The Kresge Foundation Grants $800,000 to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum’s Orchard Street Camp

On March 15th the Lower East Side Tenement Museum received an $800,000 challenge award from The Kresge Foundation, an independent private foundation created by the personal gifts of Sebastian S. Kresge.  This generous and prestigious award will be used to assist The Tenement’s Orchard Street Campaign, a $15 million capacity building campaign that increase its programmatic and administrative space and build a strong foundation for future growth.  The Kresge Foundation’s contribution will help leverage private donations to complete the Campaign.
 
Established to build its capacity to welcome new visitors, the Orchard Street Campaign’s goal is to enable The Tenement Museum to increase visitorship. According to Ruth Abram, President, “The Tenement has been forced to turn visitors and school groups away despite being open 361 days a year, 7 days a week, and offering tours every 20 minutes.”  Funds raised by the Campaign will allow The Tenement Museum to purchase and renovate new space to meet visitor demand, stabilize its national historic landmark building at 97 Orchard Street to allow the installation of new permanent exhibits, and build a solid base for expansion through the establishment of its first endowment.
 
Rip Rapson, President and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, stated “With the aid of this challenge grant, we hope [The Tenement Museum’s] campaign can become an even more strategic opportunity …to connect and reach out to new donors, volunteers, participants, and general community. Your compelling plan to sustain the higher levels of giving after the campaign concludes will help strengthen your organization well into the future.”
 
The Kresge Foundation’s core grant making activity is its Capital Challenge Grants program. A major focus of The Kresge Foundation is to promote endeavors that fortify nonprofit leadership and encourage generosity through challenge grants for capital projects.