The Journey Museum tells stories about the history and culture of the Black Hills . Photo courtesy of Museum Staff.
Since it opened in 1997, Rapid City’s Journey Museum has seen mixed success. It offers an amazing experience inside a stunning facility. Exhibits, speakers, and events interpret the history of the Black Hills and bring community together.
Yet the museum has also been moored in years of financial instability. “Local museums are vitally important but often struggle to make it on admissions alone,” said the Journey’s Executive Director, Conor McMahon. “The more they struggle, the harder it is to inspire donors.”
Under a model established in the 1990s, several partner organizations worked together within the museum’s structure. Over the years, it became difficult to keep everyone engaged.
By the 2010s, the Journey and the BHHS, another standalone nonprofit, had the strongest collaborative relationship. They saw that merging could unlock new possibilities.
“The Journey was a museum without a collection, while the BHHS was a collection without a museum. We saw that merging could streamline operations and reduce duplicative costs like insurance, marketing, and accounting—all while taking the museum to the next level.”
Mark slocum, formerly executive director of the bhhs and now deputy director of the journey museum
For more than a year, the BHACF staff, led by Eric Zimmer, Vice President of Philanthropy & Special Projects, worked with both organizations’ boards to facilitate the merger at no cost.
“We saw this as the best thing for both organizations and for our community,” said Chris Huber, President & CEO of BHACF. “We knew we could help, so we did. This is a perfect example of our commitment to leading solutions throughout our region.”
The concept behind the merger resonated with one BHACF donor, who wished to remain anonymous. Zimmer remembered that the donor “said they’d been waiting for decades to give to the Journey. But, because of its financial challenges, they weren’t ready to make an investment.”
That donor put $500,000 in a holding fund at BHACF, to be moved to the Journey’s permanent endowment after the merger.
“The donor also upped the ante,” Zimmer said. “If the museum can raise another $500,000, they have promised to contribute an additional $1 million to the Journey’s endowment.” That would total $2 million, far and away the largest gifts since the museum opened.
“It’s just been incredible. The energy and momentum we have has never been higher. We’re already nearly halfway to matching the donor’s challenge, and we’re looking for help getting across the finish line. The merger was the beginning of the next, amazing chapter in our museum’s story,” said Conor McMahon, Executive Director of the Journey Museum.
Open An Endowment at BHACF
Like dozens of nonprofits throughout the Black Hills, the Journey Museum has an endowment at BHACF.
Our Giving Team works with these local nonprofits to help them strategically build and develop their funds.
Reach out to our Giving Team if you would like to learn more!