Bishop Museum Celebrates Completion of “Growing Capacity” Project

Bishop Museum, the State of Hawai'i Museum of Natural and Cultural History, will celebrate the completion of its "Growing Capacity" project with a gathering of nonprofit cohorts on Friday, April 4. Held on Museum grounds, the private event will include a welcome protocol, presentations and discussion by more than 25 project participants plus the Hawaiʻi Museums Association, as well as tours of the Museum's Cultural and Natural Science collections.

The "Gathering Resources & Growing Capacity: Museums Working Together in Hawaiʻi" project was held in partnership with Nonprofit GrowthGen, LLC and supported by a grant from the Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Over the course of two years, the project provided training and mentoring for those working in Hawaiʻi's museums and cultural organizations. Participants received professional development in the areas of resource-gathering, project management, and grant writing, and represented Native Hawaiian-serving organizations from Hawaiʻi Island, Kauaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Oʻahu.

"At a time when funding from federal grant programs — and the programs themselves — are uncertain, nonprofit professionals need a network of colleagues for sharing information, thought-partnership around building organizational capacity, and providing mutual support," said Janet Bullard, Bishop Museum vice president of advancement and marketing communications, and acting director of government relations. "This group is gathering at Bishop Museum to build relationships with each other as well as with the Museum and our staff members, with the goal of uplifting our collective efforts."

"As we've navigated through these mentorship programs, I've been struck by participants' repeated emphasis on the value of consistent, external mentorship and camaraderie with peers in Hawai'i," said Mary Ramsay, M.A., Nonprofit GrowthGen, LLC cofounder and mentor. "With all that nonprofits have on their plates, it's nearly impossible for managers to make the time to consistently nurture the professional growth of their staff. There is so much reciprocity in the Growing Capacity project — we have learned from cohort members as much as we have mentored them, and they have learned from each other."

Melia Kalawe is an Archivist for the Moaʻe Molokaʻi Digital Repository of the Ka Ipu Makani Cultural Heritage Center. Moaʻe Molokaʻi is a first of its kind, fully searchable centralized repository of archival records including photographs, recordings, newspapers, and maps, with records of Molokaʻi from as early as 1850. Managed by a team with deep roots on Molokaʻi, the resource enables users to learn more about the island and its people, history, and culture.

As a participant in the "Growing Capacity" project, Kalawe shares, "As someone born and raised on the island of Molokaʻi and working under a nonprofit cultural heritage center — specifically in the heritage preservation sector — the Growing Capacity programs served as the ultimate gateway to networking with others who do similar work. This is especially important for me and my position as Archivist, as Molokaʻi lacks professional development opportunities related to cultural heritage and preservation work."

"Much of what we do at Ka Ipu Makani Cultural Heritage Center is community-based, with a strong emphasis on respecting and responding to the needs of the community rather than creating opportunities that do not align with those needs," added Kalawe. "However, with the help of the Growing Capacity programs, I was able to understand what nonprofits are capable of in Hawaiʻi and what is actively happening on various islands to support cultural institutions. For Moaʻe Molokaʻi Digital Repository, these programs provided a solid foundation of resources to build a reliable long-term future for us as we work towards establishing Molokai's first archive."

"There is amazing expertise in Hawai'i-based nonprofits," said Mandy Kirchgessner, Ed.D., Nonprofit GrowthGen, LLC cofounder and mentor. "In just two years — and with the help of our dedicated advisors Leah Caldeira, Kamalu du Preez, and Halena Kapuni-Reynolds — we have involved 24 Hawai'i nonprofit professionals as guest speakers in this mentorship program. The magic of the Growing Capacity Project has been this skill-building among professionals of all levels. While funding for the next iteration of the Growing Capacity Project is uncertain, we have learned from cohort members and others that this type of mentorship is needed and deeply impactful."

To learn more about Bishop Museum, visit BishopMuseum.org.