Save The North Coast's Natural History Museum

Thank You Arcata Exchange! Pouring Wine to Save the Museum

2009-10-10T20:34:00.001-07:00

We would like to extend a thank you to all those that participated in the wine pouring event for the museum. And to Gene, the owner of the Arcata Exchange for being such a great supporter.

Look for us out and about in the community and remember -- we are still working on SAVING the museum!

Event: See our square at Pastels on the Plaza!

2009-10-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to the Northcoast Children's Services for donating a square to us! Stop on by the Plaza Saturday and check it out! Tell your friends!

PRESS: A letter to the Times Standard Editor "Save the North Coast's Natural History Museum!"

2009-09-29T17:28:00.001-07:00

Save the Natural History Museum

Letter to the Editor

Posted: 09/28/2009 01:15:17 AM PDT

Thanks for your Toast to the hundreds of volunteers and donors who are working to keep the North Coast's Natural History Museum alive, and thanks, too, for your Roast of the HSU administrators who decided, against all evidence, that it would be better to permanently shut down the museum than turn it over to its own advisory board to keep the collection open to the public.

You were quite right in ending your Roast of the administration by giving HSU an out, saying, “these are difficult times, and difficult decisions have to be made.” No argument there, but this particular case was a no-brainer, and HSU administrators didn't pass the exam.

HSU has little to lose but much to gain by giving the advisory board a year to make the museum sustainable. At little additional cost to the university (which is keeping the museum open by appointment in order to satisfy grants it accepted last year), the newly formed Friends of the North Coast's NHM might at least be allowed to fail on its own. Instead, the university seems happy to accept the blame for eliminating one of its only examples of outreach to the community. As far as public relations goes, HSU gets an F.

Janet and Arthur Zich

Arcata

PRESS: A Roast from the Times Standard

2009-09-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

Roasts and Toas ts

The Times-Standard

Posted: 09/21/2009 01:30:13 AM PDT

Roast

* To Humboldt State University for putting a halt to prospects for the reopening of the Natural History Museum. While the university's budget predicament is unquestioned, it seems like it too readily gave up on the efforts of many in the community -- people who pledged some $75,000 to the museum and had proposed keeping it open with some paid and volunteer staff. At the same time, these are difficult times, and difficult decisions have to be made.

PS We have over $76,000 in pledges as of today.

2009-09-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

Word. Check it out over there ---------->

To pledge visit www.savethenorthcoastnhm.org

"Alright I'm listening and I'm not giving up. So what can I do to help?"

2009-09-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

So you're surprised, perhaps angry, maybe a little disheartened or maybe you're fired up and you want to do something with that extra energy! There is still a lot to be done and we're more than willing to work with you to contribute in whatever way you'd like.

1. Pledge.

Pledge, pledge, pledge. Pledge $5.00. Get together with your friends and pass the hat around and pledge that. Have a party and charge to get in and pledge that. Tell your Brother in Law "I know you were thinking about pledging so do it now!" Teach your Great Aunt how navigate the web and take her to http://www.savethenorthcoastnhm.org/

Because the more money we have ready to go -- the more hard evidence we have that our model is feasible and supported. Money talks...

2. Write a letter to the Editor. Any Editor -- all Editors.

The press gets the word out -- and we need the word out there. You can find all of the information you need to write a letter here. Or you can go to the top of the blog and click on "show your support." Tell them why you love the museum. Tell them about the last time you went there. Tell them to visit the blog and website. Tell everyone who reads the letter to write a letter themselves.

If you have any questions about information or our press releases or anything you can always email us savethenorthcoastnhm@gmail.com and we will get back to you.

3. Write a letter and send it to us! You can direct the letter to HSU, the President of HSU, the community at large or whomever. We'll in turn post it on the blog (to get your word out) and send it along with our letters and requests to HSU.

If you're going to write a letter to the President of HSU we ask that you write it soon as we're trying to start working with them again as soon as we can.

Email us and we can talk more about details if you'd like. savethenorthcoastnhm@gmail.com

4. Write to me! Write me an email savethenorthcoastnhm@gmail.com and answer the question "why the museum should remain open to the public" or answer the other question "why I love the natural history museum." Or you can even write a statement about what compelled you to write a statement in the first place.

