Museum bylaws updated; county museum surpasses $1 million fundraising goal after $200,000 gift and $250,000 federal grant

New Hanover Countys museum staff told commissioners the museums governance documents were updated for the first time in more than 10 years and that recent fundraising has pushed the campaign past its stated $1 million goal.

"The bylaws, we we updated it because those hadn't been updated in over 10 years," Katie (museum staff) told commissioners, saying the updates bring the bylaws in line with other county boards, American Alliance of Museums best practices and North Carolina law.

Commissioners also heard a fundraising update. "With Dennis Dixon's gift, we are now at 760,000," museum staff said, and the presenter added that the museum received a $250,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which "now puts us over the 1,000,000 goal." The board thanked staff for the work on governance and fundraising.

Commissioners noted and praised Dennis Dixon's $200,000 gift; one speaker said Dixon has been a longtime supporter of the museum but is not present. Staff clarified that the IMLS grant is a federal competitive grant program administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

No formal board action was taken on the bylaws at this time in the discussion; staff presented the updates and the fundraising progress as reports to the board. The museum staff asked commissioners to acknowledge the donors and noted the campaign progress would be reflected in the forthcoming meeting materials.