Sturgeon Bay, Wis. (May 26, 2021) – During this morning’s Christening of the new Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower in Sturgeon Bay, Door County Maritime Museum Executive Director Kevin Osgood announced a matching challenge grant to jump-start the exciting final phase of fundraising for the $7.2 Million construction capital campaign.
“A generous (and anonymous) supporter of the Museum and the Tower project has pledged a $50,000 matching challenge between May 22 and August 31,” said Osgood. “Our donor will match, dollar-for-dollar, the first $1,000 of all contributions made to the Maritime Lighthouse Tower project this summer, to a total of $100,000. This means that every contribution, no matter the size, will help us unlock this generous match.”
“We currently have a construction fundraising gap of $1.4 Million, and we are asking for help to close that difference,” Osgood continued. “The original goal of the Maritime Lighthouse Tower Capital Campaign was $5.5 Million. Due to a number of circumstances, the cost of construction changed significantly.”
Included in the changes to the scope of the Maritime Lighthouse Tower project was a major upgrade to the HVAC systems installed. The new system chosen will ultimately lead the Door County Maritime Museum to apply for accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums and the Smithsonian Institution, providing access to artifact loans from America’s most respected and comprehensive museum collections.
So far, more than 400 individual, family, corporate and foundation donors have contributed to the Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower Million capital campaign. This includes $1 Million from the George F. Kress Foundation and a $250,000 Community Development Investment grant from the State of Wisconsin’s Economic Development Corporation.
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