Community-based Grants from the Union Pacific

From Grant Station:

Union Pacific Foundation: Community-Based Grant Program
The Union Pacific Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in the communities served by Union Pacific Railroad, primarily in the midwestern and western United States. (For a company system map, go here.) Through the Community-Based Grant Program, the Foundation provides support in the following categories: Community and Civic, Fine Arts, and Health and Human Services. Organizations in the railroad's service area are invited to submit a one-page preliminary application form online. Selected organizations will receive a link to the website containing the online application form, which must be submitted by midnight CDT on August 15, 2009. Visit the website listed above for details on the Community-Based Grant Program.

From the criteria listed on the site, one of their funding priorities is Community and Civic Organizations, which include historical museums. Check it out!

Free Lecture: The Man-made Wonders of Los Angeles

From the Los Angeles City Historical Society:

The Los Angeles City Historical Society & the History Department, Los Angeles Public Library

Invite You to the Annual Marie Northrop Lecture Series

Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 2:00pm

At the Mark Taper Auditorium of the Richard J. Riordan Central Library

630 West Fifth Street (between Grand Avenue and Flower Street)

Dr. Abraham Hoffman

"The Man-made Wonders of Los Angeles:

Or,

A Wonder It’s Man-made"

Abraham Hoffman will discuss seven man-made wonders of Los Angeles that have helped make the city what it is today – a megalopolis of almost four million people dominating the Southwest in both economic activity and urban ills. He will examine the city’s decisions about transportation, water, industry and commerce, and his comments will reflect his views as both a historian and native-born Angeleno.

Dr. Hoffman was born in Los Angeles and attended its public schools, graduating from Roosevelt High, LA City College, Cal State LA —where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees— and finally UCLA, where he earned his doctorate in history. He taught in Los Angeles schools for more than thirty years, and has been an adjunct instructor at LA Valley College since 1974. He serves on the board of editors for Southern California Quarterly, is book editor for Western States Jewish History, and regularly contributes to the LA City Historical Society Newsletter.

Dr. Hoffman has a lifelong interest in the history of his home town. His books include Unwanted

Mexican Americans in the Great Depression: Repatriation Pressures, 1929-1939 and Visions or

Villainy: Origins of the Owens Valley - Los Angeles Water Controversy. Not only a member of the LA City Historical Society, he also belongs to the Historical Society of Southern California, the Organization of American Historians, the Western History Association, Western Writers of America, and the Los Angeles Corral of Westerns.

Free and open to the public – Made possible by the Wood Family Trust and LACHS Members

This facility is handicap-accessible. Validated parking is available for $1.00 (between 1pm and 5pm only) at the524 South Flower Street garage (validation at library desk with library card, obtainable that day). Checkwww.lapl.org for more information, or call (213) 228-7000. The Metro Blue Line and Metro Red Line both havestops near Central Library, and most buses coming downtown stop near the Central Library; checkwww.metro.net for rates, routes and schedules.

Los Angeles City Historical Society 

www.lacityhistory.org 

(213) 891-4600 (323) 936-2912 

lacityhistory@gmail.com

Apply for Pro Bono Assistance from Taproot

The Taproot Foundation strengthens nonprofits by engaging business professionals in service. Non-Profits apply and can receive assistance in marketing, website design, strategic messaging, brochures, and more.  Though they are providing services and not cash dollars,  Taproot values their contributions at sometimes upwards of $50,000.

Taproot recently launched its Los Angeles Office. Currently, they have a limited service area, but as they review applications every quarter, their service area expands.

Apply now for their June 1st round of reviews; details on applying are here.

Los Angeles Conservancy's Annual Meeting: June 14

Join the Los Angeles Conservancy board, staff, and members for their 2009 annual meeting on Sunday, June 14, from 1 - 3 p.m. at the Farmers and Merchants Bank building in downtown Los Angeles. They will introduce the newly elected members of the Board of Directors, present their annual Volunteer Recognition Awards, and review the past year in preservation. They will also have a special program by architectural photographer, author, and longtime Conservancy supporter, Tom Zimmerman. Tom will discuss his new book Downtown in Detail (Angel City Press, 2009), which includes a foreword by Linda Dishman, the Conservancy’s executive director.

The annual meeting is free and open to the public. While reservations are not required, they are recommended and can be made by e-mailing info@laconservancy.org.  

More details on the speaker, the venue, and the Los Angeles Conservancy can be found here.

