MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Historical Society is delighted to announce that it was awarded $177,480 in federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Museums Empowered grant, which will fund a professional development project from September 2024 to August 2027. As the Society prepares for the Wisconsin History Center’s opening in 2027, this grant will strengthen the staff’s ability to carry out cultural programming and continue connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving, and sharing compelling stories.

The Museums Empowered grant is an initiative of the Museums for America grant program and has awarded 18 institutions over $3 million dollars to generate systematic change and growth across museums. Awards help institutions rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, offer professional training for leadership, staff, and volunteers and cultivate sustainable institutions. With the Museum Empowered grant, the Wisconsin Historical Society will launch a professional development project to maintain a visitor-focused staff culture and help staff expertly evaluate programming.

“Over the past few years, the Wisconsin Historical Society is proud to have navigated a pandemic, launched a state-wide History Makers tour and opened a History Maker Space to educate children and visitors while awaiting the Wisconsin History Center’s debut,” said Angela Titus, Assistant Deputy Director and Chief Program Officer. “Our goal is to provide visitors with access to compelling, inclusive and rich experiences with history. Funding from the Museums Empowered program will allow us to train our staff and evaluate our programming to better achieve this goal with great confidence.”

With grant funding, the Wisconsin Historical Society will hire a museum evaluation expert. This individual will train public programming staff and collaborate with the IT department to pioneer a data repository and reporting system. The hired individual will coach staff within a framework of culture change and skill-development, prioritize visitor-oriented designs and spearhead a data-focused plan for improvement. As part of this project, a permanent evaluation consultant position will be cemented into the Wisconsin Historical Society, helping lead staff across departments and services and programs that prioritize visitors.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active, and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.

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