Clues and insight into accessing funding

Samantha Friend from Bathurst District Historical Society attended our Access to Funding seminar in Wagga Wagga in March. She kindly agreed to contribute her experiences of the day to our blog, including the clues of the day!

"I was lucky enough to attend a very good seminar put on by M&GNSW in Wagga Wagga, NSW on 21 March 2013. I am from a small, volunteer run museum in Bathurst, NSW and we, like most volunteer organizations, run on the smell of a dollar note, so ANY information at all about what’s out there in terms of funding is an absolute bonus for us. 

The presenters were all very good and full of useful information, tips and tricks, and hints on how to write an application – “Read the guidelines”, “Use plain English” and “Don’t be afraid to ask” seemed to be the clues of the day! But each presenter had plenty to say on the serious nuts and bolts side of funding applications too. I think the most important thing I found was while it is paramount to get the application right and some of them are complex, you are not doing it alone – there is plenty of consultation and time to get it right. And that there is a decent amount of funding out there; you just have to know where to look. Rachel Vincent from the Museum of The Riverina in Wagga Wagga gave a great presentation on other funding opportunities – it’s amazing who’s out there prepared to fund Museums and Collections!

My Society is small and a bit disorganized, and I am new to the industry, but everyone at these events always makes me feel very welcome, is very good about answering my stupid questions, and is interested in who and what we are. It’s also great to meet others in the Museum game, and to catch up with those you know, and there is always fantastic food! Last week’s was really good – specially loved the pies!"- Samantha Friend, Bathurst District Historical Society.