Santa Monica Conservancy's 1st Garden Tour

Santa Monica Landscapes

Sunday, May 31, 2009

1 - 5 pm

Don't miss Santa Monica Conservancy's first garden tour, showcasing twelve extraordinary landscape environments in different neighborhoods of Santa Monica. Gardens provide an important setting for architecture, and are a visual delight for the streetscape.

The tour features environments designed by eminent landscape designers who live in Santa Monica, including their own homes. Visits to the homes of Nancy Power, Daryl Hosta, Dale Newman and Wendy Katz (RubyBegonia) are part of this tour.

Examples of what visitors will experience:

- A botanical garden with specimen aloes, succulents and cacti in front, and a wild meadow of grasses in the back

- A lush, colorful and romantic Mediterranean garden with four different water features

- Drought-tolerant plants that are friendly to butterflies and birds

- A pine forest containing a genuine teepee

- A landscape combining mature trees and colorful flowering plants, designed and installed by the homeowners

- A Zen-like yard with a koi pond and bubbling ceramic urn fountain

- A garden incorporating sculpture, historic artifacts and an antique swing from India

And more....
Tickets are $35 for the general public and $25 for Santa Monica Conservancy members.

Purchase tickets online at the SMC website, or you may mail a check to Santa Monica Conservancy, P.O. Box 653, Santa Monica 90406.

Reservations will be held at will-call at the Yahoo Center on tour day. The Yahoo Center is a public park with beautiful landscapes, a hidden garden in Santa Monica, located on Colorado Avenue and Cloverfield Boulevard.

Simons Brickyard Reunion: May 23rd

Simons Brick Yard, which was the largest brickyard during World War II in the U.S.
what later became parts of Commerce and Montebello, helped shape culture in Los Angeles, Southern California, and the Nation. The Montebello Historical Society is hosting a Return to Simons; check it out !(Click to make the poster bigger.)

Cataloguing Hidden Special Collections

On June 15th, pre-proposals are due for the Council on Library and Information Resources's Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant program. From their site:

Libraries, archives, and cultural institutions hold millions of items that have never been adequately described. According to a 1998 Association of Research Libraries' survey of 99 North American research universities' special collections, on average 15 percent of their printed volumes, 27 percent of manuscripts, and 35 percent and 37 percent of video and audio, respectively, are unprocessed or uncatalogued. Nationally, this represents a staggering volume of items of potentially substantive intellectual value that are unknown and inaccessible to scholars.

With generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Council on Library and Information Resources administers this national program to identify and catalog hidden special collections and archives. In 2008, CLIR issued the program's first Request for Proposals (RFP, in pdf), to which 118 libraries, research centers, museums, historical societies, and other cultural heritage institutions responded. A distinguished review panel of librarians and scholars selected fifteen exceptional projects for funding. The primary criteria the panel employed in evaluating the proposals were the potential national significance of the nominated collections for scholarship and teaching, the application of description standards that would provide interoperability and long-term sustainability for project data, and innovations in the design of workflow processes that maximized both efficiency and the potential for outreach to user communities. Funded projects will continue for up to three years.

The program's strategy assumes local autonomy and responsibility but also requires participants to agree to governing principles that ensure enterprise-wide coherence. All nonconfidential information that applicants supply is made publicly available through CLIR's Hidden Collections Registry. Contributions to the Registry from institutions who do not wish to apply for grant funding are also welcome.

As the program continues, program staff will develop a descriptive record of a subset of collections that are deemed most urgently in need of cataloging and documentation. The record will evolve as funded proposals are completed. Although the program does not provide funds for the creation of digital surrogates of cataloged materials, CLIR hopes that many funded projects will ultimately be enhanced through the creation of publicly accessible digitized versions of the newly cataloged materials.

Full information on this program and funding can be found here.

8th Annual Citywide HPOZ Conference: May 30th

(click to make the flyer full size)

We hope that you can help us spread the word to your constituents about the citywide Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) Conference on Saturday, May 30, 2009, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at Angelica Lutheran Church, 1345 S. Burlington Ave., in the Pico Union HPOZ.

The Department of City Planning is partnering with the Los Angeles Conservancy for the eighth straight year to organize this special event focused on the City's historic districts, the 24 HPOZs.  In the past, the conference has been largely a training session for HPOZ Board members.  But this year, we're seeking to build broader awareness and understanding of our HPOZ program by inviting any and all who are interested in historic preservation. 

We'll be offering a stimulating day of workshops, tours, and networking, including:

* The first HPOZ Awards Luncheon, honoring outstanding projects within the city's 24 HPOZs. 

