Community History Development Fund Partnership examples

The following illustrates ways in which organizations use the Community History Development Fund to grow institutionally and professionally. The CHDF allows the members of an organization to focus collectively on a set of goals and address them one by one, with access to often necessary resources. The process is ongoing — the information below describes only the beginning of these partnerships with Humanities Tennessee.

Hardeman County Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities (HCAPTA)
Located in Bolivar, the Hardeman County Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities (HCAPTA) was founded in 1965 for the purpose of "safeguarding the heritage of Hardeman County" and is a completely volunteer run organization. The organization currently maintains the home, now an historic house museum, of John Houston Bills, also known as "The Pillars," in addition to managing and running a museum known as "The Little Courthouse" located off the town square in Bolivar. HCAPTA and Humanities Tennessee are working together towards growing and maintaining these institutions through sound practices and quality humanities programming.

The HCAPTA became a Humanities Tennessee partner in June of 2007. Recognizing a need to expand the scope of their activities and increase their organizational capacity, the group signed on to host the upcoming Smithsonian Institution's Museum on Main Street exhibit New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music. Before becoming a Community History Development Fund partner, each museum must undergo an organizational assessment. HCAPTA's organizational assessment revealed the group to be an energetic and dedicated group of volunteers, and highlighted areas such as the need to indentify funding sources, increase membership, and give renewed attention to programming. We are amazed at their ambition and rapid rate of success in implementing recommendations from the assessment.

One HCAPTA volunteer noted in their evaluation report, "We have begun to implement the short term goals with such recommendations as appointing three committees: Education, Exhibits, and Restoration. All committees have met and are implementing suggestions as outlined in the organizational assessment. For instance, the Education Committee met with our Board of Education Administration and Department Heads and provided a tour of each of our sites to show them what we have to offer. As a result, we recently toured 140 5th grade students. Our Restoration Committee has acquired the necessary monies to restore the exterior of the Little Courthouse Museum and improve lighting."

The assessment process provides not only direction for both the long and short term, but sometimes a shot of enthusiasm to even seasoned volunteer groups like the HCAPTA. The group's Exhibit Committee is following up on assessment recommendations by working with a scholar on a series of temporary exhibits on local history. The first exhibit arrives on February 9th and examines the history of African-American education in Hardeman County. In conjunction with the arrival of the New Harmonies exhibit on August 9th, the HCAPTA will also create a companion exhibit focusing on the traditional music of Hardeman County.

With assistance from Humanities Tennessee's Community History Development Fund, the HCAPTA has made great strides in expanding their programming, development, and organizational capacity. We expect they will have continued success in their efforts.
Paris Henry County Heritage Center
The Paris Henry County Heritage Center became a partner when it received support for an organizational assessment in the summer of 2003. The assessment report highlighted what was working well for the museum, and also what aspects of the organization needed attention. One recommendation was in the area of governance — an annual review of board member responsibilities. While hardworking and very committed to the museum, were the board members routinely reacquainted of their role in donating, fundraising, and providing direction?

Based on this recommendation, the Center requested support in 2004 from the CHDF to bring in a facilitator to conduct a board retreat, at which the members determined their specific responsibilities and how they could best serve the organization.

The assessment also included the area of exhibitions. Does the Center's exhibit successfully transmit and interpret the collection according to the overall mission? After determining that the exhibit did not convey a comprehensive story nor did the exhibit furniture meet conservation standards for storing or displaying artifacts, the Center made it's third request to the CHDF in 2005. This request supported a consultation and evaluation of the permanent exhibit by an exhibit design professional. The resulting report provided comprehensive guidance for exhibiting and interpreting community history, and left the Center staff in a position to plan and seek resources to do so.
Jamestown Heritage Society
The Jamestown Heritage Society, in Burlison, Tennessee, was organized in 2004 to preserve the history of a rural African-American community settled in the early 19th century, but dwindling in the rapid urbanization of the early 21st. Their partnership began with an assessment in 2005, and as a brand new organization, the Society quickly realized the importance of the strategic planning recommended in the report. The members received support later that year for a facilitator to conduct a site visit and help them develop a comprehensive strategic plan.

The planning process revealed that the story that Jamestown was settled in 1827 by free blacks was supported only by anecdotal evidence thus far. The members agreed with a major component of the strategic plan — that historical research must be conducted to address this claim.

In 2006, the Society received support for two consecutive requests. First, the members hired an historian to conduct two training workshops for local volunteers. One workshop taught members the basics of archival research, and the other, the basics of conducting oral history research. After members were trained, they retained the historian to guide them as they embarked on research to conduct a comprehensive historical survey of Jamestown using their newly acquired skills.

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