunteers. There are solid, practical reasons why we have much to gain by creating a culture of philanthropy throughout all organizational activities. We will discuss the ideas behind a philanthropic culture, the characteristics of such an approach, the roles required and who plays them, how to get started, and how we measure success.
Open Space Sessions
Saturday: 3:15-5:00
Have you ever left a conference feeling that the most valuable part was talking to colleagues in between sessions? Well, so have the members of the planning committee. We realize that we cannot fully anticipate the interests of all potential registrants. We realize, too, that councils cannot guarantee that their burning issues remain the same even from month to month. Therefore, we have decided to leave some “open space” in the schedule, so that within the conference there will be an opportunity to identify issues, self-select into discussion groups, and talk to colleagues who also care about the topic. We will share some simple organizing principles for these sessions at the conference, but you will determine the topic. Rest assured that flitting from discussion to discussion is not only allowed, but encouraged.
The Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Nebraska Humanities Councils would like to thank the 2009 National Humanities Conference sponsors for their generous support:
John Gottschalk