PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Philadelphia Museum of Art has raised $455 million in support of It Starts Here: Campaign for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Leslie Anne Miller, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, announced today. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has made a contribution to this civic effort and believe, as we do, that the museum is the cultural heart of a great city and one of the keys to its future. It is our collective responsibility to secure the resources this institution needs to fulfill its mission and to continue to serve the needs of our community,” said Rub.

This milestone marks a significant step toward achieving the museum’s ambitious goal of $525 million to advance its strategic priorities. It Starts Here is the largest fundraising effort ever undertaken by a cultural institution in Philadelphia and one of the most substantial museum capital campaigns currently in progress in this country. “We are thrilled to announce that we have made such great progress on our campaign, which will enhance our ability to address both the challenges and the opportunities facing the Philadelphia Museum of Art and, frankly, all arts institutions in the 21st century,” Miller said. “The continued success of this campaign is a direct result of Philadelphians’ commitment to our museum as a source of civic pride. Campaign donors understand that a great city cannot be great without a vibrant arts community. While there is still much work to be done over the next two years, a successful conclusion to our campaign is now within sight.”

It Starts Here is led by co-chairs and museum Trustees Barbara Aronson, David Haas, and Katherine Sachs, along with vice chair Bruce Toll. The campaign has surpassed the museum’s projections to date, and is scheduled to be completed in two years, with a major moment being the completion of the Core Project in fall 2020.

The philanthropic goals of It Starts Here have been informed by the museum’s strategic vision for the future, which is focused on:

• Attracting younger and more diverse audiences;

• Enhancing the visitor experience by making much-needed physical improvements to the museum;

• Activating the collection through gallery reinstallations and innovative programming; and

• Strengthening the museum’s commitment to civic engagement.

To date, the museum has achieved over 80% of the overall goals for each of the following funding priorities: $150 million for the museum’s endowment, which currently remains below many of its peer museums nationally, to strengthen the operating budget; $142 million to support strategic initiatives in technology, education, access and community engagement, audience development, and to fund ongoing operations; and $233 million to support capital improvements, most notably the Core Project.

“Our campaign and strategic plan are centered on one critical goal: empowering the museum to fulfill its promise as a great civic institution, one that reflects Philadelphia’s rich and diverse history and serves the city today as a vital cultural resource,” Rub said. “Today, the museum enjoys a visitorship that is younger and as diverse as our Philadelphia region, with a median age of 39 for adult visitors and the percentage of our audience who are first-time visitors continuing to rise. An investment in the campaign—and the transformative ideas that it supports—is an investment in the future of Philadelphia. We are deeply grateful to all of those who have supported it to date, and we encourage others to help as well since we still have a long way to go.”

It Starts Here has been generously supported by museum Trustees and other individuals including members of its Chairman’s Council and Associates groups, city, state, and federal governments, foundations, and corporations, locally, nationally, and internationally, including three extraordinary donors who have each contributed more than $25 million: