8 Small Projects Promise Big Impacts for Area Museums
Updated: May, 2022
In January 2021 the Museum Council of Greater Philadelphia made $5,000 available in the form of $250 nano-grants and $500 micro-grants to support projects with sustainable high-potential-impact for institutions and communities in the Philadelphia region, including surrounding counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Museum Council is pleased to announce the award of seven micro-grants and one nano-grant that will support an exciting range of low-cost projects at cultural institutions in the region.
Grant funding will support innovative projects at the Friends of Old Pine, Elfreth’s Alley Museum, The Betsy Ross House, Cliveden of the National Trust, Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center, Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust, The Penn Museum, and Wyck Historic House, Garden, & Farm. Projects range from developing a self-guided audio tour, to developing a teen ambassador program, to growing a community garden.
“There are a lot of important things we, as a field, tend to put on the backburner because they don’t seem ambitious enough for more grandiose visions,” says Mike Adams, President of the Museum Council. “But what we perceive as small-scale projects often have outsized impacts on the communities we serve. With these grants, Museum Council hopes to encourage our regional colleagues to use these unusual times to think creatively about little things they can do to make big impacts for their visitors in physical or online spaces.”
Projects funded by the micro and nano- grants include:
Self-Guided Audio Tour Development, Old Pine Conservancy
The Alley Cast, Season 2, Elfreth’s Alley Museum
Tipsy History at the Betsy Ross House, The Betsy Ross House
Cliveden Neighborhood Stewardship Litter Management, Cliveden of the National Trust
Diversifying our Audience: Community Advisor Discussions, Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
Friend's Garden at Arch Street, Arch Street Meeting House
Teen Ambassadors, The Penn Museum
Friends of Wyck Membership Rejuvenation, Wyck Historic House, Garden, & Farm
Questions? Contact admin@philadelphiamuseumcouncil.org.