Assessing the "market" of the Jim Crow Museum
We've previously examined the uniqueness of the Jim Crow Museum, and now we need to evaluate the nature of a potential funder. In this case, we will look at the John Deere Foundation. The foundation has recently pulled some of its web sites, so you will need to visit cached sites to answer some of your questions. The John Deere Foundation supports a number of organizations. It even provides scholarships here at Ferris. You will need to review the foundation's mission at their web site and also look at the kinds of activities they support to determine if their stated mission is exactly the same as the one they "do." Remember: the foundation will fund a non-profit organization when they share the interests, values, strategies, and tactics. To begin this assessment, review the following web sites:

• African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa
  
  
• John Deere Foundation
  
  
• Iowa Grants Guide: Univeristy of Iowa
  
  
• University of Iowa Foundation
  
  
• Zoominfo
  
  
• Other Deere Foundation information.

You will need to do additional research to adequately complete this assignment. Be sure to reference your sources.

You should now create brief descriptions of the purposes and interests of the Deere Foundation. Reviewing the projects that it supports will help you to assess how tightly the mission statement governs the projects that are funded. In short, you will assess the foundation much as you assessed the Jim Crow Museum.

• Note the explicit mission of the foundation.
  
  
• Make a list of projects supported by the foundation that are similar to the Jim Crow Museum.
  
  
• Using the web site and search engines, review the web sites of those projects to discover how they fit into the issues connected to the Jim Crow Museum.
  
  
• Identify the administrator/executive in charge of the foundation, and describe her/his background and interests; note if they fit with the Jim Crow Museum. Be certain to review the most recent program officer.