Email it to me -- we'll put it up everywhere we can. Include in this email your contact information (Name, Email, Phone) if you would like us to include the statement in a press release/ packet sent to the press. Or if you want to remain anonymous we can do that too.

5. Tell us if we've missed anything. Have you been sitting on an idea but didn't want to share it? Or didn't have a moment to share it? Email it! savethenorthcoastnhm@gmail.com

We're still getting together fundraising ideas and sustainability plan ideas, volunteers, people and businesses who are willing to show their support. So if you're cooking up something let us know!

6. Sign up for the blog updates. Become our friend on Facebook.

7. Pledge.

8. And believe it... we're not giving up.

Natural History Museum Board Statement, Thursday September 17th, 2009

2009-09-18T02:29:00.001-07:00

Natural History Museum Board Statement, Thursday September 17th, 2009
From: Karen Reiss

Today the Museum Board received a formal reply rejecting its proposal to save the Natural History Museum. After the meeting last Wednesday where the University indicated its openness to working with the Board to save the museum the Friends of the North Coast's Natural History Museum was excited to continue our fundraising efforts to keep the museum open to the public. We are extremely disappointed that the University has reversed itself and chosen not to work with us in refining our proposed model to keep the Natural History Museum open for the current year, and in developing a long-term plan for sustainability of the Museum.

The proposal envisioned an independent non-profit organization running the museum, and we had already begun the process that would move us in that direction. In the short term, Humboldt Area Foundation has agreed to help us through this transitional period by setting up an account that would allow us to fund the ongoing operations of the museum for the current year from the over 300 pledges, totalling more than $75,000, that have been made to date. These pledges already exceed the $60,000 in donations that we had estimated to keep the museum open this year with scaled back staffing (one instead of 2 1/2 full time positions) and hours of operation (5 instead of 7 hrs/day). During this transitonal period fundraising and grant writing would continue, as would the careful development of a more sustainable model for the Museum. We are currently arranging to hire a consultant to help us develop this long term model.

In the proposal, the Board specifically asked the University to work together with the Board and the Friends of the North Coast's Natural History Museum to refine the proposal, in the event specific aspects were deemed unworkable. At present, the University does not appear willing to do so. The Board remains hopeful that these differences can be resolved, however, and that HSU will ultimately see the value of a partnership with the Friends of the North Coast's Natural History Museum that preserves this vital part of the North Coast community.

For now, we would like to thank all of the museum supporters in the community who have pledged funds to keep the museum open, the many volunteers who have donated time and energy to the effort, and the Humboldt Area Foundation, for their support. We will continue to work to protect the numerous learning opportunities for the members of our community that the Natural History Museum provides.

Wait, what?

This is probably going to come as quite a shock to many of you but please be assured of a few things.

1. We are not giving up and we hope you will not give up.
2. We are not giving up.
3. Many of us took a moment to breathe, but realized that we're not done knocking on doors or getting more information or trying (very much trying) to work with HSU so that we can come to an agreement to keep the museum open to the public.
4. We are working every angle that we can -- yes we are hopeful that an agreement can be worked out with HSU -- but we aren't just sitting back and hoping we are continuing to put plans into place that will help make that happen.
5. We are not giving up.

This blog is a public space to get out information about the museum. It's reasonable to assume that some of the folks at HSU who make these decisions are well aware of this blog space. We would like to address them directly and reiterate that we believe that there is still an opportunity to keep the museum open to the public and we hope in the coming days there can be open and honest communication about these possibilities.

If anyone has any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to email savethenorthcoastnhm@gmail.com

Donor Questions: Where do I send my money $$$$

2009-09-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

I've been getting the same question on email lately so I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know the answer (in case you've been wondering yourself).

I've pledged and now I'm ready to give you money. Where do I send my money/check?

Well -- thank you again for your continued support of the museum. We're very appreciative that so many people in our community stepped forward to help keep the museum open. Pledges are a first step for us to see how much immediate money we can gather together. And we're SOOO glad you're ready to write your check now.

But -- we need you to wait a little bit before you put that check in a mail.

