Museum Support
The Museum is an independent, non-profit organization that depends almost entirely on the financial help of friends and supporters. Donations are tax-deductible. Farmers may want to donate commodities and gain added tax benefits.
Funds for the Museum's operation are raised in a number of different ways and are summarized below.
Life memberships :
-
$500 per person (monies benefit the museum's endowment fund)
Annual memberships :
-
Individual $20
-
Couple $40
-
Family $50 (includes children or grandchildren 18 years of age and younger)
Membership benefits include :
-
Unlimited free visits to the museum (except Country Threshing Days)
-
10% discount on all museum store merchandise (Life Members receive 15% discount)
-
Annual members: one guest pass
-
Life Members: 5 guest passes per year
The Family Showcases at the Museum are in need of updated lighting.
​
Fluorescent tubes have mostly gone
The current fundraising project is directed at adding modern LED lighting.
We very much appreciate your support toward this effort.
​
_PNG.png)
Special projects: Six of the museum's eight buildings are 100+ years old and require continual maintenance.
-
Repair and Painting the Schroeder Barn - Completed in Summer of 2019
-
​
_JPG.jpg)
Before
During
The Schroeder Barn was in very bad shape. The repairs and painting of the Barn happened in 2019
Read the Appeal Letter to find out how you can help.
Face lift celebration at Country Threshing Days Aug. 2019
After
In the Last Few Years your donations have accomplished these improvements
The Krause House was fitted with new siding. Painting was done with volunteer labor.
July 2017
July 2016 - volunteer and museum board member John Janzen painting the South Bloomfield one-room school
With contracted painting of the Friesen House, Bank Building, and two sides of Prep School.
April 2018
Already these improvements have been accomplished in 2018
-
Re-roofed - the Bank Bulding (2015)
-
Replaced - obsolete computer system (2014)
-
Re-siding - Immigrant House with prepainted concrete siding (2014)
-
New front door - at the Museum entrance, along with other new doors and windows on the Immigrant House (2014)
-
New roof and porch project on the Friesen House (2012)
-
And the biggest undertaking of all, the Wheat Palace addition, which doubled display space of the agricultural artifacts (2011)
This was a major accomplishment and a great credit to our then President of the Museum Board, Donavon Schmidt. He did the leg work to raise the large amount of funds needed for the Wheat Palace addition. This addition had been stuck in the talking and planning stages for decades Thank you Donavon !!!
Originial Wheat Palace building (left)
new addition (right)
And another big thanks goes out to D. John Schroeder for the wonderful addition of trees and landscaping for the Museum grounds over the years.