* Pico Union Walking Tours, including the Alvarado Terrace National Register District

* A hands-on workshop on window repair

* Breakout sessions to include:

• Introduction on the basics of HPOZs for homeowners and residents
• Advice for new and proposed HPOZ's
• Advanced sessions for current HPOZ Board Members

The cost for the conference is $20, which includes continental breakfast and lunch.  To register, please visit www.laconservancy.org/neighborhoods or contact Flora Chou at fchou@laconservancy.org or (213) 430-4211 by May 16, 2009. 

PR Funding Available; Deadline June 30

A continuing challenge for many heritage groups is getting the word out about what you do and your many resources and assets. To help you and other non-profits, the Public Relations Society of America, Los Angeles Chapter offers a $10,000 grant.  From the Center for Non-Profit Management Newsletter:

The Don Perkins grant program has been available for more than 15 years and supports nonprofit organizations in Southern California to help defray costs related to their public relations activities. The grant is administered by the Public Relations Society of America, Los Angeles. The 2009 Grant Amount is $10,000 and the application deadline is June 30, 2009. To view an online application and apply, click here

Bringing the Past to Light: New Art from Old Images at El Alisal

Opening on Museums of the Arroyo Day the Arroyo Arts Collective presents Bringing the Past to Light:  New Art from Old Images at El Alisal, the historic home of Charles Fletcher Lummis in Highland Park .  Making use of images taken from old photographs, artists working in installation, performance, music, video, and other new media create an innovative mix of past, present and future visions of the Arroyo area, calling to mind the bohemian sensibility of Lummis’s circle; and/or invent scenarios of Arroyo life yet to be.  Bringing the Past to Light is presented by the Arroyo Arts Collective, sponsored by the Historical Society of Southern California, and opens on May 17, running through June 14.  El Alisal is located at 200 E. Avenue 43, Los Angeles , CA 90031 .  For hours, performance times and information visit www.arroyoartscollective.org. 

 

Performers include Carol Colin & Ted Waltz, Santina Giordano, Gurdon Miller with L T Mustardseed & Seraphina Whitman, and a puppet performance with Beth Peterson, Jonathan Alvarez & Linda Anne Hoag, puppeteers, and Severin Behnen, music.

 

Installation artists include Edith Abeyta , Stephanie Allespach, Dara Brady & Erika Cobain, Chelsea Dean & Janice Gomez, Jacqueline Draeger, Natalie Egnatchik & Edwin Fang, Nicholas Fedak II, Cidne Hart & Kevin Hass, collective From Here to There, Heather Lowe, Suzanne Lummis & Rachel Siegel, Susan Lutz, Daniel Marlos, Karen Neubert, John O’Brien & Cielo Pessione, Toti O’Brien, Benjamin Page , Deborah Thomas, and Nan Wollman.

 

You can drive, you can bike, you can take the Gold Line to the Southwest Museum Station and walk over to the Lummis Home, and then take the shuttle to the five other museums open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about MOTA Day: http://www.museumsofthearroyo.com/. 

 

WHO:  The Arroyo Arts Collective

WHAT:  Bringing the Past to Light: New Art from Old Images

WHEN:  Sunday, May 17 through Sunday, June 14, 2009, 12 noon to 4 p.m.

WHERE:  El Alisal, aka the Lummis Home, 200 East Avenue 43, Los Angeles, CA  90031

 

Special performances and special hours on Sunday, May 17, for MOTA Day. Seewww.arroyoartscollective.org for performance times.

 

Special hours on Sunday, June 7 for Lummis Day. See http://lummisday.org/.

All About the Mayan and Belasco Theatres: May 16th

The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation www.lahtf.org

Invites You & Your Friends to Attend

All About the Mayan and Belasco

Saturday, May 16, 10:30 am – Doors open at 10:00 am

Club Mayan (www.clubmayan.com )* 1038 S. Hill St. (btwn Olympic and 11^th)

The Belasco (www.thebelasco.com )* 1050 S. Hill St.

FREE ADMISSION

 

The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation (LAHTF) takes its popular All About… series to two theatres near the intersection of Hill and 11^th St., the Mayan (1927) and Belasco (1926) on Saturday, May 16, 10:30 am. The event begins at the Mayan. The public is invited to attend.

 

Theatre historian Ed Kelsey will present a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation on the storied past of these theatres, which were built to expand the Broadway district Southward.  The Belasco was built for drama and the Mayan for musical theatre.  A restoration/renovation is currently underway at the Belasco to convert the theatre to a night club and special event venue. The Mayan was converted into a very successful night club almost 20 years ago. Working with club owner Sammy Chao, the LAHTF interceded to ensure the renovations to the Mayan were reversible.

