named programs · 5 · from sources
What they call their work
Education Programs
School and community group programs for K-12 students, both on-site and in classrooms, focusing on history, science, and sustainability through interactive learning.
Exploration Days
Family-friendly events featuring demonstrations, activities, and expert talks that engage visitors with the mill’s history and operations.
Ice Harvest
Annual event celebrating the historic tradition of ice harvesting, featuring demonstrations of ice cutting, packing, and storage, with educational components on the science of ice and climate change impacts.
InterActions
Online series (2021) that brought together local artists and scholars to discuss environmental justice, natural resources, and sustainability, designed to inspire action and inform future museum programming.
Workshops
Hands-on educational programs in traditional crafts such as blacksmithing, historic cooking, and gravestone cleaning, taught by experts and artisans at the museum site.
activities · 5 groups
What they do
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Historic Site Public Programming 1 activity
- Hosting public events and workshops on traditional crafts and historic practicesHosts special events, family-friendly Exploration Days, and expert-led workshops in traditional crafts such as blacksmithing, historic cooking, woodworking, and gravestone preservation. Events include hands-on activities, period games, and crafts for children and families.
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Architecture and Design Public Education Programs 1 activity
- Hosting public speaker series on environmental justice and sustainabilityHosted the 2021 InterActions online speaker series featuring local artists and scholars discussing environmental justice, natural resource use, and sustainability, with recordings made available to the public.
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Local History Preservation and Education 1 activity
- Maintaining and preserving historic structures and archival collectionsMaintains and interprets fifteen historic structures and a collection of over 50,000 artifacts, photographs, archival materials, and library resources to preserve the history of Hanford Mills and its role in rural industrial development.
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Local History Museum Operations 1 activity
- Operating a historic mill site with water- and steam-powered demonstrationsOperates a seasonal historic mill site powered by water and steam, featuring operational demonstrations of the 1926 Fitz overshot water wheel and historic water-powered machinery for woodworking and milling. The site is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday from mid-May to mid-October.
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Hands-On STEM Education Programs 1 activity
- Providing hands-on educational programs for schools and community groupsOffers hands-on educational programming for K-12 students, adults, families, and community groups at the museum and in classrooms, focusing on energy, technology, natural resources, sustainability, and historical industrial processes. Programs include guided tours, self-guided access to historic structures, and interactive Learning Lab activities.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$753K
Contributions & grants$676K90%
Program service revenue$47K6%
Investment income$19K3%
Other revenue$11K
expenses
Total expenses$715K
Program expenses75%
Admin / overhead22%
Fundraising4%
Salaries & benefits$453K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$2.47M
Cash$419K
Investments$199K
Liabilities$179K
Net assets$2.29M
Liquid reserves10.4 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +1.1%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 1
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| KAJSA M HARLEY | Executive Dir. | 40 | $72K |
board members · 14
- Adriene Clifford — Treasurer
- BARBARA STURDEVANT — President
- CARMEN WHITAKER — Trustee
- CHARLOTTE HILL — CO-SECRETARY
- David Brower — Vice President
- JEFF MCCORMACK — Trustee
- KARYN WENDROW — CO-SECRETARY
- Mark Roberts — Trustee
- PAUL DEANDREA — Trustee
- PETER COOK — Trustee
- Peter Blue — Trustee
- SAMANTHA ROSS — Trustee
- Steve Oles — Trustee
- TED MARTIN — Trustee
relationships · 16
Who they work with
- Cooperstown Graduate Program Partner — Collaborated on a 2020 grant application and used the InterActions series to explore new ways of engaging audiences.
- Donors Funder — Provide financial support that powers the museum’s success.
- Explore More! Partner — Partners with Explore More! to connect visitors with nearby activities, provisions, and attractions.
- Greater Hudson Heritage Network Government — Co-administered the Creativity Incubator Grant with the New York State Council on the Arts in 2020.
- Hanford Mills Museum Board of Trustees Government — Oversees governance and strategic direction of the museum
- Internal Revenue Service Government — Complies with IRS requirements by making Form 990s publicly available.
- Kurt Riegel Partner — Restoration specialist who leads the Gravestone Cleaning Workshop.
- Liz Brown Government — Community Engagement Manager at Hanford Mills Museum, contact for sponsorship inquiries.
- Lucas Novko Partner — Blacksmithing instructor who leads both beginning and intermediate blacksmithing workshops.
- Members Partner — Support the museum’s operations and programs through membership.
- New York State Council on the Arts Government — Provided funding through the Creativity Incubator Grant in 2020.
- Pamela Cooley Partner — Instructor for the Historic Cooking workshop, teaching early 20th-century baking techniques.
- Sponsors Funder — Provide financial or in-kind support to sustain museum operations and programs.
- Volunteers Partner — Contribute to the operation and success of the museum through direct involvement.
- local artists Partner — Collaborated with local artists in the 2021 InterActions online series to discuss environmental justice and sustainability.
- scholars Partner — Collaborated with scholars in the 2021 InterActions online series to discuss environmental justice, natural resource use, and sustainability.
strategies · 3
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.
- Experiential Education Through Historic Technologymethodology: experiential-educationBy using hands-on demonstrations of historic machinery and immersive site-based learning, we make industrial history and science education tangible and engaging, because experiential interaction deepens public understanding and retention of complex concepts like energy, sustainability, and technological evolution.
- Family- and Community-Centered Engagement Modelmethodology: family-engaged heritage educationBy designing family-friendly, interactive programming and involving diverse community voices, we increase public engagement with heritage and sustainability topics, because inclusive, intergenerational learning environments foster deeper emotional connection and collective action.
- Sustainability Education via Historical Parallelsmethodology: sustainability-focused educationBy connecting historical industrial practices—such as pre-refrigeration ice harvesting and rural mill innovation—to modern sustainability challenges, we foster community dialogue and action on environmental stewardship, because drawing parallels between past ingenuity and present needs makes sustainable practices more relatable and actionable.