ABBY CURTIN TEARE, GRANTS PLUS
Proposal Type
Working Group
Seeking
- Seeking Additional Presenters
- Seeking Specific Expertise
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
Related Topics
- Advocacy
- Fundraising
Abstract
In the 2017 Public History Employer Survey, practitioners noted that philanthropy is one of the biggest economic factors impacting the field of public history. However, few resources exist to help public historians navigate the realities of developing a sustainable fundraising strategy, communicating the value of history to funders, and dealing with how the interests of funders impact the collection, preservation, and interpretation of history. This working group will bring together public historians and individuals with expertise or experience in fundraising/philanthropy to map out best practices for fundraising and grant seeking as they apply to the work of public historians. The outcome of this working group will be a sort of “public historian’s field guide to philanthropy,” which could take the form of a series of blog posts on the topic for History@Work, a guide to fundraising with accompanying resources shared via the NCPH website, or a whitepaper on the topic.
Description
Practitioners in the field of public history have noted the following philanthropic trends impacting their work:
• Lack of grant funding
• Reduction in government grants
• Private dollars being difficult to leverage
• Competition for arts and humanities funding
• Changes in giving patterns and habits
• Sustainable funding models – what would this look like?
• The need to advocate for public funds
• Public/private partnerships
• How to better articulate ROI of public history work for potential funders
• The need for more entrepreneurial thinking to maximize dollars raised
In the context of this year’s conference theme, “Threads of Change,” this working group might explore questions such as:
• How do philanthropic trends impact the work we do as public historians?
• How do these trends impact our ability to develop and sustain healthy partnerships and collaborative work?
• Philanthropy, civic engagement, and activism are all related. Are public historians forced into a specific model of activism based on who has and is providing the funding?
• What types of funders fit best within public history theories of practice?
• How do we as public historians respond to the changing philanthropic landscape?
• How do we articulate the return on investment of public history work to funders?
• How does philanthropy impact who public historians collaborate with and how we collaborate with them?
• How can public historians make the case for history relevance and historical thinking in the quest for funding?
I am looking for participants who are willing to share case studies/experiences related to fundraising and public history practice, discuss how organizations are navigating these challenges, share how philanthropic trends have impacted specific projects, programs, or overall organizational planning, and discuss how funders respond to requests for financial support for public history institutions. Participants might have experience as grant writers, program managers on grant-funded initiatives, or as program officers for foundations or government agencies.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly: Abby Curtin Teare, [email protected]
All feedback and offers of assistance should be submitted by July 1, 2019. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
I like this topic. With everyone chasing grant dollars, philanthropy might serve as a boon to public history. Individuals like David Rubenstein and Robert F. Smith are investing huge sums of their personal wealth into what he calls “Patriotic Philanthropy,” https://washingtonlife.com/2019/06/05/philanthropic-50-david-rubenstein-the-patriotic-philanthropist/; https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/before-morehouse-gift-billionaire-robert-smith-donated-money-buy-mlk-birth-home/7ZwnB3n2pLli3i8Loc6s1K/. Does it translate to small institutions? Lesser known histories?
Thanks for your comment, Brian! You raise some very good questions, and ones that would be interesting to discuss as part of this working group. It would be beneficial, I think, to explore the trends in philanthropy as they relate to public history institutions. The concept of “patriotic philanthropy” seems equally pertinent and problematic for this discussion!
Please feel free to attend or participate as a discussant if you feel so inclined!
Abby,
You might reach out to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy here at IUPUI to see if any of their faculty members might have done research in this area or can recommend someone who would be a good panelist for the working group. Their contact page is athttps://philanthropy.iupui.edu/contact/index.html.
Hi Greg, thank you for your reminder about the School of Philanthropy at IUPUI! This is good to keep in mind as I move forward with planning this working group.
I think the focus on fundraising and the working group idea is strong but I would also like to see some discussion of the different ways in which public historians have collaborated with NGOs, philanthropic and charitable institutions and what impact that has had on all involved.
It would also be good to get a sense of the pros and cons of this form of work. How do the strings attached to this funding vary in comparison with others. Are universities in the US putting increasing emphasis on applying and winning this form of funding over others (they are in Australia).