Major Outreach to Black Donors Fuels New Museum’s Drive

The Washington Post looks at the fundraising success of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which has tapped a broad pool of black supporters to close in on a $270 million campaign goal.

Set to open September 24 on the National Mall in Washington, the Smithsonian museum has raised $245 million from private sources to cover construction costs. The federal government is providing half of the $540 million price tag.

While major foundations and corporations have backed the project, fundraisers also reached out in unprecedented fashion to well-to-do African-Americans who are not on commonly shared donor lists and to black civic and religious institutions. Seventy-four percent of $1 million-plus individual donors are African-American.

“This is a staggering amount of generosity,” said Silicon Valley Community Foundation CEO Emmett Carson, an authority on African-American philanthropy. “It’s a symbol that black and philanthropy is not an oxymoron.”