• To improve and maintain communication among museums throughout Nebraska.
• To promote professional standards and development for museums and their staffs.
• To serve as an information source for local, state, and federal government and other decision-making authorities on issues relating to Nebraska museums.
• To promote the sharing of museum resources to benefit all Nebraskans.
• To promote the understanding of Nebraska history, culture and natural history through public education.
• To promote joint marketing of Nebraska museums to enhance their image as family and travel attractions.
• To disseminate information of importance to museums through production of a newsletter, seminars, annual meetings, and other educational activities.
• To cooperate with other professional organizations and associations both within and outside the state of Nebraska.
• To solicit and receive grants, conrtibutions, and other property, to enter into contracts, to engage needed personnel and services, and to transfer, hold, and invest such real property as may be required to carry out the purposes of the association.

• Tax exempt status: private, non-profit
• Governance structure: elected board
• Number of board members: 16
• Board function: advisory, policy, operations, service delivery, fund raising, advocacy

Finances

• Membership categories, dues: $15 / Fiscal Year (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31)
• Operating budget: $5,000 - $10,000
• Audit: biannual
• In-kind support: Free use of office equipment, museum staff allowed to do NMA business on museum's time.
  

• IMLS PSP Textile Conservation Needs Assessment Project
  A statewide assessment of the needs for textile conservation will be conducted, followed by a series of basic textile conservation care workshops offered in each region of the state. Outcomes will include training materials and may results in acquisition of textile conservation services through the Nebraska-based Ford Conservation Center, a division of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
  
  
• Emergency Planning Guide
  Underwritten by a grant from the Woods Charitable Fund, Inc., this project has involved a survey of emergency preparedness planning by Nebraska museums, development of a emergency preparedness planning workbook which offers step-by-step instructions for creating a useable emergency plan, and a series of workshops offered in each region of the state.
  
  
• Unclaimed Property Legislation
  The Nebraska Museums Association assisted in creation of legislation to allow for the systematic resolution of ownership and disposition of unclaimed loans and property held by Nebraska museums and protect the rights of museums, donors, and citizens.
  
  
• Guild's Quilt Preservation
  Working with the Nebraska State Quilt Guild, NMA has assisted with a project to document quilt collections in public museums across the state and to provide assistance to participating museums in caring for their guilt collections.
  
  
• Videoconference Grant Workshops
  With assistance from federal and state grant-writing agencies, the State of Nebraska videoconferencing network, and Sprint, NMA was able to present a series of grant workshops to members statewide. Members were able to hear from and interact with program officers in Washington, D.C. from NEA, NEH, IMS, and NSF and Lincoln, Nebraska, yet no member had to drive more than sixty miles from his/her home in order to participate. This innovative use of technology proved a valuable model for NMA's providing services to members spread across 77,000 square miles.
  
  
• Improved Association Management
  As a result of scholarship funding from the Peter Kiewit Foundation, NMA officers were able to participate in the AAM-sponsored "Effective Management of Museum Associations" and the National Conference of State Museum Associations. Both of these training sessions provided a wealth of ideas for better serving our widespread constituency and more effectively using limited resources.

Questions or comments about NMA, contact a board member in your area.
July 10, 2003