 

Tours

Tours will explore the far reaches of the theatres’ public areas, support spaces, and stages to provide attendees with an insider’s, behind-the-scenes look at two unique buildings.

 

Engage

LAHTF volunteers will explain how you can get hands-on experience saving, restoring and programming great theatres in Los Angeles by becoming actively involved with the LAHTF. There will be announcements of a series of exciting events coming to historic theatres on Broadway soon.

 

 

COMING ATTRACTIONS:   Save the Date: June 20.

June 13 – The Magic of Tony Curtis at the Million Dollar– HOUDINI, SOME LIKE IT HOT

For more information - http://www.julesvernefestival.com/spip.php?article296&lang=fr

 

Many people are fascinated by the architecture of fantasy so beautifully on display in Southern California’s great historic theatres. People are also curious about how the theatres work. What does it look like backstage? What do the performers see when they look out across the footlights?  Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation's "All About" series gives the public an insider's look at these wonderful theatres and share parts of their histories - good and bad - as a way to encourage people to become actively involved in protecting and ensuring their futures.

 

The LAHTF is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, restoring and supporting the operation of Southern California’s historic theatres.  For more information visit www.lahtf.org

Preservation Article in LA Times

Check out today's L.A. Times article on the region's approach to preservation, local history, and remembrance.

Congrats to Heritage Square Museum for telling a story through their latest exhibit that finds relevance in today's media!

Cultural Heritage: Graffiti!

From the Arroyo Arts Collective:

GRAFFITI: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY  

Understanding the Phenomenon of Modern Graffiti: A presentation by Steve Grody, followed by Q&A         

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 • 7:30 PM

Ebell Club • 131 S. Ave. 57 •  Los Angeles  90042

Free for members of Arroyo Arts Collective and Ebell Club, or suggested donation $5 at the door

(public parking lots available nearby; please note that meters run until 9 pm).

Sponsored by Arroyo Arts Collective and Future Studio Gallery • Thank you Ebell Club

 

Since 1990, Steve Grody has been searching the alleys, washes, and abandoned lots of Los Angeles in search of this vernacular art. Over the years, he has cultivated the trust of L.A. ’s most prolific, skilled, and infamous graffiti writers, allowing him access to obscure locations. His obsessive drive to document this distinctive youth underground has resulted in an archive of over 15,000 images. From this he has chosen the best work to illustrate the range of styles and approaches of this urban phenomenon in his book, Graffiti L.A.: Street Styles and Art. He has interviewed top artists to clarify their motivations and thoughts on creativity, as well as the troublesome aspects of its illegality. Limited copies of Steve’s amazing book will be available after the talk, which he will be happy to sign ($35, checks or cash).  

Strategic Fundraising Legal Training: May 13th

Public Counsel is offering a video conference training around the country on May 13th, and one of the sites is locally here in L.A. From their email newsletter:

Public Counsel's Community Development Project is co-sponsoring a free seminar, called "Fundraising Activities: Getting All the Legal Ins and Outs Right", on May 13, 2009 from 7:30 AM - 12:30 PM.  The seminar will be hosted at the offices of DLA Piper LLP in Los Angeles, 550 South Hope St, Suite 2300 Los Angeles, CA 90071. The seminar is designed to address the numerous rules regarding multi-state charitable solicitations, acknowledgement and receipt of donations and rules related to special events.  If you are soliciting in different states (for example, through email fundraising), this seminar will be useful because it provides information related to multi-state solicitation registration requirements.  Also, all charities that receive donations will benefit from the IRS session regarding acknowledgment and receipt of donations, rules related to special events and gift acceptance policies. Please click here for more details, including RSVP information.

Public Counsel also has publications on their website for non-profits such as Fundraising and Commercial Co-Ventures/Cause-Related Marketing. For more information on Public Counsel's Community Development Programs, click here.

Walking Tour of NoHo: "Hidden in Plain Sites"

From the Museum of the San Fernando Valley:

 

 

"If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development."

Aristotle - founder of the first museum in the western world.

 

 

 

 

 

THE "HIDDEN IN PLAIN SITES" TOUR

 

On Saturday May 9, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. the Museum of the San Fernando Valley is conducting a special North Hollywood Historic Walking Tour.  (See details below)

 

The first 20 people to sign up for the May 9^th tour, will receive a

complimentary pass to the 5^th Annual Old Fashioned Pancake Breakfast

being held that morning at Fire Station #86 down the street at

4305 Vineland, just north of the 101 Freeway.

So, have a great breakfast and walk it off in North Hollywood!

