The cashmere museum & pioneer village will improve collections stewardship by supporting professional development, establishing institutional policies, and implementing collections care procedures

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Chelan County Historical Society $155,564 on September 1, 2026, under the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301) to improve collections stewardship at the Cashmere Museum & Pioneer Village.

The recipient will establish institutional policies and collections management procedures through multiple coordinated activities. Deliverables include creating a collections management policy and disaster preparedness plan; providing accredited education and peer-to-peer learning for staff on collections management best practices; conducting workshops and trainings for volunteers; purchasing equipment and supplies; procuring and implementing a collections management system with migration of legacy data; and inventorying, cataloguing, and digitizing at least 50 percent of the museum's collection. Primary beneficiaries are the museum's staff, students, and visitors.

Work is performed in Cashmere, Washington, over a three-year period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2029. The Museums for America program supports museums of all sizes and disciplines in project-based efforts addressing collections stewardship, exhibitions, educational programs, professional development, and community engagement, with funded projects expected to advance key institutional strategic goals and generate measurable results.

Project activities include creating a collections management policy and disaster preparedness plan; providing accredited education and peer-to-peer learning for staff on best practices for collections management; offering workshops and trainings for volunteers; purchasing needed equipment and supplies; procuring a collections management system and migrating legacy data; and inventorying, cataloguing, and digitizing at least 50% of the museum's collection. The primary beneficiaries include the museum's staff, students, and visitors.