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Dark Futures: Nonprofit Fragmentation
I wanted to start the year on a positive note, I really did. But I find myself writing about a middle-of-the-night worry, instead.What gave me nightmares? Not a bad dinner, unfortunately, but a steady diet of sobering news. I spent most of … -
The Entrepreneurial Museum: Down on the Farm
I’m collecting examples of entrepreneurial museum projects—mission-related initiatives that contribute to the financial bottom line. Last month I profiled the Spark!Lab National Network, an initiative of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center. … -
A Christmas Carol for the Collaborative Economy
Subtitle: (St. Entropy has an app for that…) ‘Twas the night before Christmas in the Museum’s big hall, And all through the building soft echoes did fall. Not a creature was stirring, from microbe to ‘gator— Not mice, and not people, not … -
Entrepreneurship in Museums: The Spark!Lab National Network
Entrepreneur, ˌäⁿn-trə-p(r)ə-ˈnər, (n) “a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money.” While “entrepreneurial” as applied to museums has usually focused on the “willing to take risk” part, in recent … -
Inspiring a New Generation
Author Neal Stephenson recently launched the Hieroglyph project, to rally writers to reintroduce optimism into science fiction. That is pretty ironic, considering some of the dystopian visions he has painted of our future. But, as he … -
Sold out of science: embracing private collectors in natural history museums.
Is there such a thing as déjà prevu—the feeling of seeing something that you intended to write, but haven’t, yet? This feeling swept over me recently when I read a piece by Mark Carnall, curator at the Grant Museum of Zoology and … -
Mining Data in Colorado
In the 1850’s, the Fifty-Niners flocked to Colorado to join the gold rush. In 1879, it was silver that drew adventurers to the state with visions of riches. Now the History Colorado is prospecting for a new kind of wealth—data. The … -
Access: No Longer About Unlocking the Front Door
I’ve blogged about my brief experience with Google Glass at the Tech@LEAD conference. Turns out @nealstimler loaned that same pair of specs to Nik Honeysett, head of administration at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Today Nik shares his … -
Museums in an Age of Scale
On September 16-17, 2013, an eclectic crew descended on the National Building Museum here in D.C. for “Museums and the Learning Ecosystem: building the future of education”—a convening co-hosted by CFM and The Henry Ford, with the support … -
Smithsonian X 3D: Putting 3D to work for museums
Last week I played hooky from writing TrendsWatch 2014 to catch up on one of our 2013 picks: 3D scanning and printing. The Smithsonian X 3D conference featured speakers from around the world sharing the latest developments in this rapidly …
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Embracing Community, Building Membership: Reversing the Decline in Lower-Level Giving
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Alliance Blog
Recent news from the world of US philanthropy is both optimistic and concerning. On the …
Museums & Public Opinion 2026 Report
Category:
Research and Reports
The message from the American public is clear: museums matter. Americans overwhelmingly …
From Idea to Acceptance How to Submit a Winning Annual Meeting Session Proposal
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On-Demand Programs
In this interactive session, we’ll demystify the proposal review process and walk you …