Technical Writing Sample 2

Below is an excerpt from a grant proposal that I wrote for a local museum. The Organization Overview section could not exceed 2500 characters and needed to contain the mission, vision, and goals of the museum.

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The Lafayette History Museum, formerly the Lafayette Miners Museum, is run by the Lafayette Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1976. Located in Old Town Lafayette, Colorado, the Museum operates out of the Lewis House property, a National Historic Register building owned by the City of Lafayette and originally built in the 1890s as a miner’s cottage.

Open every Wednesday through Saturday, the public can visit the museum at no charge and learn more about the history of the Lafayette community through the architecture and story of the Lewis House, artifacts highlighted in exhibits, and our outdoor learning space featuring farming and mining equipment. In addition to these displays, the museum offers donation-based programming such as guided walking tours, school field trips, and regular lectures in partnership with the Lafayette Public Library.

The Museum’s collection is composed of approximately 4,000 artifacts. These objects include agricultural and coal mining tools and equipment; textiles; archival documents such as ledgers, newspapers, and maps; oral histories; and photographs. Much of the collection is permanently available online for the public.

The Museum contains a wealth of Lafayette history representing the area’s immigrant and working-class heritage, from the early days of pioneer heritage, through the coal mining years, and into the present. Although the Museum was founded with a focus on coal mining, its scope of collections and programming ranges well beyond that era. Without neglecting the mining heritage, the Museum strives to capture the totality of Lafayette’s local history. New exhibits are curated with this holistic point of view in mind.

Our strategic planning process, which began at the start of 2021, has been focused on this expansion. In addition to our Mission of showcasing the history of Lafayette, we are continuing to work towards our Vision of being a vibrant center that identifies, preserves, protects, and honors the heritage of Lafayette while inspiring curiosity to shape the future.

The combined efforts of the museum’s professionally trained director, passionate board of trustees, and enthusiastic volunteers ensure that the museum’s collection is preserved and shared so that it can continue to tell the story of the Lafayette community’s history and people. Their work, in addition to the artifacts displayed in both the temporary and permanent exhibits, creates a dynamic experience for patrons.

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