Reviewers' comments

on an NEH grant proposal:

"...presented a well-researched and engaging proposal. The subject is scholarly, lively, and does a wonderful job of explaining one part of industrial history."

"I like this application and the project it champions. It is straightforward, solid work that has been executed with thoroughness and passion for the subject."

"This application’s strength lies in the clear, concise, exposition of the industrial and cultural history of …"

on an IMLS Museums for America
grant proposal:

"Project design is thorough and the benefits to the institution are clearly spelled out."

"The project narrative is well-written and the project thoughtfully designed."

"A straightforward, well-written grant."

Success stories

Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum
At this historic setting on the Narragansett Bay, they have completed the rehabilitation of a 1901 Lord & Burnham glasshouse for public use and propagating plants for the gardens' future. Three grant proposals raised $225,000 for the project, including $100,000 from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission.
            The organization has won a grant of $32,000 from the Institute of Museum & Library Services' program Museums for America: Sustaining Cultural Heritage. The staff and consultant will create a MySQL-based collections management system with GPS integration for masterful intellectual control of their expansive, historically important living collection.

New England Aquarium
We won a NOAA grant (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) for nearly $100,000 to fund a marine mammal rescue team in Massachusetts, and the study of causes of stranding and death in marine mammals.

Sandwich Glass Museum
Grants for the Museum's expansion and renovation totaled over half a million dollars, including a $440,000 Challenge Grant award from NEH, one of only seven given to historical societies and museums in the country in 1999. This was significant for an organization that had not previously pursued institutional support and operated on an annual budget of $500,000.

Some major donors that have funded proposals created for clients

Anonymous Foundations
The 1772 Foundation
Awards 4 All UK
Bafflin Foundation
The Boston Foundation
The Champlin Foundations
The City of Boston – Jobs & Community Services
Felicia Fund
The Hartford Courant Foundation
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Kendall Foundation
Massachusetts Cultural Council
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management
Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities
Massachusetts Historical Record Advisory Board
Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund
Massachusetts Society for the Cincinnati
Millipore Foundation
National Endowment for the Humanities, Challenge Grant
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Trust for Historic Preservation
New England Foundation for the Arts
Prince Charitable Trusts
Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission
Schrafft Charitable Trust
Sovereign Bank
Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust
State of Rhode Island, Human Resource Investment Council
State Street Foundation
Sunfield Foundation

Brief Client List (recent and present)

American Association for State & Local History
Ames Memorial Library, Easton, MA
Barrier Islands Center, Machipongo, VA
Benjamin Franklin Institute for Technology, MA
Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum, RI
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, MD
Connecticut League of Historical Organizations, CT
The Frost Place, NH
House of the Seven Gables, MA
New England Aquarium, MA
Sandwich Glass Museum, MA

Sustainable Museums
Copyright © 2007 bMuse, Sarah S. Brophy