The national lgbt museum

September 4, 2013

The Velvet Foundation 2307 15th Street NW #2 Washington, DC 20009 (202) 506-5417

September Newsletter
The National LGBT Museum continues to make strides toward establishing the first national institution to commemorate, celebrate and share the history and culture of the LGBT community. This summer has brought us substantially closer to our goal. To begin, we have expanded our Board and Leadership Councils, which are comprised of people who believe in the Museum and are dedicated to the project. We also partnered with Lord Cultural Resources, a firm that has worked with some of the largest and most reputable museums in the country, to complete the third phase of our Museum Master Plan. Our Board, along with our team of advisors, has created a revolutionary business model that is expected to serve as a blueprint for future nonprofit museums and will enable us to reach out to the international LGBT community. This model will pull in diverse sources of funding for the construction and operation of the Museum. Respective to the acquisitions arm of the project, the National LGBT Museum has recruited collections and exhibitions managers with decades of experience between then (for museums such as the Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). These individuals comprise the Collections Committee, which is tasked with handling new acquisitions and formulating strategies for collecting new artifacts. At this time, we have acquired nearly 5,000 objects and artifacts, which are housed in a professional museum storage facility in Forestville, MD. Our growing collections include objects that tell the stories of prominent figures such as Greg Louganis, Glenn Burke, Tyler Clementi, Bayard Rustin, and Frank Kameny. The Museum aims to represent all contingent groups within the LGBT community, including those who are often neglected or underrepresented, and this consideration has been an integral part of the collections process. Earlier this year, the Museum published a booklet entitled Here I Am, which details our objectives and mission statement, along with our (eponymously titled) core exhibit. Much of this content is included on our website, and the Museum continues to promote the booklet (available for purchase at nationallgbtmuseum.org), which has helped raise awareness about the project by encapsulating its core mission. In June, the Museum participated in the Capital Pride Parade, holding signs that recreated past protests (some of which are pictured above). We also celebrated with people from around the country in front of the Supreme Court when DOMA was overturned. The Museum has also created a Development Subcommittee to generate or solicit new contributions through streamlining and targeting our branding/messaging, orchestrating events and raising awareness. The Museum is excited to begin hosing fundraising events across the country beginning this fall. Local and national publicationsboth LGBT-oriented and nothave demonstrated interest in the National LGBT Museum, and many (including the Washington Post) have printed editorials on the project and its Founder/CEO Tim Gold. Our press contacts have been receptive to covering our progress and encouraging their readers to get involved and donate artifacts. The National LGBT Museum invites you or your organization to partner with us as we look forward to completing the necessary steps to establish a home for the museum in our nations capital. For more information, please contact our Project Coordinator Chris Kane at ckane@velvetfoundation.org or by phone at (704) 778-7590