As you have no doubt heard, the Trump Administration has proposed eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in its preliminary budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2018. These programs play an essential role in helping museums make the arts, sciences, and humanities accessible to all Americans. The eliminations are part of a package that the administration projects would cut $54 billion in domestic spending in order to offset an identical increase in defense spending.

Because museums, zoos and aquariums, science centers, and cultural organizations of all kinds are key to a thriving democratic society, the leadership of AAMV urges you to contact members of Congress and advocate for these programs and the important work we all do.

The following link will take you to very helpful guidelines prepared by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM): http://bit.ly/SpeakUp4Museums

Please share this your museum staff, docents and volunteers!

All of the AAMV-partnered sessions can be found here. 

Interested in using a new software to manage your volunteer program or just want to learn more? Check out the live webinars being run by Volunteer Impact to learn more about their software and how it is being used in museums.

Full information can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcJPoy3wdAY&feature=youtu.be

The American Association for Museum Volunteers (AAMV) is proud to stand with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and many partners around the country in advocating for the important roles that museums play in our communities, and the crucial contributions that volunteers make to these vital institutions.

Visit the American Alliance of Museum's website for more resources about how best to advocate for your institution and museums more broadly: http://www.aam-us.org/advocacy/resources

Join AAMV and share your volunteer success stories with us, to allow us to engage in effective advocacy, and connect with other volunteer managers and museum staff supporting the important work volunteers are doing.

We have re-launched the AAMV website (www.aamv.org) and this means that as members, when you've paid your dues, you will receive a unique username and password that allows you to access a treasure trove of members-only content that will be constantly being updated.

This includes our newsletters (our most recent one is here, for you to see what we're talking about), our new Volunteer Voices podcast (click here for our latest episode), and sample documents and forms, as well as our members-only forum where you can share ideas and ask questions of your fellow members.

Joining AAMV, or renewing your membership, gets you access to all of this content, as well as our online forum that is a great place to share ideas, ask questions, explore best practices, and network with other museum volunteer managers.

Cultural Volunteer Managers Council of Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Since first convening in April 1993, this informal gathering of volunteer program directors has meet on an average four to five times a year. What drove us to do such a thing when we all go to too many meetings already?  All of us had participated in larger conferences or workshops focused on volunteer administration and found that, while helpful and interesting, getting down to nitty-gritty problem solving and program development was most successful when you got together with people from similar institutions where volunteers had similar roles (for example in education and/or guest services). We have grown to include over 30 institutions, including primarily museums, but also libraries, a radio station, community arts centers, zoological gardens, aquaria and the like.” Our mission is to “serve as a resource for the exchange of information and the promotion of cultural volunteerism.”

To join this group's meetings or for more information, contact Lois Kuter at lvk26@drexel.edu

Chicagoland Cultural Volunteer Programs (CCVP)

In the Chicago area, the group Chicagoland Cultural Volunteer Programs (CCVP) meets quarterly to discuss a designated topic on volunteerism, and share ideas and solutions.  CCVP provides a terrific opportunity to network, update colleagues on your organization’s initiatives, and cultivate relationships with peers.

Find CCVP on Twitter, @Chi _CVP, and at the group’s blog   https://chicvp.wordpress.com/

The Atlanta Volunteer Managers Roundtable is a group of museum professionals who manage volunteers that meets regularly throughout the year in the metro Atlanta area to network, discuss best practices in volunteer management, and share success stories and resources. Our meetings are informal but a great way to network, share best practices, and meet a like-minded group of professionals.

If you are interested in participating in this roundtable please contact Richard Harker at rharker@kennesaw.edu or Kate Naylor at Kate.Naylor@fernbankmuseum.org.