The Friends of SJM is dedicated to supporting the SJ Museum and its unique Alaska Native ethnographic collection through advocacy, acquisition, and educational programming.
The Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum was slated to receive a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for the Alaska Native Artist Residency Program on June 1, 2025. The award was to be issued through the Art Works II Grant in the category of Folk & Traditional Arts.
In the late afternoon on Friday, May 2, 2025, the Friends received an email stating that the funding, “… is withdrawn by the Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts will no longer offer award funding for the project.”
The email continued with, “The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.”
We support our mission of advocacy, acquisitions, and educational programming in the following ways:
- Volunteers serve as docents and greeters to help museum visitors.
- Sponsoring the annual Native Artists Residency Program.
- Sponsoring the annual Share Your Culture Share Your Research speaker series.
- Purchasing new items for its permanent and “hands-on” educational collections, which are available for educators across Alaska to borrow.
- Assisting SJM in applying for grants that fund research and educational programs.
- Providing financial support for museum publications.
- Other support for SJM educational programs and outreach.
The Friends of SJM is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) formed on November 13, 1985 to support the Sheldon Jackson Museum’s educational programs. Most of our members live in Sitka and Southeast Alaska, but several are located throughout the United States.
A volunteer board of seven directors, elected by the members for three-year terms, governs the organization.