HARTFORD, CT: The Mark Twain House & Museum has been awarded a $500,000 grant by The Annenberg Foundation. The grant will support the museum’s Stabilization and Planning Fund, a reserve fund that has been created as a first step in the museum’s long-term plan to resolve its current financial challenges. The Fund is intended to help the museum stabilize its operations while it develops and implements strategies to ensure the institution’s future. The goal for the Fund is $1.5 million. Jeffrey Nichols, Executive Director of The Mark Twain House & Museum said, “The Annenberg Foundation's gift to The Mark Twain House & Museum is remarkable, and we are deeply honored by the foundation’s generosity. This gift demonstrates the cultural and historical importance of Mark Twain. While we still have a long way to go, this marks a strong first step towards preserving the future of The Mark Twain House & Museum.”
Established in 1989 by Walter H. Annenberg, the Annenberg Foundation provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally through its headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania and offices in Los Angeles, California and Washington, D.C. The Annenberg Foundation exists to advance the public well-being through improved communication. As the principal means of achieving this goal, the Foundation encourages the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.
The Mark Twain House & Museum is the site of Twain’s Hartford home, a National Historic Landmark, where he and his family lived from 1874 to 1891. While living in the house, Twain wrote some of his most important works, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In addition to providing tours of Mark Twain’s restored home, the Museum offers public programs that advance Twain’s legacy.
