Advancing Your Mission During COVID-19 and Beyond

The New Jersey Council for the Humanities and New Jersey Historical Commission are pleased to present a webinar series for cultural nonprofits navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Each webinar is free to attend with registration. With registration you will receive information to participate via Zoom. Zoom links are also available below for each webinar. The webinars will be recorded and shared publicly following each session.

Building an Audience for Accessible Digital Programs

Thursday, May 28, 2020, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Featured speakers: Nicole Belolan, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities, and Kirsten Giardi, Newark Public Library

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, humanities organizations around the world have pivoted, offering digital programs and resources to serve their communities at a safe social distance. Online content allows organizations to connect with a wider, digital audience, but many of the same concerns surrounding in-person engagement remain. How do you build new audiences online while still serving existing constituents? How do you create digital programs that are accessible for everyone? How do you spread the word about your work amidst the current health crisis? This webinar will address how to build, engage, and maintain audiences for digital programs accessible to everyone.

Thank you to everyone who attended our first webinar! You can view a recording of the presentation at the following link: https://youtu.be/NUtDuRBZ6fg.

Creating Programs in a Digital World

Thursday, June 25, 2020, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Featured speakers: Chase Jackson, Program and Grants Manager, Bayshore Center at Bivalve and Izzy Kasdin, Executive Director, Historical Society of Princeton

Whether migrating physical programs online, creating new content, or leveraging existing digital properties, this webinar will offer guidance on developing digital programs that engage and prioritize the needs of your audiences. Presenters will review best practices for digital content, examine different platforms and approaches, and introduce examples of successful digital projects of different types.

Join via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86233023114?pwd=K2pNUTFIeHFieW5xWW1HeVFncFQzQT09 (password: 862885).

Long-term Strategies for Resilience: Considering Revenues, Costs, and Business Models

Thursday, July 23, 2020, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Featured speakers: Kent Whitworth, Director and CEO, Minnesota Historical Society, Erin Carlson Mast, CEO and Executive Director, President Lincoln's Cottage, and Michelle Moon, Independent Consultant

The sudden and pervasive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is upending revenue streams for many businesses. Non-profit cultural institutions are particularly hard hit as stay-at-home orders necessitate cancellation of school programs, special events, and regular visitation hours. How can non-profits make strategic financial decisions confidently during and after this crisis? Are there new business models, cost-saving strategies, and alternative revenue streams that can help? Does the crisis actually offer new opportunities to reimagine financial sustainability for these organizations? How will institutions ensure that their collections and programming are accessible to communities without resources, and would reaching such communities expand potential funding opportunities? This session will ask participants to consider equity and access alongside fiscal strategy and touch on Board engagement and stewardship as well. Readings will be circulated ahead of time to familiarize attendees with some of the issues that may be at play.

Join via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83620211654?pwd=emhiT1NqL0R3Z3RZcmQ0M1RJdlFOUT09 (password 756110).