Right now the Friends of the North Coast's Natural History Museum is in the process of setting up a place to house these pledges -- along with securing our own 501(c)(3) status and deciding on our administrative policies and procedures. These are important assurances to you, and to us, that the money will be collected and managed in the most professional way possible, but it does take time.

Once we have those things in place (and we anticipate that very soon) we will be contacting you directly about where to send your check or the best way to get your money to us. So no need to worry, we will be ready to collect your money very soon -- and we will let you know.

Thanks for staying with us. Watch the blog for information -- and keep sending us your questions!

Here we go everyone: Press Release: THE FUTURE OF THE MUSEUM

2009-09-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HSU AND NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM BOARD DISCUSS PLAN TO KEEP MUSEUM OPEN TILL JULY 2010; FUTURE STILL UNCERTAIN

September 10, 2009

The HSU Natural History Museum Advisory Board met with HSU Provost Robert Snyder and College of Natural Resources and Sciences Associate Dean Steven Smith last night to discuss the future of the Natural History Museum. The University had announced on August 7^th that the Museum would be closed permanently at the end of the month due to California’s fiscal crisis and the University’s need to cut millions from their annual operating budget. Following the initial announcement, the Board and public rallied to keep the museum open by a dual effort that involved fundraising to replace HSU’s state funds contribution, and creating a proposal for a model that would allow the museum to operate without any state funds. The proposal submitted to HSU on August 28^th by the museum Board and the Friends of the North Coast’s Natural History Museum outlined a transition from the current university-funded and managed entity to an independent non-profit museum, funded and managed through the volunteer efforts of an elected Board of Directors and fewer permanent staff. The transitional phase was proposed to be partially funded by the grassroots fundraising efforts, which in the last few weeks has already netted approximately $74,000 in pledges from an energized base in the community.

In last night’s meeting, Provost Snyder noted that HSU would not be able to sell or lease the building until at least July 1, 2010, and committed to leaving the exhibits intact at the present time, rather than beginning to dismantle them, significantly extending the time period during which an alternative model for museum operations can be developed. The University also expressed interest in allowing K-12 educators to use the museum for class trips during the current academic year. This would enable curriculum specific to the Natural History Museum, written last year with funds from the McLean Foundation and the Redwood Science Project, to be utilized by area teachers. HSU also agreed to discuss the possibility of the fledgling Friends of the North Coast’s Natural History Museum funding the expenses that would be necessary to keep the museum open to the public until July 2010. Details of such an arrangement remain to be worked out.

With respect to the long-term fate of the Museum, HSU plans to form a workgroup composed of representatives of the HSU administration, faculty, K-12 educators, and Museum Board to develop a proposal for the future of the Museum. In parallel, the Board intends to execute plans outlined in their proposal that move toward an independent nonprofit organization running the Museum. These include incorporating, applying for non-profit status, electing a new Board of Directors, and applying for grants and continuing to fund-raise for capital that will secure the long-term viability of the Museum.

For the present, the museum remains closed, but there now appears to be some hope that the Museum will be able to reopen to K-12 educators and the public shortly. In the long term, the Friends of the North Coast’s Natural History Museum are committed to ensuring that a natural history museum that serves the needs of the North Coast community will continue to exist, whatever precise form it may take, and whatever role HSU chooses to play.

Where are we at: A short update

2009-09-09T10:56:00.001-07:00

Hello All:

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend (I did!) and spent some time relaxing.

The Friends of the North Coast's Natural History Museum is still going strong and I wanted to take a moment to do a very quick update for everyone.

If you notice our pledge watcher over there -----> we are now over $70,000 in pledges!!! That's way over the half way mark and well on our way. Thank you to all who have pledged support for the museum and for those who continue the efforts to raise money.

If you are new to our blog and would like to pledge please visit www.savethenorthcoastnhm.org

TODAY: The Board is going to meet with HSU regarding our proposal. The meeting will be a closed session between the Deans, Provost and Board Members. We are all hopeful that we can reach an agreement SOON and begin the next phase of our efforts (filing for 501(c)(3) status AND more fundraising).

And again, we are continuing our tabling at various locations around the county AND we also welcome more pledges.

