| Abstract: | Museums often have smaller facilities at locations remote from the main administrative unit. Activities at these units may be somewhat distinct from those at the organization's center, although fitting within the goals of the institution. Local contacts with the server and surrounding communities present unique opportunities for development of funding at these locations, opportunities not easily available at the organization's main development office. This account documents an example of a modest effort by the Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) in Portal, Arizona (a facility of the American Museum of Natural History in New York) to develop local funding for the SWRS Student Support Fund. Through local efforts developing this fund, 66 graduate students have received funding assistance for their research at the Station between 1989–2001. Institutions with more than one site should closely examine opportunities for decentralizing development efforts, relying instead on locally focused sources of funding for special projects. Such efforts reach new communities and garner local loyalties for institutional support. |
