Former Milwaukee Public Museum board member, Ross Read, and his wife, Mary Read, have committed $2 million support the museum’s endowment, MPM announced Tuesday.
As part of its Wisconsin Wonders campaign – the fundraising effort for its $240 million future museum project – MPM has pledged that 18% of every donation will go towards the museum’s endowment supporting current and future operations and sustainability of the institution.
In this case, The Reads have directed their entire gift toward the museum’s endowment and that mission of sustainability.
“The Reads’ commitment to the sustainability of the future museum is admirable, and we are humbled by their decision to put their gift toward our endowment fund,” said MPM president and CEO Dr. Ellen Censky. “Although contributions to our endowment fund won’t pay for the brick and mortar of our new building, they are integral to ensuring the institution is well-maintained after it is built and guaranteeing that it will stay that way for generations of families to enjoy.”
News of the Read family’s $2 million endowment gift comes just a few weeks after the MPM announced a $10 million gift from Kellogg Family Foundation for its Wisconsin Wonders campaign. That money – the largest private donation to the Wisconsin Wonders effort to date – will primarily go toward the construction of the new museum building.
The fundraising campaign for the construction effort itself has brought in a total of $148 million, including $63 million in private donations, $45 million from Milwaukee County and $40 million from the State of Wisconsin. The project’s private fundraising goal is $150 million.
Slated to open in 2027, the new museum is planned for a 2.4-acre site at the corner of Sixth and McKinley Streets in the Haymarket neighborhood adjacent to the downtown Deer District. Details about additional gifts to the capital campaign will be announced in the coming weeks, museum officials said Tuesday.
Love for history
According to the museum, it is the Reads’ love of history that prompted them to put their donation to MPM toward the long-term care of the museum’s vast history collections through a named position. Jackie Schweitzer, who has served as the museum’s history collections manager since 2018, has been named the first Chester Read Curator of History Collections.
In this role, she will continue to assist in the improvement, expansion, and development of the History department’s collections in consultation with the appropriate curators; improve the organization, condition and accessibility of the collections and seek resources to achieve those goals. The title will continue to be bestowed in perpetuity to the leader of the museum’s History department.
“Many members of our families – the Chesters and the Reads – have been committed to the Milwaukee Public Museum. From donating objects to display in the Streets of Old Milwaukee to serving in volunteer capacities, this institution holds an important place in our hearts and our personal histories, and we are excited to witness history in the making as it transitions to its new home,” Ross Read said. “Generations of people and families have built our city and our museum, and we must continue to explore and share those stories. We are so proud to be a part of this magnificent undertaking and ensure that the future museum is accessible to generations yet to come.”
While Ross Read currently serves as the chair of MPM’s Endowment Committee and helps to oversee the growth and expenditures of the fund, members of the Read family have volunteered and served on the museum’s board of directors since the 1960s.
