Ocean Explorium Reaches Fund Raising Goal!

The Ocean Explorium announced that it has met the first phase fundraising goal of $100,000. According to executive director Abbey Spargo, “The greater New Bedford community took our message to heart and rallied to save their Ocean Explorium. There was a flurry of giving over the weekend and we are grateful to the hundreds of donors who contributed to ‘Save Your Ocean Explorium, Build Your Future’ campaign.”

Ms. Spargo added “By reaching this goal, we will qualify for a matching gift of $50,000 offered by an anonymous donor. This challenge donation served as an incentive to our Board and staff, inspiring the great effort that has gone into this phase of our fundraising campaign. We are thankful to this donor for providing the challenge match.”

The Ocean Explorium also received additional good news today. Ms. Spargo reported “I was thrilled to learn that Senator Mark Montigny’s budget amendments that support several New Bedford based non-profit organizations were approved today as part of the state budget. The Ocean Explorium will receive $100,000 to continue to provide educational programs in New Bedford and to help bridge the gap caused by UMass Dartmouth’s funding cut. We are incredibly grateful to State Senator Mark Montigny for his work on behalf of the Ocean Explorium and the City of New Bedford, especially the downtown arts and cultural area. Senator Montigny has long been an advocate for growing our downtown into a tourism and arts and cultural district and believes in supporting access to educational experiences for all. We are so grateful for his efforts in providing this crucial funding to us.”

“The Ocean Explorium is honored to receive this outpouring of private and public support, and we are proud that our value as an educational resource is being recognized. We want to thank the community and ask them to join us as we celebrate reaching this milestone toward replacing the funds from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.”

While the Ocean Explorium still needs to raise additional dollars to replace the full funding it lost, it is well on the path to success. Ms. Spargo indicated that “We hope that we can continue to count on the support of our community as we begin the second phase of our campaign, conduct our annual fundraising events, and build our future model for sustainability that includes enhanced growth in educational experiences.”