The Cartoon Art Museum’s Creating a Fantastic Future

After a recent relocation, San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum is doing some fundraising to finish renovating their new space.  The George Lucas Family Foundation and Bil Keane Family are already supporting it, so have a look.

Official PR follows:

The Cartoon Art Museum, a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit, kicks off its most ambitious and intensive online fundraising campaign to date starting April 4, 2018 through the nonprofit crowdfunding platform YouCaring. The fundraiser aims to finish the remaining $200,000 of the museum’s $1.2 million capital campaign, Creating a Fantastic Future. The capital campaign is financing the museum’s recent relocation in San Francisco and the ongoing renovations and related costs to transform the new site at 781 Beach Street into an up-to-date modern space. The online portion of the campaign provides everyone with the opportunity to lend his or her support to the museum and help ensure its continuation. Anyone who enjoys art and history, comics and animation, or pop culture is encouraged to pitch in at youcaring.com/fantasticfuture.

The online campaign’s financial goal will start small and grow in phases to celebrate milestones along the way to the remaining $200,000 that the museum seeks to fulfill the loan owed and other costs incurred during the quest to reopen the Cartoon Art Museum. As a nonprofit itself, YouCaring is a crowdfunding platform that maximizes contributions to the museum. To date, the Creating a Fantastic Future capital campaign has raised more than $1 million dollars in donations and pledges. 

Those who have most highly contributed to Creating a Fantastic Future are the Eric Roberts Foundation, George Lucas Family Foundation, an Anonymous donor, the Bil Keane Family, Johnson/Glenewinkel Family, Will & Ann Eisner Family Foundation and Walt & Lilly Disney Foundation. Founders, board members past and present and other individuals helped further the campaign. Large local funding from the San Francisco Arts Commission and their Northern California Community Loan Fund and Community Arts Stabilization Trust: Nonprofit Displacement Mitigation Program greatly contributed to the museum’s relocation project and Creating a Fantastic Future capital campaign success thus far. See more contributors at youcaring.com/fantasticfuture.

Thanks to a loan from First Republic Bank and these and numerous other generous donors the Cartoon Art Museum was able to raise enough to reopen to the public on Saturday, October 28, 2017, at its new location in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Located at 781 Beach Street (just one block from Aquatic Park, the Maritime Museum, Ghirardelli Square, and the Hyde Street cable car turnaround), the 1912 brick building features a beautiful historic façade, prominent street presence, convenient parking, and easy access to and from public transportation. It offers highly visible public access to the museum’s nearly 8,000 square feet of space featuring galleries, screening area, workshop, classroom, bookstore, library, and collections facility. Raising the remaining $200,000 will ensure that the renovated facility is fully funded so that the museum can move forward in pursuing new projects.

The Cartoon Art Museum’s Executive Director Summerlea Kashar explains, “A state-of the art museum inspires creators and fans to return again and again. It provides a platform from which to expand our mission and vision to share the super power of cartooning in all its forms. We want people to say, ‘I have learned so much in such a beautiful space. I can’t wait to see what the Cartoon Art Museum does next!’ Now it’s up to our everyday heroes, fans and supporters, to help us save the day and finish this capital campaign fundraiser, Creating our Fantastic Future.”

Read more for full details about Creating a Fantastic Future at youcaring.com/fantasticfuture and cartoonart.org/capital-campaign. Follow the campaign on social media #fantasticfuture!