News Releases

The Kresge Foundation Grants $1 million for Museum Expansion

Dubuque, Iowa – May 1, 2009— The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium is pleased to announce that The Kresge Foundation of Troy, Mich. has awarded a $1 million challenge grant to the Dubuque County Historical Society for expansion of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium,which is part of the America’s River Phase II project.

“We are enormously pleased at the size and significance of this challenge grant. It will help inspire and serve as a motivator that helps us complete our local giving campaign,” said Jerry Enzler, executive director of the Historical Society. “It is imperative that the Dubuque community meets this challenge and keep this money in Dubuque,” Enzler added.

The grant challenges the Society to raise the remaining $4 million of their $12 million local fundraising campaign goal by June 30, 2010. The $1 million awarded to the Society is by far the largest Kresge grant given to a community based organization in Iowa.

The Kresge Foundation is a private, national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations through its support of nonprofit organizations in six fields of interest: health, the environment, community development, arts and culture, education and human services. In 2008, the foundation awarded 342 grants totaling $181 million. As one of the most prestigious foundations in the country, Kresge requires a rigorous review and application process asking each grant applicant to prove how their organization exemplifies various Kresge values and to describe the collective influence these values have on the people and communities they serve.

The America’s River Phase II project, including the Museum expansion, is an Envision 2010 project totaling $70 million dollars which includes a private giving goal of $12 million. With the Kresge grant the Society has raised $8 million to date and is launching the public portion of the campaign to raise the remaining $4 million by June 2010.

The Kresge Foundation challenge grant brings the Museum’s fundraising goal to $8 million, two thirds the way to the private giving goal of $12 million.

The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium is the lead interpretive center for America's greatest river. The Museum & Aquarium interprets both the cultural and environmental history of the Mississippi with a mission to preserve the history of the river and the river itself. The five acre Museum & Aquarium campus is located on the banks of the Mississippi in Dubuque, Iowa. With over 220,000 visitors annually and a national membership of nearly 5000, the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium has received national recognition for its exhibits and programming.

The new center will include three new galleries (River Ways, Rivers to the Sea, and River Works) featuring interactive exhibits, state-of-the-art displays and several new aquariums. A River Research Center and a 3D/4D theater is also part of this expansion, which will double the size of current campus in the Port of the Dubuque.

The Museum & Aquarium is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and is accredited by the American Association of Museums and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Executive Director Jerry Enzler (jenzler@rivermuseum.com)
Development Director Ginger Sakas (gsakas@rivermuseum.com)

MEDIA CONTACT:
Marketing & Sales Director John Sutter (jsutter@rivermuseum.com)

MUSEUM & AQUARIUM PHONE NUMBER:(563)557-9545/(800)226-3369