Jamestown Yorktown Foundation Inc

Causes: Arts & Culture, Commemorative Events, Historical Organizations, History Museums, Museums

Mission: The jamestown-yorktown foundation, an educational institution of the commonwealth of virginia, shall foster through its living-history museums- jamestown settlement and the yorktown victory center- an awareness and understanding of the early history, settlement, and development of the united states through the convergence of american indian, european, and african cultures and the enduring legacies bequeathed to the nation. The jamestown-yorktown foundation, inc. , is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that pursues private funds to strengthen and maintain museum programs and services, assists with the development of the museum collection, and oversees the endowment.

Programs: Visitor experience - jamestown settlement and the recently-completed american revolution museum at yorktown serve as leading centers of education and tourism. Through nationally recognized living-history programs and museum galleries, they tell the stories of where and how america began. Living-history areas complement the museums' exhibition galleries by involving visitors in interactive, hands-on learning. Special exhibitions and themed programs and events offer opportunities to explore topics in greater depth. While the jamestown-yorktown foundation receives partial operating support from the commonwealth of virginia and earns income through museum admissions, private donations made a critical difference in our ability to engage and educate the 567,094 paid visitors to our museums in 2016. Special exhibitions and themed programs and events constituted an integral part of that visitor experience. The foundation, inc. , continued to cultivate donors and expand funding for jamestown settlement's successful program of special exhibitions, including "bartering for a continent: how anglo-indian trade shaped america," which was open to the public from june 4, 2016 through december 10, 2016. Exhibition visitors discovered the importance of trade between american indians and english colonists, from the founding of jamestown through the american revolution, and the role of virginia in the development of a new world of exchange in goods and commodities in north america. Private donations to the annual fund also helped to underwrite special events and theme months held throughout the 2016-2017 year at both jamestown settlement and the american revolution museum at yorktown, including "liberty celebration," "american indian intertribal powwow," "yorktown victory celebration," a "revolutionary war lecture series," "foods & feasts of colonial virginia," "a colonial christmas," "military through the ages," "jamestown day, and an "historic trades fair. "

educational programs - during the 2016-2017 academic year, jamestown-yorktown foundation programs served 290,741 students through hands-on sessions and guided tours at both museums and in outreach settings. Private grants and donations made through the foundation, inc. , made the critical difference to thousands of virginia schoolchildren living in underserved districts: 2,155 were able to take part in a field trip to one of our museums and 3,904 were able to participate in an outreach education program in their classroom, all at no cost to them, their teachers, or their schools. Newly-launched "dig deeper" programs now offer students participating in structured programs at both museums more opportunities to acquire skills in cooperative learning, critical thinking, and problem solving, with a focus on project-based learning. The foundation is reinvigorating its online learning center, which includes digital resources like curricula, lesson plans, videos, essays, and images for students and teachers available on historyisfun. Org. Total web visits for calendar year 2016 totaled more than 1. 7 million. Whether in person or online, the foundation's education programs continue to support and assist teachers in meeting virginia's standards of learning and have been endorsed by the national council for the social studies, the nation's leading association of social studies educators.

collections - the jamestown-yorktown foundation collection contains 210,379 archaeological and non-archaeological artifacts. Thanks to private funds, seven objects were acquired during fiscal year 2017 for the american revolution museum at yorktown's galleries, bringing the total objects exhibited at the museum to nearly 500. Among the objects acquired was an 18th-century virginia long rifle, an iconic firearm of the american revolution. Two artifacts were also acquired to enhance the collection at jamestown settlement. The foundation's collections policy reflects an emphasis on public education and exhibition by acquiring objects that are central to a dynamic exhibits program. Period artifacts add another dimension to the fulfillment of the foundation's educational mission, allowing historical themes and educational programs to be more effectively illustrated. All artifacts in our collection are given a high standard of care. Our conservation facilities give us the capacity to carry out the full range of collection care that is expected and required of a fully accredited institution.

american revolution musuem at yorktown - during the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the jamestown-yorktown foundation realized its vision of replacing the aging yorktown victory center with the new american revolution museum at yorktown. After six years of construction, the museum's permanent galleries debuted in october 2016, and the foundation celebrated the finalized museum's grand opening in march and april 2017, which included the completed outdoor living-history continental army encampment and revolution-era farm. By its completion on july 31, 2017, the american revolution museum at yorktown campaign for support had raised $16. 8 million in support of the new museum's gallery exhibits, outdoor exhibits, and educational resources, as well as the annual fund. Beyond the grand opening, the foundation began presenting its series of special exhibitions in the new museum's special exhibition gallery, beginning with "afterward: the revolutionary veterans who built america," which ran june 10 through november 27, 2017. "afterward" chronicled the post-war lives of veterans of the siege of yorktown, including henry knox, alexander hamilton, james lafayette, the marquis de lafayette, george washington, and charles cornwallis, as well as lesser-known veterans. New educational initiatives, including distance learning and expanded digital resources are being launched over the next several years, reinforcing the foundation's award-winning on-site and outreach programs to expand its educational mission. Annual fund - in fiscal year 2017, the annual fund raised $871,735 in cash and in-kind gifts. Gifts to the annual fund provide unrestricted support that helps sustain the foundation's museums and education programs, including artifact acquisition, living-history interpretation within the outdoor exhibits, field trips and classroom outreach-furthering the foundation's educational mission. Endowment - the jamestown-yorktown foundation, inc. , manages endowed assets that benefit the jamestown-yorktown foundation's museums and educational programs. As of june 30, 2017, the endowment amounted to $17. 5 million. For fiscal year 2017, the endowment's expendable earnings were used to support artifact acquisition as well as core public and structured education program areas, including the maritime education program, outreach education, and historical interpretation at both museums, and special exhibitions at jamestown settlement.