ASSOCIATION ADVOCACY
INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Impacting Individual Gardens and All Gardens
Public Gardens are classified as “museums” by the Federal Government in the United States.
From 2022-2024 APGA members received over $10M in funding from IMLS,
Grants from the Office of Museum Services at the Institute of Museum and Library Services are one of the primary ways that museums can receive direct support from the Federal Government in the United States.
Grants can have a big impact on individual institutions, but many public gardens have used them to develop tools and resources that benefit public gardens everywhere.
SECTOR WIDE IMPACT
The Atlanta Botanical Garden will advance the museum field’s ability to identify new solutions that address high priority and widespread collections care or conservation issues in the botanic garden community by expanding a collections consortia approach. Project activities will include coordinating the development of the consortium, conducting genetic analysis to inform a gap analysis, developing an app for metacollection management, and providing ongoing training and outreach to existing and new consortium members. As a result, gardens of any size will have support, training, and access to tools that will help them better manage living plant collections.
GARDEN IMPACT
2021: The project is intended to help staff build a culture of collaboration, accountability, and transparency while also implementing effective business practices, which will increase their capacity to provide visitors with meaningful encounters with plants within the Midwest ecosystem.
2024: The project team will build capacity by hiring an outreach position, that will define audiences and develop a plan for community outreach that will also include a paid position for an undergraduate student that will contribute to research, planning, and updating of program curricula.
The American Public Gardens Association has been a sponsor of the American Alliance of Museums’ “Museums Advocacy Day” for over a decade.
The primary focus of Museums Advocacy Day has been support for the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
During that time, funding for the Office of Museum Services, providing matching grants to institutions, has increased from $30M to over $55M.
IMLS is committed to advancing, supporting, and empowering America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. In doing so we provide grants to a variety of institutions.
IMLS Grant Programs for Museums:
- Inspire Grants for Small Museums: support small museums of all disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public.
- Museums Empowered: supports projects that use professional development and training to generate change and growth within a museum.
- 21st Century Museum Professionals Program: supports projects that build career pathways, strengthen professional networks, and share effective workforce education and training practices across the museum field.
- National Leadership Grants for Museums: support projects that address critical needs of the museum field and that have the potential to advance practice in the profession to strengthen museum services for the American public.
- Museums for America: supports museums of all sizes and disciplines in strategic, project-based efforts to serve the public.
- Save America’s Treasures: supports the preservation of nationally significant historic properties and collections.
- African American History and Culture
- Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services
- Latino History and Culture
