2017 has seen some incredible success, but we continue to look forward. We invite you to consider a year-end gift to the Museum in whatever amount you can give at this exciting time. This past year has been a historic one for The Mariners’ Museum and Park!
Gifts made online after 11:59 PM EST on December 31, 2017, will be issued a 2018 tax receipt.
2017 Gifts Deadlines
Use your traditional IRA to make your charitable gift.
The return on philanthropic investment in our summer $1 Admission effort yielded tremendous rewards! Over 61,000 people visited the Museum, a 250% increase in summer visitation in the two short summers after adopting both our new mission statement (at the close of this letter) and our servant leadership posture towards the communities that we serve. Over 20% of our visitors were national or international, and children—for the first time—comprise approximately 30% of our audience. We are growing our future and we believe this model is sustainable. The combination of increased philanthropic support to underwrite our gate and increased earned revenue in our gift shop and movie ticket sales represented an 18.5% increase in summer visitor-related revenue.
The return on philanthropic investment in our programs was equally exciting! In the past fiscal year, we saw print media, online news outlets, and broadcast media run unpaid stories or segments on the Museum 517 times. FlipKey (a TripAdvisor brand), placed The Mariners’ Museum and Park on its list of the top 50 (one per state) garden and conservation spots to visit in the country. Our Ages of Exploration website saw over 800,000 users and over three million page views! We push many of our most compelling Park, Trail, and conservation stories through social media, and our social media engagement rate is more than four times national averages. Let this third party validation of our exhibits, programs, research, and conservation efforts validate your support, too!
We have seen that when our community rallies together we can accomplish great things. Your support continues to make a real, lasting impact in the lives of those who experience The Mariners’ Museum and Park. Thank you for all that you do and have done to make our beloved Museum the special place that it is!
Thank you,
Howard H. Hoege III
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Mariners’ Museum and Park connects people to the world’s waters, because through the waters—through our shared maritime heritage—we are connected to one another.