(see attached flyer for details)

 

The Museum of the San Fernando Valley is dedicated to revealing the historic and artistic riches we travel past everyday and may never realize are there.  To paraphrase Aristotle: “Knowing where we came from and how we got where we are, serves to inform us in creating a better future.”

 

Join us in discovering this rich neighborhood!

 

DATE:               Saturday, May 9, 2009

TIME:                10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

MEET:              North Hollywood Park

(Tujunga Ave. at Magnolia Blvd. - Amelia Earhart Statue)

PRICE:             $10.00

LENGTH:          2.5 hours

PARKING:         On-street (Tujunga Ave. or Magnolia Blvd.)

 

If you are planning on joining us, please email us at:  NoHoTours@aol.com.

Tell us you are coming, how many in your party and how many of you would like to attend the pancake breakfast as well.  Walk-ups accepted.

 

For further information, call:  (818) 909-4729

Thank you to the Universal City/North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for your support.

Fund a Heritage Garden or Tree Planting

Home Depot has announced their three funding cycles for  2009. As a heritage organization, one way to take advantage of this opportunity is to develop a project that plants native plants around your service area, trees on your walking tour route, or creating an improved gateway to your community.

From Home  Depot:

Building Healthy Communities Grant Program 
Grants, up to $2,500, are now available to registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, public schools or tax-exempt public service agencies in the U.S. who are using the power of volunteers to improve the physical health of their community.  Grants are made in the form of The Home Depot gift cards for the purchase or tools or materials.

Free Community Forum: May 14th

For heritage organizations, developing partnerships with non-heritage groups for neighborhood revitalization can provide relevance for history and new opportunities to reach an expanded or non-traditional audience.

So, how does a heritage organization connect with neighborhood renewal projects? There's one way to learn coming up at USC on May 14th from 8am to 2:30pm...

Next week, the USC Davidson Conference Center will play host to the 7th Annual LANI Community Forum. Presented free of charge by the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, the Community Forum presents varied workshops, breakfast, and lunch. Details & the free registration are at their website.

Formed as a 501c3 in 1994, "The mission of Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) is to stimulate community-driven neighborhood revitalization. LANI facilitates stakeholder participation and decision-making, and promotes public/private partnerships that result in catalytic community improvement projects."

LANI works to improve neighborhoods through Community Consensus Building, Transportation and Pedestrian Corridor Improvements, Business District Revitalization, Urban Greening Development, and Support of Community Organizations.

2nd Quarter LAHA Meeting a Success

Over 20 groups met Saturday, May 2nd for the second LAHA quarterly meeting of 2009. From Malibu to Pomona and the San Fernando Valley to Torrance, groups represented greater L.A. as we shared resources and strategies for the benefit of all.

The bulk of the meeting was a workshop on using strategic partnerships to recruit volunteers. A four-page worksheet was presented and worked through offering advice, suggestions, and best practices in working efficiently to recruit the volunteers you need for your organization in general and for your board.

Also discussed was future meetings, as well as an update on the Heritage Tourism pilot project, a heritage master calendar, our online listing of organizations (click the blue button in the right-hand column on this site to see the latest version!), and future programs and meetings.

Don't miss the next quarterly meeting on the 1st Saturday of August, where we'll be reviewing a calender for 2010. Stay tuned for detail on that meeting later this summer.

Latest News from ALHFAM

Check out the latest newsletter of the The Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums Western Region here. 

This international association "serves those involved in living historical farms, agricultural museums and outdoor museums of history and folklife. Since its founding in 1970, ALHFAM has been at the forefront of the growth and professionalization of the use of living history techniques in museum programs. ALHFAM members and member institutions can be found across the United States and Canada and in many other countries."

Their mission states:

ALHFAM  is an organization of people who bring history to life. ALHFAM enables its members to make history a valuable part of the lives of museum visitors. It achieves this purpose through the exchange and sharing of ideas, information, tools and experiences centered around accurate, active, participatory, object-based historical interpretation. ALHFAM, through its membership, is committed to leading museum interpreters, educators, researchers, administrators, curators and volunteers in these fields:

• Historical agriculture
• Historical trades and manufacturing
• Historical clothing and foodways
• Living history programming
• Historic site administration, care of collections, and program delivery within the above specialties

Check out their website at http://www.alhfam.org.