named programs · 6 · from sources
What they call their work
Audio Tour
Self-guided audio tour accessible via personal cell phones or museum tablets, featuring historical narratives about the Slate Valley’s geography, industry, and technology.
Legacy Tiles - Slate Floor Mosaic
A donor recognition program allowing contributors to sponsor personalized slate tiles installed in the museum’s Clare O'Brien Program Room.
Online Collection Database
Digitized searchable database of museum collections related to the history and culture of the slate quarrying community in the NY-VT border region.
Outreach Programs for Seniors
Provides educational programming to senior centers and nursing homes through discussions, demonstrations, hands-on activities, and loanable tablet kits with preloaded museum content.
School Programs & Programs for Youth
Offers curriculum-aligned educational experiences for K-12 schools, homeschool groups, and colleges, available in-person, in classrooms, or virtually via Zoom.
Virtual Library
Hosts recorded public programs including lectures, discussions, and performances on the museum’s YouTube channel for public access.
activities · 9 groups
What they do
-
Local History Preservation and Education 2 activities
- Conducts research on labor history and artist Martha LevyDocuments the history of labor disputes and union activity in the slate industry and maintains an online exhibition on labor history. Also conducts ongoing research on artist Martha Levy and her 1939 WPA/FAP mural.
- Provides historical and cultural interpretation of immigrant communities in the slate industryOperates exhibits and educational programs that explore the immigration history, cultural diversity, and socioeconomic impact of workers from Wales, Ireland, Slovakia, Italy, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Canada, and other nations who settled in the Slate Valley region. Includes interpretation of historic row houses and boarding houses reflecting immigrant settlement patterns.
-
-
Visitor & Business Guide Distribution 1 activity
- Distributes educational and heritage tourism materialsProduces and distributes a 45-mile driving tour booklet of the Slate Valley with detailed maps and points of interest, as well as brochures for the West Castleton Railroad and Slate Company Historic Site. These materials support heritage tourism and public education about the region’s industrial and cultural history.
-
-
Museum-Based Educational Outreach 1 activity
- Offers educational programming for schools, youth, and seniorsProvides curriculum-aligned educational programs for schools and youth, delivered in-person, in classrooms, or virtually via platforms like Zoom. Also offers outreach programming for seniors at senior centers and nursing homes, including loanable tablet kits pre-loaded with digital museum content.
-
-
Library-Provided Cultural Access Passes 1 activity
- Offers membership, donor recognition, and community support programsOffers annual individual, family, benefactor, corporate, and guardian membership programs with benefits including free admission, event invitations, and gift shop discounts. Provides opportunities for donors to have personalized slate tiles installed in the museum’s permanent slate floor mosaic and maintains a tangible donation wish list for operational needs.
-
-
Local History Museum Operations 1 activity
- Operates a museum dedicated to the history and culture of slate quarrying in the Slate Valley regionCollects, catalogs, conserves, exhibits, and interprets materials and artifacts related to the geology of slate and the history of slate quarrying in the Slate Valley region spanning New York and Vermont. The museum is open seasonally from May through October, Tuesday through Saturday, and offers full physical accessibility for visitors with disabilities.
-
-
Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
- Organizes public programs, exhibitions, and special eventsHosts a range of public programs, exhibitions, and special events including curator-led tours, lectures, performances, and community events such as Pysanky workshops, Gypsy Reel performances, Bread & Soup Nights, Sip & Paint on Slate workshops, and annual SlaterDay celebrations. Events include both in-person and virtual formats.
-
-
Curated Art Exhibitions and Public Displays 1 activity
- Preserves and interprets WPA-era mural and related art historyPreserves and exhibits the 1939 WPA/FAP mural "Men Working in Slate Quarry" by Martha Levy, relocated to the museum in 1995 as a centerpiece of its collection. Offers exhibitions and educational context on early 20th-century art, social history, and the mural’s significance.
-
-
Digital Visitor Engagement via Mobile App 1 activity
- Provides accessible digital and remote museum experiencesOffers a free audio tour accessible via personal cell phones or museum-provided tablets, with content also available online for remote access. Maintains a YouTube channel for recorded public programs and has invested in website accessibility, including a UserWay widget and accessibility menu to support users with disabilities.
-
-
Local History Archival Access 1 activity
- Provides research assistance and maintains online presenceOffers research assistance and educational programs by appointment year-round. Maintains a website that provides access to museum information, blogs, and digital content, though it does not conduct e-commerce or process credit card transactions.
-
financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$138K
Contributions & grants$107K78%
Program service revenue$2K2%
Investment income$27K20%
Other revenue$135
expenses
Total expenses$123K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits$76K
Grants paid out—
balance sheet
Total assets$441K
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$440K
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +2.9%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
board members · 5
- ALAN RASHES — TRUSTEE
- DAVID O'BRIEN — TRUSTEE
- JOHN SHAW — TRUSTEE
- MARK BESSEN — TRUSTEE
- VICTORIA WHITNEY — TRUSTEE
relationships · 21
Who they work with
- Bomoseen, VT Government — Residence of board member indicating cross-state regional engagement.
- Clare O'Brien Program Room Partner — Hosts the permanent slate floor mosaic and legacy tile installation program.
- Federal Art Project Government — Commissioned Martha Levy to create the 1939 mural depicting slate production, now part of the museum's collection.
- Grady Health System Partner — Integrated food prescriptions into primary care
- Granville's Ladybug Lady Partner — Collaborates with Granville's Ladybug Lady for family festivals and community events.
- Granville, NY Government — Location of museum operations and primary community served.
- Humanities New York Funder — Provided a CARES Grant supporting outreach programs for seniors.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services Funder — Funded the Museum Association of New York’s capacity-building project in which the Slate Valley Museum participated.
- Lake Bomoseen State Park Partner — Distributes Slate History Trail brochures for the West Castleton Railroad and Slate Company Historic Site.
- Museum Association of New York Partner — Partnered with the museum on the 'Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility Project' that enabled the virtual library initiative.
- National Endowment for the Humanities Funder — Supported the senior outreach program through federal CARES Act funding administered by Humanities New York.
- Price Chopper's Golub Foundation Funder — Funds education programs for youth.
- Slate Valley Museum Partner — Primary beneficiary and operational partner in delivering historical and cultural programming.
- Stewart's Shops Holiday Match Grant Funder — Funds education programs for youth.
- UserWay Partner — Provides the Website Accessibility Widget used to improve compliance with accessibility standards.
- Wales Partner — Collaborates with Welsh cultural traditions and descendants to interpret the heritage of Welsh quarrymen in the Slate Valley.
- Washington County Home for Aged Women Funder — Supported outreach programs for seniors.
- Works Progress Administration Government — Administered the Federal Art Project that commissioned the 1939 mural now held by the museum.
- Works Progress Administration Government — Federal New Deal agency whose mural is featured and interpreted by the museum.
- area crafters Partner — Supplies handcrafted goods for the museum gift shop
- local businesses Partner — Supplies specialty slate products for the museum gift shop
strategies · 2
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Community-Driven Cultural Preservationmethodology: community-driven programmingBy involving the community in shaping programming and preserving local histories, the organization ensures cultural relevance and ownership, because community partnership strengthens authenticity and engagement in heritage interpretation.
- Interpretive Education Through Industrial Heritagemethodology: interdisciplinary-education-through-industry-historyBy using the history and technology of slate quarrying as an interdisciplinary lens, the organization teaches history, science, and social themes, because connecting education to local industry deepens engagement and contextual understanding.