Dear Friends, Colleagues, and MANY Members,

On Tuesday, the New York State Board of Regents unanimously endorsed the $1.6 billion state aid proposal along with their 2018 budget and legislative priorities. We are thrilled to report that for the first time ever the Regents designated the Museum Education Act as a budget priority and proposed $5 million to fund it.

Under their state budget priorities, the Regents describe this new program as:

Expanding Access to Education Programs through Cultural Institutions - Support the Museum Education Act and establish competitive grants to support cultural institutions that seek to establish or improve museum education programs designed to improve and support student learning opportunities, including supporting the development of local curricular aids.

And if this action was not sufficiently awesome on its own, the State Education Department released a video on today of Commissioner MaryEllen Elia's statement about how increasing equity has been the driving force behind everything SED does. In talking about equity, the Commissioner specifically mentions passing the Museum Education Act and linking museum education programs with pre k -12 schools to enable students to learn from the museums' "incredible collections".

We are grateful to Chancellor Betty Rosa, Regent Roger Tilles, Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, Executive Deputy Commissioner Elizabeth Berlin and Deputy Commissioner of Cultural Education Mark Schaming for their support of museums in New York. 

But, we're not quite home yet. To get these bills passed in the upcoming legislative session will require your help.  We will soon be sending out new tools to help you call and meet with your legislators. We will also be selecting dates for you to join us in Albany to advocate for passage of the Museum Education Act.  

Erika Sanger

Executive Director 

Museum Association of New York

Sheila Healy

Government Relations Consultant

December 11, 2017

Dear Members, Friends, and Colleagues,

Last week I was honored to present testimony on MANY's behalf at the New York State Assembly's Standing Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts, and Sports Development annual budget oversight hearing to review the impact and effectiveness of NYSCA grants.

I included that museums are one of New York's State's most valuable cultural assets -- attracting visitors from around the world with an economic impact in the billions of dollars. I also detailed how NYSCA plays an essential role in funding our state's museums and cultural organizations and how the anonymous peer review process insures that funding decisions are informed by knowledgeable professionals.

In preparation, we distributed a survey to gather information about funding from NYSCA and the REDC. You can click here to read a summary of the survey results. If you are interested in a copy of my comments or the survey raw data, please let me know and I will be happy to send them to you as pdfs.

Advocating on behalf of New York's museums and cultural institutions is one of the most rewarding things we do. MANY's board and staff are gearing up for the tenth Museums Advocacy Day, February 26-27 in Washington, DC. Museums Advocacy Day is a critical chance to make a unified case to Congress about the value of museums, and a unique opportunity to invest in yourself and build your own advocacy skills.

Registration for this exciting and important event is FREE to MANY members. Send an email to our office to request your registration code. It is not too late to renew your 2017 MANY membership and join us in Washington, DC.

Keep checking our website for more information about "Visioning Change" MANY's 2018 annual conference in Rochester April 8-10. We have some information up on the homepage, with more to follow soon. 

 With thanks for helping us speak out for you,

Erika Sanger

Executive Director