The Coby Foundation, Ltd.

March 3, 2008

The Coby Foundation, the nation’s only foundation exclusively supporting projects in textiles and needle arts, is announcing a new initiative for exhibiting and documenting museum textile collections. Funding is limited to non-profit organizations in the Mid-Atlantic and New England. The Foundation is welcoming preliminary inquiries leading to a formal application.

The Coby Foundation is offering a limited number of two-stage grants to art and history museums with significant collections of costumes or textiles. Institutions must have an annual operating budget of at least $500,000 and not more than $50 million. Support will be in the form of exhibition planning grants for up to $50,000 and exhibition implementation grants for up to $100,000. In order to qualify for funding, applicant may not have mounted a significant exhibition of items (25 or more) from its textile collection in the past three years. If the collection comprises both costumes and textiles, if an institution has mounted a textile exhibition in the past three years, it may still apply for support of a costume project, and vice versa. If a museum has textiles in more than one department—e.g. African textiles in the African art department and American textiles in the decorative arts department—the department that has not mounted an exhibition may submit an application.

Applicants should first submit a preliminary inquiry and then, upon receipt of a positive response, a formal application. See below for details.

Planning grants

Planning grants are intended to allow museums to secure consultant expertise for collection research, evaluation (including condition) and documentation, and for developing and refining art historical and humanities themes. Museums may also use planning funds to commission essays for a Web site or catalogue. Successful planning grants will show evidence that a curator or an outside consultant with relevant expertise has made a preliminary evaluation of the collection. Grants will more likely be for planning exhibitions that have an art historical or historical narrative rather than a “Treasures of...” approach. In making application, institutions must commit to an opening date for the exhibition itself, which should be within two-and-a-half years of the commencement of planning. Receipt of a planning grant does not assure funding for implementation.

Download full description and application details here.

Implementation grants

Implementation grants should be for an exhibition of at least 50 separate objects with a strong historical or art historical narrative, which will be on view in the applicant institution for at least three months. Applicants requesting funds for quilt or coverlet exhibitions must have at least 25 examples in the exhibition. Exhibitions must be accompanied by a publication and/or a Web site. Successful applications will show evidence of commitment from a co-publisher or, if self-publishing, will have a detailed distribution plan. The Web site may be for the specific collection (and exhibition) or will add collection items to an existing, searchable Web site. Web sites must include at least 100 objects from the collection with images and cataloguing data for each. The Web site must be available on line (with no password protection) for at least five years.

Download full description and application here.

Preliminary Inquiries

Prospective applicants should submit a preliminary inquiry—a two-page description plus budget by mail or e-mail to:

Ward L.E. Mintz, Executive Director
The Coby Foundation, Ltd.
511 Avenue of the Americas, #387
New York, NY 10011
e-mail: cobyfound@nyc.rr.com

Deadlines

The deadline for preliminary applications is April 30, 2008. Upon receipt of a positive response, applicant may submit a formal application as described above. The deadline for formal applications is June 16, 2008.

Please note:

• The Coby Foundation does not fund operations, such as staff salaries and overhead, or capital projects, including storage furniture.
• A few institutions may have, with or without Coby funding, completed a planning process and may be eligible to apply for implementation without applying for planning. Please make a preliminary inquiry as above.

	THE COBY FOUNDATION, LTD. SUPPORTING THE TEXTILE AND NEEDLE ARTS FIELD
Grant Initiative	THE COBY Foundation ANNOUNCES A NEW EXHIBITION GRANT INITIATIVE FOR MUSEUMS
Past grants: 2007 2006 Home	March 3, 2008 The Coby Foundation, the nation’s only foundation exclusively supporting projects in textiles and needle arts, is announcing a new initiative for exhibiting and documenting museum textile collections. Funding is limited to non-profit organizations in the Mid-Atlantic and New England. The Foundation is welcoming preliminary inquiries leading to a formal application. The Coby Foundation is offering a limited number of two-stage grants to art and history museums with significant collections of costumes or textiles. Institutions must have an annual operating budget of at least $500,000 and not more than $50 million. Support will be in the form of exhibition planning grants for up to $50,000 and exhibition implementation grants for up to $100,000. In order to qualify for funding, applicant may not have mounted a significant exhibition of items (25 or more) from its textile collection in the past three years. If the collection comprises both costumes and textiles, if an institution has mounted a textile exhibition in the past three years, it may still apply for support of a costume project, and vice versa. If a museum has textiles in more than one department—e.g. African textiles in the African art department and American textiles in the decorative arts department—the department that has not mounted an exhibition may submit an application. Applicants should first submit a preliminary inquiry and then, upon receipt of a positive response, a formal application. See below for details. Planning grants Planning grants are intended to allow museums to secure consultant expertise for collection research, evaluation (including condition) and documentation, and for developing and refining art historical and humanities themes. Museums may also use planning funds to commission essays for a Web site or catalogue. Successful planning grants will show evidence that a curator or an outside consultant with relevant expertise has made a preliminary evaluation of the collection. Grants will more likely be for planning exhibitions that have an art historical or historical narrative rather than a “Treasures of...” approach. In making application, institutions must commit to an opening date for the exhibition itself, which should be within two-and-a-half years of the commencement of planning. Receipt of a planning grant does not assure funding for implementation. Download full description and application details here. Implementation grants Implementation grants should be for an exhibition of at least 50 separate objects with a strong historical or art historical narrative, which will be on view in the applicant institution for at least three months. Applicants requesting funds for quilt or coverlet exhibitions must have at least 25 examples in the exhibition. Exhibitions must be accompanied by a publication and/or a Web site. Successful applications will show evidence of commitment from a co-publisher or, if self-publishing, will have a detailed distribution plan. The Web site may be for the specific collection (and exhibition) or will add collection items to an existing, searchable Web site. Web sites must include at least 100 objects from the collection with images and cataloguing data for each. The Web site must be available on line (with no password protection) for at least five years. Download full description and application here. Preliminary Inquiries Prospective applicants should submit a preliminary inquiry—a two-page description plus budget by mail or e-mail to: Ward L.E. Mintz, Executive Director The Coby Foundation, Ltd. 511 Avenue of the Americas, #387 New York, NY 10011 e-mail: cobyfound@nyc.rr.com Deadlines The deadline for preliminary applications is April 30, 2008. Upon receipt of a positive response, applicant may submit a formal application as described above. The deadline for formal applications is June 16, 2008. Please note: • The Coby Foundation does not fund operations, such as staff salaries and overhead, or capital projects, including storage furniture. • A few institutions may have, with or without Coby funding, completed a planning process and may be eligible to apply for implementation without applying for planning. Please make a preliminary inquiry as above.
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