Connecticut Invests in Aviation Heritage and Preservation in Post-Pandemic Rebound

The New England Air Museum is the lucky recipient of nearly $90,000 of grant money from the Connecticut Humanities, a statewide, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities that focuses on supporting culturally important pursuits within the area. 

The funding will got to support 3 main goals for the museum in its quest to retain visitor engagement and growth. First, the addition of interactive, digital technology to preserve the history of those who designed and flew the aircraft featured in the museum's collection.

Second, it will create a new public-facing website to provide interactive ticketing, merchandising, and exhibit previews. Finally, the grant will allow for hiring to bolster the current staff, which is said to be "urgently needed to manage the museum's growth". 

The Air Museum is one of 624 organizations marked for support, receiving a total of $16 million across all of them. The funding is a portion of the $30.7 million allocated to arts, humanities, and cultural nonprofits through Connecticut for disbursement over the next 2 years as signed by the state general assembly. Throughout the pandemic's lockdowns and erratic economic effects, public institutions have suffered from a range of ailments, from shortfalls in personnel to closure.

Grants as authorized by CT Governor Ned Lamont will help to maintain such institutions as they get on their feet and return to normalcy. 

FMI: www.neam.org