The Cleveland Museum of Art Announces Public Phase of $600 Million Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign as It Marks 110 Years

CLEVELAND (June 12, 2026) — The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) today announced the public phase of a comprehensive fundraising campaign, “For the Benefit of All the People.” The largest fundraising campaign in the museum’s history and the largest ever undertaken by an Ohio cultural organization, the effort ranks among the most ambitious campaigns ever launched by a U.S. art museum. 

The $600 million campaign builds on substantial institutional momentum. In 2025, the CMA achieved its highest-ever attendance and membership, as well as historic levels of philanthropic support. These achievements reflect sustained growth rooted in the museum’s mission and guided by the goals articulated in its strategic plan. As the CMA celebrates 110 years, it carries forward the visionary mandate articulated in its founding deed: “For the Benefit of All the People Forever.” Free general admission remains central to that promise, distinguishing the museum from many of its peers as it remains accessible to the widest possible audience.  

A Campaign Grounded in Strength and Shaped by Strategy 

The public phase builds on a highly successful pre-campaign during which the CMA secured more than $480 million in gifts and pledges. That total includes over $351.5 million in cash commitments towards a goal of $400 million and more than $128.5 million in gifts and promised gifts of art towards a goal of $200 million. These highly selective gifts of art underscore the museum’s commitment to thoughtfully expanding the collection through works that match the caliber of its globally celebrated holdings. 

The campaign’s early success has been driven by extraordinary philanthropic support from individuals, foundations, corporations, and other generous donors, including the museum’s Board of Trustees and Campaign Committee. Every standing CMA trustee has contributed to the campaign, with many making highly impactful leadership gifts. 

Among the campaign’s initial achievements is significant new endowed support for scholarship, conservation, and leadership roles. To date, the museum has endowed a total of 21 positions, including 10 curatorial positions and four positions in conservation, while also establishing endowed support for the positions of Sarah S. and Alexander M. Cutler Director, Virginia N. and Randall J. Barbato Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Susan and James Ratner Chief Learning Officer, and Margaret and Loyal Wilson Chief Exhibition, Design, and Publications Officer. 

The campaign is advancing key priorities articulated in the museum’s strategic plan, including: 

• Presenting Globally Significant Exhibitions: Internationally renowned special exhibitions that bring the world to Cleveland, attract new audiences, and create meaningful opportunities to engage with the collection.  
• Expanding Education and Lifelong Learning: Dynamic educational programs that inspire learners of all ages and strengthen the museum’s role as a leader in arts education.  
• Caring for the Collection Through Conservation: Preservation and stewardship of works of art spanning cultures, periods, and media.  
• Strengthening Research Through the Ingalls Library and Museum Archives: Sustaining and expanding one of the nation’s leading art research libraries, contributing to the generation of new scholarship, and enhancing public access to knowledge.  
• Advancing Digital Innovation: Leveraging leading-edge technologies and digital platforms—including interactive tools such as the CMA’s award-winning ArtLens gallery and app—to bring its collection into homes and classrooms around the world. 

The $600 million campaign also supports the museum’s strategic priority of building its collection through significant gifts and promised gifts of art. Guided by the museum’s strategic plan, these highly selective acquisitions reflect the museum’s commitment to strengthening the collection with exceptional works distinguished by “Cleveland quality,” impeccable provenance, and lasting artistic legacy.  

In addition to these strategic priorities, a portion of the campaign supports the restoration and rehabilitation of the museum’s historic Fine Arts Campus, including improvements to the landscape, pathways, lighting, accessibility, and visitor amenities, as well as the conservation and restoration of Fountain of the Waters, the iconic 1928 fountain on the museum’s south lawn created by celebrated American sculptor Chester Beach. 

While the campaign includes targeted investments in the museum’s physical environment, the substantial majority of fundraising supports long-term institutional priorities, including endowment growth, exhibitions, education, conservation, curatorial scholarship, and digital innovation. 

A Dual Fundraising Focus: Funding the Present and Securing the Future 

Through strong community support, the CMA is simultaneously raising essential current use dollars to fund its free programming while safeguarding its future with endowment gifts, many of which provide permanent support for vital roles across the museum. “Among the museum’s highest priorities is establishing endowments that forever secure the positions occupied by the CMA’s outstanding professionals, thereby reinforcing the foundation of our institution,” said Scott Mueller, campaign chair and former CMA Board Chair. The approach builds on the museum’s longstanding commitment to institutional sustainability through endowed support.  

“For the Benefit of All the People is a model for success,” said Virginia N. Barbato, chair of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees. “By simultaneously raising current-use dollars while also establishing new endowments for key strategic priorities, the campaign is protecting access to one of the world’s finest comprehensive collections. That is precisely why broad support for the campaign is so important.”  

A Moment for Civic Pride and Collective Investment 

At its core, For the Benefit of All the People is both a celebration and a call to action. It affirms Cleveland’s profile as a cultural capital beyond the coasts while inviting the community to take shared ownership of one of its most treasured institutions. 

From globally acclaimed exhibitions to transformative acquisitions and innovative public programming, the CMA continues to demonstrate what is possible when excellence, access, and community are aligned. 

“For the Benefit of All the People is a campaign focused on—and fueled by—the audiences we serve,” said William M. Griswold, the CMA’s Sarah S. and Alexander M. Cutler Director. “We invite everyone in our community to participate in a way that is meaningful to them—whether they visit the museum, become a member, or make a financial contribution. This public phase marks the culmination of an effort that will carry the museum forward for generations to come.”   

About the Cleveland Museum of Art  

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 68,000 records and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovation. One of the foremost encyclopedic art museums in the United States, the CMA is recognized for its award-winning open access program—which provides free digital access to images and information about works in the museum’s collection—and is free of charge to all. The museum is located in the University Circle neighborhood with two satellite locations on Cleveland’s west side: the Community Arts Center and Transformer Station.  

The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.