Earlier in 2021, the Wright Museum of WWII in Wolfeboro announced a $60,000 Challenge Grant from the Biber Foundation, which has raised $54,000 from the community and $81,000 in total. For every $2 raised, the Biber Foundation will donate $1, as all proceeds will support Project25, an on-going construction and renovation project that began in December 2019.
“This project address core priorities that will strengthen our position as a cultural hub of the region,” said museum Executive Director Mike Culver, who said the Challenge Grant period runs through October. “We hope to raise money right until the ‘bell’ tolls,” he added.
The result of two years of formal strategic planning and architectural analysis, Project25 addresses five priorities, which include enhancements to exhibit galleries and storylines, space for educational programs, collections care, vehicle maintenance and street presence.
These enhancements, according to Alan Harding, trustee on the Biber Foundation’s Board, help advance the mission of The Wright. He cited the museum’s contribution “to the economic viability and cultural attractiveness” of the Town of Wolfeboro as an important consideration in their deliberation process.
“My only wish is that the Town leaders recognize the benefits that the Wright Museum and all the other museums bring to the entire Wolfeboro community,” said Harding, former longtime chairman of the Wolfeboro Economic Development Committee.
“The Wright seeks to not only educate and inform visitors, but also invite them to relax, interact, explore and address current social and cultural issues.”
Executive Director Michael Culver
According to Culver, Project25 takes on increased significance in light of the pandemic and ongoing social unrest. “It is critical we continue to further develop our facility space to be as inclusive of as many people as possible,” he said. “We must serve not only as a museum and trusted educational source, but just as importantly as an inviting community space.”
Further explaining its role as a community space, Culver said The Wright seeks to not only educate and inform visitors, but also “invite them to relax, interact, explore and address current social and cultural issues.”
“Contemporary audiences want their museum visit to not only enrich them intellectually, but satisfy them socially,” he added.
To contribute to the Biber Foundation’s Project25 Challenge Grant, send a check to Wright Museum (marked ‘challenge grant’), P.O. Box 1212, Wolfeboro, NH 03894, call (603) 569-1212, or click here.
The region’s leading resource for educators and learners of all ages on World War II, The Wright features more than 14,000 items in its collection that are representative of both the homefront and battlefield.
