January 2009 news update
Children's Museum of Rochester -- The Latest News
Winter, 2009
Dear Supporter,
The parents, businesspeople, and community leaders involved in trying to bring a Children's Museum to Rochester (CMR) have made dramatic progress in recent months. We're still on track to open the doors of a Children's Museum of Rochester in 2010! Here are some highlights of what we've done since November, 2008:
* A fundraising feasibility study conducted in November and December, 2008 by the Steier Group, a national development firm, showed strong donor support for a children's museum here. More than 650 people responded to a mail or online survey about the museum, and more than half of these respondents indicated they would make a monetary gift to get a Children’s Museum of Rochester up and running. Top individual and business donors in the region also responded favorably to plans for a Children’s Museum here. Steier Group consultants conducted 61 personal interviews with potential top donors, and 73 percent of those respondents indicated they would make a monetary gift to the CMR.
* Based on the positive results of the fundraising feasibility study, the board of directors of the Children's Museum of Rochester voted to proceed with the project. Board members, in collaboration with local real estate experts, have been actively searching for an existing building in which to house a Children's Museum of Rochester. The CMR hopes to make a decision on the building in which to locate the museum by early Spring, 2009. Soon after the location is finalized, the CMR will kick off an official capital campaign to raise money for the future museum.
* The Children's Museum of Rochester will soon launch a new, improved website to better publicize and promote our project, as well as to explain the purpose of a Children's Museum. (The Children's Museum of Rochester won't be a "typical" museum. Rather, it will be a lively, interactive museum where kids learn through play.) The new website (along with a new look for our newsletter) will be launched in February, 2009. (The website address, www.childrensmuseumrochester.org, will remain the same.)
Thank you for your continued interest in the Children's Museum of Rochester. We look forward to providing you with additional information soon!