Written by Jan Morrison, Rice Museum Board Member
Answers to the Question of Why and How You and I Should Support the Museum.
My name is Jan Morrison, and I’m on the board of directors for the Rice NW Museum of Rocks & Minerals. The best way I know to speak to you is directly and in my own voice, and today it’s about a way YOU can support the Museum in a very tangible and meaningful way.
First, some background. Our board is made of volunteers; we’re not paid to help direct this wonderful non-profit. Quite the contrary; most of us travel a great distance on our own funds to Hillsboro, Oregon to an annual in-person board meeting (I live in Maine), and each of us are personal donors to the museum. We are proud of our 100% participation as donors and feel that to ask anyone to support the museum, it’s only right that we are donors to begin with.
A united board focus from a recently held strategic planning session is education. And, we mean education for all ages and levels of knowledge, from kids to golden agers, the novice to professionals. We are proponents of lifelong learning. Our own board president, Gail Copus Spann, notes that she knew very little about minerals until she walked into a mineral hall in a museum, and her knowledge and interest has grown to such a capacity that she and her husband now have over 20,000 specimens/pieces that have been accumulated over the past 20 years. We all have the capacity to learn, and to grow.
Each of us has an individual reason to support the museum, and between now and September 19th, I’m hoping you’ll encounter those reasons through a social media ‘campaign’ that I’m spearheading, and something in there will resonate with you. Being the boldly honest person I am, the bottom line is that we need your help, and the help of many others. This request, though, comes with a stellar benefit back to you; an auction item that you can win.
During my time in supporting museums over the past 35 years, I have learned that there are vast differences in those museums and support they have available. There are publicly administered museums that are in place with resources from government entities and/or are tied to academic institutions that can draw from a depth of professors, researchers, and student interns. And there are privately administered museums, some of which are for profit with income going to shareholders, and others that are non-profit museums that rely on their primary funding coming from a founder and/or direct donors. There are ways you can find commonalities between the different museum types, but in fiscal support, that varies more widely.
The Rice NW Museum of Rocks & Minerals is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that originated from founders, Richard and Helen Rice and their incredible love of minerals. We not only benefit from their collection, but in the acreage that is also part of the Museum. Read more about their fabulous story, the historical mid-century modern home where the Museum resides, our property and more of our history.
I won’t (but could) drag out a litany of statistics, but I did seek out an encapsulated statement on the internet ‘ethers’ about the status of non-profit museums today. Here’s the result:
“Non-profit museums, which constitute the majority in the US, are facing significant challenges despite their vital role in preserving culture and education. While they are still relevant, particularly for STEM and cultural education, they struggle with financial sustainability, attracting diverse audiences, and adapting to changing donor landscapes.”
That’s our needs in a nutshell, folks. But I want you to know more. I’m hoping two things: That you gain a deeper understanding of what the Rice NW Museum of Rock & Minerals brings to its local, national, and international communities, and that you want to support us by bidding on one of the amazing finds in our online Auction that begins on September 19th on MineralAuctions.com (items will go live around Sept. 9th). No pretense; that’s the unabashed plan.
For this effort, I’ve been asking questions of our board, our Executive Director, and staff, and of our regular volunteers, and I plan to pull snippets of their responses and have them posted on our social media accounts to provoke you to think about just what you’re supporting through our benefit auction. It’s certainly a way to leverage your purchase of a great item, by helping to fund us. Truly, if you see a great item in our auction on MineralAuctions.com (items will go live around Sept. 9th), you can rest assured that your dollars spent are supporting education, bringing a diverse set of people together over something as incredible yet pedestrian as rocks, and that you can invoke wonder, amazement, mystery, and creativity simultaneously. What future geologist or mineralogist might you be fueling? What discovery that benefits us all might come from your purchase of a specimen or gemstone?
In response to my queries, our Executive Director, Kim Vagner, gave this thoughtful summation, and I wanted to share it with you.
“My passion for gems and minerals has shaped my entire career, from my earliest days volunteering at the Smithsonian to leading world-class collections and educational programs. The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals stands out as a truly special place because it combines scientific excellence with a sense of wonder and discovery that resonates with visitors of all ages.
I love the Rice Museum because it is a gateway to curiosity. Our collection is not only world-renowned, but it also tells stories—about the Earth’s deep history, about human creativity, and about the thrill of scientific exploration. Every specimen here invites questions and sparks imagination, which is exactly what inspired me to pursue this field in the first place.
Supporting the Rice Museum means supporting education, community, and lifelong learning. I am deeply committed to making our museum a vibrant resource for Hillsboro and the broader region, connecting people with the natural world and empowering the next generation of scientists, artists, and thinkers. The museum’s alignment with STEM education and its welcoming environment reflect my own values and professional journey.
In short, I love the Rice Museum because it embodies the transformative power of museums: to inspire, to educate, and to bring people together through the marvels of our natural world.”
Please join us in supporting the Rice NW Museum of Rocks & Minerals by signing up to bid on an item in our online auction! If you do bid, remember what you’re supporting, and the whys behind it, as well. If you don’t care to bid, we’ll always accept a straight out donation to the Museum; you can do that HERE.
Follow our Facebook and Instagram accounts to see what board members, staff, and volunteers have to say about the Rice NW, and find the reasons your support is critical to us and those we serve. And please share this with your friends and family, and on your social media accounts so more will be informed. We can’t do it without you!
Thank you for partnering with us,
Jan Morrison