The campaign to raise $2.3 million to launch a new Lewes History Museum recently received a significant boost when a one-to-one match of every donation was announced by a anonymous donor.
Between now and Dec. 1, 2017, the donor will match dollar-for-dollar every gift to the Lewes History Museum campaign, up to $1 million, according to the Lewes Historical Society.
The funds can be used for campaign capital and operations purposes.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for donors to maximize the impact of their donations to a very important cause,” said Elizabeth Owen, campaign chair in a statement.
The Lewes History Museum is being constructed within a 12,500-square-foot facility previously occupied by the Lewes Public Library, on the grounds of Stango Park in Lewes. The facility will be known as the Margaret H. Rollins Community Center.
The museum will be managed by the Lewes Historical Society, which during the course of 54 years, has accumulated more than 10,000 artifacts and hundreds of thousands of historic images, books and documents. According to the historical society, these items can now be displayed, examined and interpreted at a professional museum.
“Because the museum is utilizing an existing facility, as well as current staff from the society, it can be created and operated for just a quarter of the cost of building and running a new structure,” Owen said.
The historical society noted that through exhibits, educational seminars and presentations, the museum will tell the varied stories from 385 years of Lewes history, during which it grew from a primitive fishing village to the main shipping and railroad port on the Delmarva Peninsula.
The museum plans a grand opening by July 2017.
For more information about gift matching, contact the campaign office at 302-644-0107. Donations to the Lewes History Museum Campaign can also be made online here.
