Thursday, May 22, 2014

MORE Great News: Museum Receives Nonprofit Leadership Award

Providence Children's Museum has been selected by the Rhode Island Foundation’s Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence to receive its 2014 Best Practice Award in Leadership!

Sponsored by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, the Best Practice Awards honor Rhode Island nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated outstanding practices in the areas of advocacy, collaboration, communications, innovation and leadership. The Museum will receive the leadership award for increasing operational efficiencies by defining strong strategic priorities, restructuring staff and adding expertise to create a strong staff leadership team.

As part of our most recent strategic plan, the leadership team sought community input, tested assumptions, and questioned everything to define clear operational and programmatic objectives:
  • Effective, engaging and frequently changing exhibits
  • Outreach to underserved children and families
  • Leadership role in the free play movement
  • Financial resources to accomplish goals
  • Well-qualified, highly motivated staff
  • Sufficient physical facilities and technology


With increased capacity and clear priorities, we have greatly enhanced our offerings and deepened our impact in the community and are achieving major goals:
  • Implementing a multi-year plan for changing exhibits, resulting in steadily and sustainably increasing numbers of visitors.
  • Strategically targeting outreach to Providence’s Southside to increase impact: daily presence at Boys & Girls Club Southside, partnership with Fogarty and Highlander schools, pop-up play at neighborhood parks. 
  • Opened a new homelike facility to serve DCYF-involved families, expanding capacity of our Families Together program.
  • Taking a leadership role to promote the essential role of free play in children’s healthy development. 
  • Seizing opportunities that increase revenues and enhance the Museum’s image. 

Thanks to the Rhode Island Foundation for this wonderful honor!

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