Thank you again for all of your support. As soon as I get any further word I will let everyone know.

Press: Check out the Front Page (Print) -- click to enlarge

2009-09-06T11:22:00.001-07:00

Press: The Arcata Eye continues to spread the word (September 2)

2009-09-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

Museum backers mobilize, submit rescue plan – September 2, 2009

Kevin L. Hoover
Eye Editor

ARCATA – Community members wishing to keep the HSU Natural History Museum (NHM) open have garnered half the funds stipulated as necessary for an interim rescue, all from individual donors. With a longer-term plan now in the hands of university officials, NHM supporters are looking forward to establishing a new non-profit organization that can accept corporate donations and foundation grants.

As they await HSU’s response to the proposal – possibly by week’s end – the museum’s friends also hope to maintain both focus and momentum as events unfold.

Read the rest of the article here.

Check out the Arcata Eye website! We're right there! Save the Museum.

2009-09-06T11:17:00.001-07:00

www.arcataeye.com

Efforts to save the HSU Natural History Museum continue, with children picketing on the Plaza during Farmers' Market and their grown-ups making plans to rescue the cherished 20-year-old facility (see story, below). Donations are coming in at a haealthy rate, and yours is needed too! For more information, visit Save the North Coast's Natural History Museum blog. KLH | Eye

The Friends of the Dunes has a link to our page on their front page!

2009-09-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

You can see it here: http://www.friendsofthedunes.org/

Press: Arcata Eye features the Museum on it's FRONT PAGE

2009-09-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Check out the link here: http://arcataeye.com/albums/album13/20090826_G.jpg

After you click on the link click on the image to make it bigger!

$65,000!! In Pledges ALONE!!! And we're still on our way!!!

2009-09-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

Take a breath, pat yourselves on the back... and get ready for more!

Radio Spot 2: Save the North Coast's Natural History Museum!

2009-09-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

Listen for us on BiCoastal Media Stations!!!

Times Standards Toasts YOU this week!

2009-09-01T17:16:00.001-07:00

Roasts and Toasts

The Times-Standard

Posted: 08/31/2009 01:30:18 AM PDT

Toast

* To all of those who made pledges to help keep the doors of Humboldt State University's Natural History Museum open. Let's hope a plan can be developed to save such an important community resource.

View it here.

Radio PSAs from BiCoastal Media: Check them out!

2009-09-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Here is the first Radio PSA that's currently airing on the BiCoastal Media Stations in our area. Let's all thank BiCoastal Media!!! And listen for them on all of their stations.

So you've volunteered to staff one of our community tables? What now?!

2009-09-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! This group is run by volunteers like you! Every little way you can help... helps. We've already raised over $4,000 just through TABLING alone!

Here's the basic outline of what you do at the tabling events:

You are helping to:

1. Spread community awareness of the museum situation and ask for community support for the future sustainability of the museum

2. Accept pledges in support of the museum:
* People can either fill out the pledge form and leave it with you, or they can pledge electronically online.

3. Hand out the flyer with our blog and web address on it
* They can check out the information, sign up for volunteering, write a letter to the editor, pledge online, or so that they can hang the flyer up at their place of work, etc.

4. Have people write their name and contact information on the email list if they are interested in volunteering.
* We can use volunteers at places like the Wildberries Table, K-12 outreach, and much more.

5. Let people know that we are interested in any support ideas they have for the future of the museum:
* The main idea is that we hope to really leverage all the great community support we are currently receiving to help us sustain the museum in the long term.
* So all the great ideas we are receiving we would love to utilize our community contacts not just right now, but also in the future as the museum will continue to need these ideas if it stays open.

Volunteer Tabling Calendar

2009-09-01T11:39:00.001-07:00

If you would like to volunteer staff one of the tables below please email allisonhong@sbcglobal.net with your available times.

Green = Wildberries
The Wildberries Table is a daily event. The table is set up at Wildberries Marketplace in Arcata. We need volunteers to sit at the table as often as they can. Though the table will be set up with or without volunteers, volunteers can staff the table to answer questions and drum up support for the museum.

