“Too many nonprofit organizations are financially stagnant, raising and distributing funds the same way they have for decades .... A nonprofit that is run for profit sounds like a contradiction in terms. But it doesn’t have to be.”
      - Bill Shore (from Revolution of the Heart)
“To foster innovation and transformation, leaders should focus on impact, not inputs.”
      - Rosabeth Moss Kanter (from “Think Outside
        the Building”, Harvard Business Review,
        March 2010)
Eligibility Information

ICE 2013 is at Pocantico Conference Center, Mount Pleasant, N.Y., June 2-5

Click Here to apply now!

In selecting participants who will benefit most from the Institute for Cultural Entrepreneurship (ICE) for Museum Leaders and contribute most to the profession, the selection committee weighs a number of factors, including a demonstrated commitment to personal leadership growth and positive impact on the museum profession.  Knowing that participants learn from one another, the selection committee strives to include participants from diverse backgrounds to promote lively, useful interchange among people with common goals but differing perspectives.  Only twenty eligible participants will be selected for the Institute.

If you have any questions about how you might fit into the Institute for Cultural Entrepreneurship, please contact Gretchen Sorin, Director of The Cooperstown Graduate Program.

Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility includes the ability to engage in a rigorous leadership development experience, including full participation in Institute activities and, over the course of the year, parallel work on your entrepreneurial challenge.  Applicants whose responsibilities will not allow this time commitment or the ability to attend the full Institute, should consider applying in another year.

Applicants have been employed in a diversity of urban and rural museums or historic preservation organizations, for a minimum of six (6) years. ICE encourages international applicants who retain an excellent coammand of English language.

Applicants are in a position of institutional responsibility and have the capability to influence policy and effect change in their institution.

How are participants selected?
Participants are selected through a competitive application process.  A selection committee representing the museum profession and executive education will evaluate each application based on the following criteria:

  • Capacity to envision and effect innovation and change in his or her organization and community, and over time, in the field.
  • Articulation of a compelling entrepreneurial challenge that will lead to positive impact in his or her institution and serve as a learning laboratory for applying new lessons about leadership.
  • Motivation to learn and stretch and think broadly and strategically.
  • Willingness to work collaboratively with others and explore new ideas.
  • Evidence of commitment to the museum profession and its future development as a forward-thinking and community responsive profession.
  • Participant’s institution must show support by granting paid release time and financial support where institutional policies allow.