Courtesy World Awareness Children’s Museum
World Awareness Children’s Museum (WACM) in Glens Falls will receive a $5,000 grant to help it increase community engagement in other nearby counties.
The Museum Association of New York (MANY), in partnership with the state Council on the Arts (NYSCA), awarded funds to 102 grantees to assist New York museums with capacity building. For the World Awareness Children’s Museum funds will be used to increase community engagement in Saratoga, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Albany counties, and to cultivate relationships with new supporters around the Capital Region.
“We are very excited to continue growing our museum’s impact throughout the Capital Region. WACM strives to be a museum for all. This grant will help us increase our funding so that anyone can experience all WACM has to offer, no matter their financial situation,” said Bethanie Muska Lawrence, executive director of the World Awareness Children’s Museum.
The grant partnership with NYSCA was developed in direct response to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Partners for Public Good (PPG) study “Market Analysis and Opportunity Assessment of Museum Capacity Building Programs” report published in March 2021.
Capacity building grants were awarded in amounts up to and including $5,000 to help museums respond to pandemic-related challenges, build financial stability, strengthen board and community engagement, update technology, support leadership, and change systems to address diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and justice. Awards were made to museums of all budget sizes and disciplines.
WACM will use the grant to strengthen its donor base and enhance its community outreach programs to ensure that the museum is able to offer free and affordable programs to all families. It will be partnering with Capital CFO+ to develop and implement plans.
“The arts and culture sector is facing a multi-year recovery process after two years of unimaginable challenges,” said Mara Manus, executive director, NYSCA. “We are grateful to MANY for their stewardship of this opportunity that will ensure New York state museums continue to grow and thrive. We send our congratulations to all grantees on their awards.”
“We thank NYSCA for this partnership and this opportunity to rapidly distribute much-needed funding to New York’s museums,” said Erika Sanger, executive director, MANY.