The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a step closer to reaching its $40 million fundraising goal following a $3 million gift from the Inasmuch Foundation.
The Inasmuch Foundation Board of Directors and staff recently unveiled the Inasmuch Foundation East Foyer at the museum, named in honor of the gift.
The donation is part of Inasmuch's record-breaking $22 million grant cycle announced earlier this year, benefitting 55 different nonprofit organizations throughout the community. The grant cycle is the largest in foundation history. Named recipients in addition to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum have included the YMCA, First Americans Museum and Catholic Charities.
The gift is also part of the museum's three-year "Live the Code" capital campaign, underway since August 2023, which seeks to modernize guest experiences and infrastructure.
Several projects have already been completed through funds raised during the campaign, including the Code of the West interactive experience, which has cutting-edge technology and a 30-foot LED screen to let guests explore the “cowboy code of ethics” and become part of the larger story of the West. The museum also has added the Find Your West immersive exhibit , a 3,000-square-foot, floor-to-ceiling exhibit that uses 23 million LED lights to encircle guests in western vistas and immerse them in the sights and sounds of the American frontier.
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“The Inasmuch Foundation is proud to support the work of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum,” said Robert J. Ross, chairman and CEO of the Inasmuch Foundation. “The Live the Code capital campaign’s projects will modernize exhibit offerings and infrastructure to one of our state’s national treasures. These efforts allow the museum to continue to be a top destination for guests from across the nation and world.”
Future planned improvements include additional cutting-edge exhibits, parking improvements, renovations of the massive art and artifact storage vault, which houses more than 25,000 items, and a relocation and expansion of the research center to provide scholars and the public greater access to the 3 million items housed there.
“This generous donation will enable The Cowboy to continue transforming itself by creating best-in-the-world experiences to better teach and interpret the diverse history of the American West,” said Jeff Ewing, executive vice president and chief development officer of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Inasmuch Foundation gifts $3 million to National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
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