Pink = Arcata Farmer's Market
The Arcata Farmer's Market Table is a Saturday Event currently running through October 3, 2009. We need volunteers for each Saturday from 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Sign up for a two hour shift!

Find out more about what a tabling volunteer does here.

Press: Times Standard reports on our continuing efforts

2009-08-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

Natural History Museum proposal in

John Driscoll/The Times-Standard

Posted: 08/29/2009 01:30:20 AM PDT

Supporters of the Natural History Museum on Friday delivered a proposal to Humboldt State University leadership outlining their plan to keep the museum open.

With pledges totaling some $55,000 -- nearly half of what HSU said would be needed to keep the doors from closing this year -- the community effort seems to have serious traction.

The plan supporters turned in to the university calls for the formation of a nonprofit group to independently run the museum, which would raise its own funds, said Karen Reiss, biology professor at College of the Redwoods. The details of the plan aren't currently being made public, she said, but part of it includes continuing to work with the university in the future while remaining autonomous.

”We're pretty excited,” Reiss said. “We feel like it's a very reasonable, rational, doable proposal.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Press Release for August 31, 2009: NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM GROUP SUBMITS PROPOSAL TO KEEP THE MUSEUM OPEN

2009-08-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 31, 2009

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM GROUP SUBMITS PROPOSAL TO KEEP THE MUSEUM OPEN
Over $55,000 pledged to help support the efforts

On Friday, August 28, the HSU Natural History Museum Advisory Board and the “Friends of the North Coast’s Natural History Museum,” a group of volunteer community members, met HSU’s deadline to submit a proposal to avert permanent closure of the museum. Only three weeks earlier, the university announced the closure due to cutbacks in California State funding. The plan submitted satisfies HSU’s requirement to reduce their expenditure to zero, and outlines the Museum’s transition to an independent non-profit organization over the next several months.

The proposal is the result of two weeks of hard work by concerned community members and the Advisory Board. The community rallied to “Save the North Coast’s Natural History Museum.” following an initial August 12 meeting when College of Natural Resources Dean James Howard and Associate Dean Steven Smith explained the budgetary pressures that forced the closing of the museum. The Deans agreed to seriously consider an alternative plan if it outlined a reasonable strategy for both short- and long-term fundraising to replace the university’s contribution to the Museum budget. Members of the Museum’s Advisory Board and The Friends of the North Coast’s Natural History Museum formed workgroups tasked with marketing and public relations, grassroots fundraising, research into foundations and grants, non-profit and other operating models, and fiscal analysis.

The results of these efforts to date include: an online blog for up-to-date information, an online pledge system, information tables at local businesses and community events, widespread media attention, and as of the proposal’s submission, over $55,000 in pledges. Efforts are continuing to fundraise and spread the word about the museum’s predicament.

The future of the museum is still far from clear, but the impressive show of support is a testament to the vital role that the Natural History Museum plays in the North Coast community. In these times of fiscal hardship, there remains hope that a solution may be found. HSU’s response is expected within a week.

Friends of the North Coast’s Natural History Museum continues to update the Natural History Museum blog (http://savethenorthcoastnhm.blogspot.com) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/savencnhm). They are also on Facebook and can be reached at savethenorthcoastnhm@gmail.com. For interviews please contact Karen Reiss, 825-0465 or karen-reiss@redwoods.edu

The Kids March to Save the Museum! More to come...

2009-08-29T13:46:00.001-07:00

MORE SOON!

Tables, Tables, Tables oh My!

2009-08-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

We now have a table set up at Wildberries Marketplace. It features flyers and information about saving the Natural History Museum. We'll be there daily and even if there is nobody sitting behind the table feel free to stop by and pick up a flyer.

If you would like to volunteer to STAFF the table during any part of the day please contact us and we can get you scheduled. Bring your lunch and sit back.

We also will have a table this Saturday at the Farmer's Market in Arcata and there after. Please come by this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and participate in our March Around the Plaza. Bring your costumes and get excited about raising money for the museum.

If you'd like to volunteer to spend a Saturday at the Farmer's Market table -- email us and we'll get you scheduled.

It's just another way to get information out and help people get information about what we're doing to save the museum.