Major Outreach to Black Donors Fuels New Museum's Drive

The stunning building, situated near the Washington Monument, is set to open in September.

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.” Read more here: